Kingston Park (stadium)

Kingston Park

West stand
Location	Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Coordinates	55°1′7″N 1°40′20″W / 55.01861°N 1.67222°WCoordinates: 55°1′7″N 1°40′20″W / 55.01861°N 1.67222°W
Owner	Newcastle Falcons
Capacity	10,200
Surface	Artificial
Construction
Opened	1990
Architect	TTH Architects, Gateshead, UK
Tenants
Newcastle Falcons Newcastle United Reserves Newcastle Thunder

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 Aviva Premiership side Newcastle Falcons and Kingston Press League 1 Rugby League side Newcastle Thunder. The stadium is also used for the Newcastle United Reserves to play their home matches. 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.^[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 (operators of the Aviva Premiership) 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 the Aviva Premiership, was installed by SIS Pitches, the company responsible for the Premiership's first such pitch at Saracens' Allianz Park.^[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]

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. 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
4. "Northern Rock paid £15m for rugby ground". The Evening Chronicle. 2008-01-24. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
5. Bond, David (2008-02-21). "Newcastle seek Northern Rock talks". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-02-21.

External links

• Kingston Park at Newcastle Falcons