Kingston Park (stadium)

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 Championship Rugby League side Newcastle Thunder. From 2007 to 2009 it was home to semi-professional football team Newcastle Blue Star.

Kingston Park
West stand
LocationKingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Coordinates55°1′7″N 1°40′20″W
OwnerNewcastle Falcons
Capacity10,200
SurfaceSIS - Rugger
Construction
Opened1990
ArchitectTTH Architects, Gateshead, UK
Tenants
Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle United Reserves
Newcastle Thunder

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.[1] Prior to Newcastle Gosforth moving in, the site had been the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Sports Ground.

View of exterior of West and South stands

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' Barnet Copthall Stadium.[2]

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.[3] 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 23-acre (93,000 m2) 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.[4][5]

Rugby League Internationals

On 28 August 2019, it was announced that Kingston Park would host three games of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. 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
DateWinnersScoreRunners-upCompetitionAttendance
24 October 2021 Scotlandv Italy2021 Rugby League World Cup Group B
30 October 2021 Fijiv Italy
6 November 2021 Fijiv Scotland


References
  1. Evans, Stewart Martin (2007). Pride in the lion : the history of Newcastle University Rugby Football Club. Newcastle University. ISBN 978-0-7017-0217-5.
  2. "Falcons new 3G synthetic pitch well underway". Premiership Rugby Limited. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  3. "Northumbria University buys Newcastle Falcons' ground". The Journal. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
  4. "Northern Rock paid £15m for rugby ground". The Evening Chronicle. 24 January 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  5. Bond, David (21 February 2008). "Newcastle seek Northern Rock talks". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 February 2008.


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