List of London Broncos home grounds

Since their formation in 1980 as Fulham RLFC, London Broncos have played at 9 different grounds in Greater London.

Stadia

Craven Cottage: 1980-1984

Founded as Fulham RLFC in 1980, the team, then called "Fulham" played their home games at Craven Cottage. Craven Cottage held the team's largest ever home attendance at any ground, with 15,013 for a Challenge Cup game against Wakefield Trinity on 15 February 1981.[1]

Crystal Palace National Sports Centre: 1984-1985 / 1990-1993

In the summer of 1984 the club moved to play its home games at The National Sports Centre stadium at Crystal Palace, making the athletics stadium their base for the 1984-85 season. The club later returned here prior to the 1990-91 season and remained for three years.

Polytechnic Sports Ground: 1985-1990

The club found a permanent ground in Chiswick where they stayed for five years, before returning in 1990 to Crystal Palace National Sports Centre for a second time.

1993-1995: Barnet Copthall Stadium

The club moved again in 1993 to Barnet Copthall stadium in north London, at the time primarily an athletics arena, where they remained for another three-year stint before moving once again.

The Stoop: 1995-1996 / 1997-1999 / 2007-2013

London ground shared with rugby union side Harlequins for the shortened 1995-96 season. The Broncos later returned to The Stoop for a three-year period in 1997, during which time they reached their first Challenge Cup Final. In 2007 the Broncos returned to the Stoop for a third time, and became known as Harlequins RL, formally becoming a sister club to Harlequins FC and adopting the host club's crest and colours. They stayed at the Stoop until the lease ran out in 2013. This 7-year stay was their longest at any ground to date.

The Valley: 1996 / 2000-2001

Prior to the start of the first season of Super League in summer 1996, the Broncos agreed a ground share with Charlton Athletic at The Valley in south-east London. Here they drew their largest attendances since the Craven Cottage days. The Broncos later returned to the Valley for the second time in 2000, this time spending two seasons there.

Griffin Park: 2002-2006

In 2002, London Broncos rugby league team moved to Griffin Park to ground share with Brentford F.C. The club stayed at Griffin Park until the 2006 season. The Broncos had earlier played two Rugby League Championship matches at Griffin Park during the 1995–96 season.[2]

The Hive: 2014-2015

In 2014, having changed their name back to London Broncos, the club moved away from The Stoop and looked for a permanent stay elsewhere. They moved to Canons Park in north-west London where they agreed a ground share with Barnet F.C. at their new stadium, The Hive. The club spent two seasons there, during which time they were relegated from Super League for the first time.

The record crowd for the Broncos during 2014 was against Wigan Warriors when 2,013 attended The Hive.[3]

The Broncos left The Hive at the end of the 2015 season.[4]

Trailfinders Sports Club: 2016-present

Prior to the start of the 2016 season, the whole club moved to the Trailfinders Sports Ground in Ealing in west London to ground share with rugby union club, Ealing Trailfinders.[4] The venue has several 3G artificial pitches that can be used all year, including the main club pitch.

Athletic Ground, Richmond: 2021–2023

In February 2021 it was confirmed that the Broncos had reached a three year deal with Richmond Athletic Association which would see the academy side and scholarship teams train and play matches at the Athletic Ground.[5]

References

  1. "Harlequins RLFC". Napit. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  2. Haynes, Graham (1998). A-Z Of Bees: Brentford Encyclopaedia. Yore Publications. p. 65. ISBN 1 874427 57 7.
  3. "London Broncos: Super League side agree Barnet groundshare". BBC.
  4. "London Broncos to make Ealing home". londonbroncosrl.com.
  5. "StackPath". www.richmondfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
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