Kingston Park (stadium)
{{Short description|Stadium in Newcastle upon Tyne}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox venue
| name = Kingston Park
| nickname =
| image = 300px
| fullname =
| caption = West stand
| location = Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne NE13 8AF, England
| coordinates = {{coord|55|1|7|N|1|40|20|W|display=inline,title}}
| broke_ground =
| built =
| opened = 1990
| closed =
| demolished =
| owner = Newcastle Falcons
| operator =
| surface = SIS - Rugger
| construction_cost =
| architect = TTH Architects, Gateshead, UK
| former_names =
| tenants = Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle United Reserves
Newcastle United Women
Newcastle Blue Star (2007–2009)
Newcastle Thunder
| capacity = 10,200
| dimensions =
}}
Kingston Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is used mostly for rugby union and rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Premiership Rugby side Newcastle Falcons, and Betfred League One Rugby League side Newcastle Thunder, as well as Women's Championship side Newcastle United Women. From 2007 to 2009 it was home to semi-professional football team Newcastle Blue Star.
The ground
In 1990 Newcastle Gosforth, as the Falcons were then known, moved into their new ground Kingston Park, which they had purchased for £55,000.{{cite book |title=Pride in the lion : the history of Newcastle University Rugby Football Club |first=Stewart Martin |last=Evans |year=2007 |publisher=Newcastle University |isbn=978-0-7017-0217-5}} Prior to Newcastle Gosforth moving in, the site had been the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Sports Ground.
File:Kingston Park - 1 - geograph-1813157.jpg
The stadium has a capacity of 10,200 people. The stadium was built in stages, with the West Stand being the newest and most modern. There are plans to expand the exposed North Stand to give more protection from the elements and to provide more facilities for the fans. The South Stand (John Smith's stand) is all standing but it has good protection from the elements and facilities for the fans underneath the stand.
Through the 2013–14 rugby and football seasons, the stadium had a grass surface. In March 2014, Premiership Rugby approved Newcastle Falcons' plan to install an advanced artificial pitch during the 2014 close season, and Newcastle City Council approved the plan in May. The new artificial pitch, the second in Premiership Rugby, was installed by SIS Pitches, the company responsible for the Premiership's first such pitch at Saracens' Copthall Stadium.{{cite news|url=http://www.premiershiprugby.com/news/32208.php#.U8F4141dVb4 |title=Falcons new 3G synthetic pitch well underway |publisher=Premiership Rugby Limited |date=11 July 2014 |access-date=12 July 2014}}
The nearest Tyne and Wear Metro station is the Bank Foot station.
Northumbria University and the club are to develop the UK's first ever rugby-based Centre of Sporting Excellence at Kingston Park.
Ownership
Newcastle Falcons own the stadium, having bought the ground back in June 2015. The stadium was previously owned by Northumbria University who bought it in late 2008 for an undisclosed fee.{{cite web |url=http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2008/12/04/northumbria-university-buys-newcastle-falcons-ground-61634-22400597/ |title=Northumbria University buys Newcastle Falcons' ground |publisher=The Journal |date=2008-12-04 |access-date=2008-12-08 |archive-date=2 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002052852/http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2008/12/04/northumbria-university-buys-newcastle-falcons-ground-61634-22400597/ |url-status=dead }} The Newcastle Falcons were leasing the site back from Northumbria University, in a similar fashion to the agreement with the previous owner. Included in the university deal for the {{convert|23|acre|m2|adj=on}} site is the rugby stadium, the land around the stadium and the car park. The former owner was the Northern Rock bank, who purchased it in 2007 for £14,756,646.{{cite web |url=http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-evening-chronicle/2008/01/24/northern-rock-paid-15m-for-rugby-ground-72703-20390126/ |title=Northern Rock paid £15m for rugby ground |publisher=The Evening Chronicle |date=2008-01-24 |access-date=2008-11-14}}{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/sport/2008/02/21/sfnbon221.xml |title= Newcastle seek Northern Rock talks |access-date= 2008-02-21 |date= 2008-02-21 |publisher= The Daily Telegraph | location=London | first=David | last=Bond}}{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Rugby League internationals
On 28 August 2019, it was announced that Kingston Park would host three games of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup (now to be held in 2022). These games were originally planned to be hosted at a new stadium built in Workington but in early July 2019, Allerdale Council announced that they would be unable to host the games as the project to build a new stadium had stalled.
= Internationals =
| class="wikitable" width=80% | |||||
| bgcolor=#bdb76b
! Date !! Winners !! Score !! Runners-up !! Competition !! Attendance | |||||
| 16 October 2022 | {{rl|ITA}} | 28–4 | {{rl|SCO}} | rowspan=3|2021 Rugby League World Cup Group B | 6,206 |
| 22 October 2022 | {{rl|FIJ}} | 60-4 | {{rl|ITA}} | 3,675 | |
| 29 October 2022 | {{rl|FIJ}} | 30-14 | {{rl|SCO}} | 6,736 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Kingston Park stadium}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081019054346/http://www.newcastle-falcons.co.uk/174_175.php Kingston Park] at Newcastle Falcons
{{English Premiership (rugby union) venues}}
{{Newcastle United F.C.}}
{{2021 RLWC Venues}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Newcastle Blue Star F.C.
Category:Newcastle United F.C.
Category:Rugby union stadiums in England
Category:Sports venues in Newcastle upon Tyne
Category:Multi-purpose stadiums in the United Kingdom
Category:Sports venues completed in 1990
Category:Rugby union in Tyne and Wear