Craven Park, Hull

Not to be confused with Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness.
KC Lightstream Stadium
Former names MS3 Craven Park
Location Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU9 5HE, England
Coordinates 53°45′14″N 0°15′53″W / 53.75389°N 0.26472°W / 53.75389; -0.26472Coordinates: 53°45′14″N 0°15′53″W / 53.75389°N 0.26472°W / 53.75389; -0.26472
Operator Hull Kingston Rovers
Capacity 12,225[1]
Surface Grass
Opened 1989
Tenants
Hull Kingston Rovers (1989–present)
Hull Vikings (1995–2005)
Hull United (2015–2016)[2]

Craven Park (known as the KC Lightstream Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is the home of Hull Kingston Rovers RLFC. It is situated on Preston Road in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

History

The club moved to the new ground in 1989 from the "Old" Craven Park which was sited on Holderness Road.

The first match was played against Trafford Borough packing in a full capacity 8,500 crowd to watch. Rovers convincingly started the new era, and in that season were crowned Division Two champions.

The stadium was the former home to the Hull Vikings speedway team, but they left when the ground was refurbished for Hull Kingston Rovers use in the Super League.

In 2006 the ground and pitch were substantially improved as the club sought a return to the top flight of English rugby league.

Plans for Hull Kingston Rovers to move from Craven Park to a new purpose-built rugby league stadium to be constructed at a new, unconfirmed site were suggested in 2007, but shortly after this, Hull City Council, in partnership with Kingston Community Developments Limited and Hull Kingston Rovers, announced that terms for lease agreements had been reached to support the long-term future of Craven Park. These terms will enable investment and development of the stadium to move forward.

The initial phase of redeveloping Craven Park was the lease purchase of a temporary seated stand which replaced the use of the inadequate south terrace for visiting away fans. Hull Kingston Rovers' second season in Super League coincided with work beginning on the extension of the standing terraced East Stand. This extension increased the capacity of the stand by 1,120 bringing its overall capacity to 4,750. A similar extension to the opposite end of the stand was completed in 2009.

On 25 January 2014, Hull Kingston Rovers announced that it had secured a new stadium naming rights partnership with local communications provider, KC.[3] Under a five-year agreement, Craven Park was renamed the KC Lightstream Stadium, not to be confused with the KC Stadium in the west of the city.

On 21 October 2015, it was announced that Non-League football team Hull United A.F.C. will play their home games at the stadium.[2]

Redevelopment

A new purpose built South Stand is likely to house away supporters. This would allow the new North Stand to be used by home Fans. A new South Stand is likely to have a capacity of around 2500 with facilities that will take the club forward. Designs are yet to be announced, but it is likely to be a terraced stand. Construction is likely to begin by 2015, and be ready for the 2016 season. An extension to the East Stand and a new purpose built South Stand will take the grounds capacity to 14,500, which would see the Lightstream Stadium become the 7th largest Super League ground.

Layout

Colin Hutton North Stand

Capacity- 2,600 (seated)
The North Stand was originally a temporary stand that was erected after the ground ceased being used as an athletic venue. In 2013, the new £8 million Colin Hutton North Stand opened for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup game between Papua New Guinea and France. The North Stand also deliver an Enterprise Business Centre and Training Centre. There are 42 fully furnished offices which make up the Enterprise Units, all of which are located on different floors within the North Stand.

West Stand

Capacity- 5,000 (seated)
The West Stand includes the main seated stand a small terraced area below executive boxes, which holds around 500 fans. The stand houses the stadium's main changing rooms that were redeveloped prior to the 2014 season to improve the size and facilities of the changing room. Inside the stand there is the Robins Nest & Harry Poole bar for Home and away fans. This is a restaurant with pitch side views and exclusive player and coach interviews after a match. The stand also houses the TV gantry.

East Stand

Capacity- (standing)
The East Stand is considered the Kop end of the ground and is covered terrace that runs almost the full length of the pitch.

South Stand

Capacity- (standing)
There is currently a small stand in the south end of the ground that goes around where the athletic track was. Future plans are to build a permanent stand behind the sticks for away fans.

International rugby league

Craven Park has hosted three rugby league internationals.[4] The first was part of the 2012 Autumn International Series on 3 November 2012 where England thrashed France 44 - 6 with an attendance of 7,173.[5] The next two were Papua New Guinea’s 2013 Rugby League World Cup matches. The first was a narrow 9 - 8 loss to France on 27 October 2013 with an attendance of 7,481 while the second was a bruising 38 - 4 loss to Samoa on 4 November 2013 with an attendance of 6,871.[6] In 2016 it will host the opening game of the 2016 Four Nations between Scotland and World Champions Australia.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Stadium capacity increased". Hull Kingston Rovers. 15 April 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Hull United move to Hull KR's KC Lightstream Stadium". Hull Daily Mail. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Hull KR: Craven Park becomes KC Lightstream Stadium". Hull Daily Mail. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Craven Park, Hull". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Hudson, Elizabeth (3 November 2012). "Autumn International Series: England 44–6 France". BBC Sport (BBC). Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup 2013 fixtures announced". Code 13 Rugby League. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Hull KR's Lightstream Stadium to host Australia v Scotland Four Nations opener". Hull Daily Mail. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.

External links

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