Halliwell Jones Stadium
| The HJ | |
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| Full name | The Halliwell Jones Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Mike Gregory Way, Warrington, WA2 7NE, England |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Owner | Warrington Sports Holding |
| Capacity | 15,200 |
| Record attendance | 15,000 vs ST Helens |
| Field size | 120 x 74 yards |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 2002 |
| Built | 2002-2003 |
| Opened | 2004 |
| Expanded | 2011 |
| Main contractors | Barr |
| Tenants | |
| Warrington RLFC (2003–present) Liverpool Reserves (2007–2009) |
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The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England that is the home ground of Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day and two games of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.
Contents
Move from Wilderspool
By the late 1950s, Warrington RLFC's spiritual home Wilderspool Stadium had become decrepit and unfit for purpose, and so the club looked to move to a new stadium. Before settling on the site which had formerly housed the Tetley Walker brewery, a site in Burtonwood was considered but these plans were rejected. The last competitive game at Wilderspool (after 105 years at the ground) was played on 21 September 2003, when Warrington beat Wakefield Trinity 52-12.
The stadium
The stadium was notable for bucking the common trend of modern stadia by including terracing areas rather than being an all-seater stadium. There were originally 4 stands in the stadium – the North Stand (reserved seating), the East Stand (originally unreserved seating but later became reserved seating), the South Stand (home terracing), and the West Stand (visitors' terracing and overflow of home terracing). It also has enormous pitch dimensions of 120 m x 74 m, as requested by Warrington's head coach of the time, Paul Cullen, due to his desire to play expansive rugby.
The official capacity of the stadium is 15,200.
The stadium has already enjoyed several memorable moments, perhaps most notably Andrew Johns' debut for Warrington against Leeds in a 33-16 victory on 10 September 2005.
During the Co-operative Championship grand final rugby league game between Featherstone Rovers and Halifax on 26 September 2010, a fire beneath the terraced West Stand broke out, forcing all of the fans housed in the stand to be evacuated onto the field, holding up the game for around 45 minutes. Following a safety inspection the spectators were eventually allowed back in. However, when the smell of smoke failed to disperse, there was a further hold up as the fans were moved to the East Stand. The game resumed with no further interruptions. The fire is being treated as arson.[1]
Stadium expansion for 2012
On 3 March 2011, the club announced that the corners of the East Stand at the stadium will be filled in to create a further 2,000 spaces made up of seating and terracing for the 2012 season. The stadium capacity, set at 15,000 for the first sell-out home match against St Helens in 2012, was increased to 15,200 and can grow to 15,693 as the club proves it can handle the bigger crowds and get extra safety certificates. The club also announced plans to increase the stadium's capacity to around 22,000 should the need arise
Brian Bevan monuments
Two monuments to Australian winger and world record try scorer Brian Bevan, who played for Warrington 1948–62 (scoring 740 tries for the Wire), are featured at the stadium. One, a statue of him, had previously been placed in the middle of a roundabout (known as Brian Bevan island) close to Wolves' old Wilderspool ground. This was moved to the Halliwell Jones Stadium with the team. The other, a mural showing Bevan's face made from 'Primrose and Blue' bricks, the traditional Warrington colours was created specifically for the location.
Two other tributes two ex-players at the ground are the naming of the South-East quadrant the 'Jack Fish corner', and the road the stadium is on is named 'Mike Gregory Way'.
Stadium trivia
·Halliwell Jones, which holds the naming rights for the stadium, is a large BMW and MINI motor group owned by Phillip Jones - a successful businessman from the North West
·The stadium is built on the former site of the Walkers of Warrington brewery.
·The stadium was used in July 2010 to film the BBC comedy drama Candy Cabs, when it was made to look like a football stadium for the wedding of one of the football team's players.
Events at the Halliwell Jones Stadium
Home of Warrington RLFC
Super League Play-Off Fixtures:
- 2005 - Warrington v Hull
- 2011 - Warrington v Leeds
- 2012 - Warrington v St Helens
- 2012 - Warrington v Hull
- 2013 - Warrington v Leeds
- 2013 - Warrington v Huddersfield
- 2014 - Warrington v Widnes
National League Grand Finals:
- 2006 - Hull Kingston Rovers v Widnes, Sheffield Eagles v Swinton, Hemel Stags v Bramley
- 2008 - Salford v Crusaders RL, Barrow v Oldham, Crusaders Colts v Bramley
- 2009 - Barrow v Halifax, Keighley v Oldham, Bramley v Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
- 2010 - Featherstone Rovers v Halifax, York v Oldham, Warrington Wizards v Huddersfield Underbank Rangers
- 2011 - Featherstone Rovers v Sheffield Eagles, Workington Town v Keighley, Huddersfield Underbank Rangers v Kippax Knights
Challenge Cup Semi Finals:
- 2004 - St Helens v Huddersfield
- 2007 - Wigan v Catalans Dragons
- 2009 - St Helens v Huddersfield
- 2011 - Wigan v St Helens
- 2015 - Leeds v St Helens
- 2015 - Warrington v St George Illawarra
- 2007 - Northern Union v All Golds Centenary International
- 2013 - England v Exiles (International Origin)
- Liverpool Reserves (2007-2009)
- Women's 2005 Euro Championship
Music events
- Autumn Pops Concert with Three Sporting Tenors
TV Events
- Candy Cabs – Filming at the Stadium during July 2010. The series aired in April 2011 on BBC One.
Rugby league test matches
List of rugby league test and International tournament matches played at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.[2]
| Test# | Date | Result | Attendance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 November 2004 | England  def.  Ireland 36–12 |
3,582 | Played as part of the 2004 European Cup |
| 2 | 28 October 2011 | Australia  def.  New Zealand 26–12 |
12,491 | Played as part of the 2011 Four Nations |
| 3 | 27 October 2013 | New Zealand def.  Samoa 42–24 |
14,965 | Played as part of the 2013 World Cup |
| 4 | 17 November 2013 | Fiji  def. Samoa 22–4 |
12,766 | 2013 World Cup Quarter-Final |
References
http://www.warringtonwolves.org/stadium-history
