Derwent Park

Derwent Park is a Speedway and Rugby League Stadium in Workington, England situated beside the Cumbrian River Derwent. It is used mostly for rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Workington Town who play in League 1 the 3rd tier of Northern Hemisphere rugby league

For other uses, see Derwent Park (disambiguation).

Derwent Park RL
Town Ground
Full nameDerwent Park Stadium
Former namesZebra Claims Stadium (2016 for sponsorship reasons)
LocationWorkington, Cumbria
Coordinates54°38′53″N 3°33′20″W
Capacity10,000
Record attendance17,741 - Workington Town vs Wigan, 13 March 1965
Construction
Built1956
Opened1956
Tenants
Workington Town (1956–)
Workington Comets (1970–1981, 1999–2018)
Workington Tigers (1987)

Derwent Park has a capacity of 12,000 people with 1,200 seats.

History

The stadium was opened in 1956. The record attendance at Derwent Park was set on 13 March 1965 when 17,741 spectators turned up for a third round Challenge Cup match against Wigan.

The football pitch at Derwent Park is surrounded by a 398 yards (364 metres) motorcycle speedway track.

Floodlights were installed in 1990 and were first used on 17 October when Cumbria faced the touring Australians during the 1990 Kangaroo Tour in front of 6,750 fans on a cold night with Australia victorious 42–10 in a dominant display. Derwent also hosted the opening game of the 1994 Kangaroo Tour between Cumbria and Australia on a cold, wet day in front of only 4,227 fans. Australia were again dominant, winning 52–8 (In both 1990 and 1994, the Australian team was composed mainly of the mid-week team and not those who were expected to play Test matches).

Workington Stadium plans

In February 2019 plans for a new stadium for Workington were announced, this would in involve the demolition of Borough Park and Derwent Park.[1]

In June 2019, it was announced by the new leadership of Allerdale Borough Council that the new sports stadium would not be built.[2][3][4]

International venue

On 19 May 1994 Derwent Park was the host for the rugby union warm-up game between Italy and Ireland before the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Italy defeated Ireland 32–26 in front of 3,000 fans.

Derwent Park held its first full international match on 1 December 2000 with the Aotearoa Māori versus Samoa game in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. Samoa defeated Aotearoa Māori 21–16 in front of 4,107 fans.

On 14 July 1990 the stadium was host to the "Cumbria Rock Festival" and bands included: Magnum, Saxon, Dogs D'Amour, Wolfsbane, the Almighty and Romeo's Daughter. On 13 July 1991, the second edition of the festival saw appearances by Marillion, Wolfsbane (who replaced Blackfoot on the bill as special guests), the Almighty, Atom Seed, Cheap and Nasty, FM, Jagged Edge, Sweet Addiction, Loud, Lisa Dominique, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts and Rattlesnake Kiss.[5]

2013 Rugby League World Cup

Scotland vs. Italy at Derwent Park, Workington. The game finished 30–30.

The stadium hosted two matches at Rugby League World Cup 2013: Scotland's ties against Tonga on Tuesday 29 October, watched in front of 7,630, and Italy Sunday 3 November, watched in front of 7,280.

2014 European Cup

As part of the 2014 Rugby League European Cup, Derwent Park hosted the match between Scotland and Wales on 17 October. Scotland won the game 42-18.

On 5 December 2014 it was announced that Workington Town had signed a lucrative sponsorship deal that would see the stadium renamed as the Zebra Claims Stadium for the start of the 2015 season.

2016 Four Nations

As part of the 2016 Rugby League Four Nations, the Zebra Claims Stadium hosted the match between New Zealand and Scotland on 11 November. The game ended in an 18-18 draw.

Summary

List of Test and International matches played at Derwent Park since its opening in 1956.[6]

Game No.DateResultAttendanceNotes
11 November 2000Samoa  def.  Aotearoa Māori 21–164,1072000 Rugby League World Cup Group 4
229 October 2013Scotland  def.  Tonga 26–247,6302013 Rugby League World Cup Group C
33 November 2013Scotland  drew with  Italy 30–307,2802013 Rugby League World Cup Group C
427 October 2014Scotland  def.  Wales 42–182,0362014 European Cup
511 November 2016New Zealand  drew with  Scotland 18–186,6282016 Rugby League Four Nations

Rugby League Tour matches

Derwent Park has also seen the county team Cumberland / Cumbria play host to various international touring teams.

gameDateResultAttendance
131 October 1963 Australia def. Cumberland 21–08,229
218 November 1967 Cumberland def. Australia 17–157,545
317 October 1990 Australia def. Cumbria 42–106,750
418 October 1992 Australia def. Cumbria 44–05,156
52 October 1994 Australia def. Cumbria 52–84,277
627 October 2004/ Anzacs XIII def. Cumbria 64–124,203
725 October 2006 Cumbria def. Tonga 28–161,639

References
  1. "Plans lodged to demolish Borough Park".
  2. "new stadium plan rejected by Allerdale Council".
  3. "Workington Rugby League World Cup withdrawal 'lost opportunity'".
  4. "Stadium for Workington".
  5. Cumbria Rock 1991 – ticket stub Archived 8 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "Derwent Park". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
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