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Kirklees Stadium

Coordinates:53°39′15″N1°46′6″W/ 53.65417°N 1.76833°W/53.65417; -1.76833
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John Smith's Stadium
Map
Full nameThe John Smith's Stadium[1]
Former namesGalpharm Stadium (2004–2012)
Alfred McAlpine Stadium (1994–2004)
LocationStadium Way,Huddersfield,HD1 6PG, England
OwnerKirklees Metropolitan Council
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Giants
OperatorKSDL (Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd.)
Capacity24,121[4]
Record attendance24,375 (rugby league)[2]
24,263 (football)[3]
Field size105 m × 69 m (344 ft × 226 ft)
SurfaceGrass withunder-soil heating
Construction
Built1994
Opened1994
ArchitectPopulous
BuilderAlfred McAlpine
Tenants
Huddersfield Town(1994–present)
Huddersfield Giants(1994–present)
Website
www.johnsmithsstadium.com

Kirklees Stadium(currently known due tosponsorshipas theJohn Smith's Stadium)[1][5][6][7]is a multi-use stadium inHuddersfieldinWest Yorkshire,England.Since 1994, it has been the home ground offootballclubHuddersfield Townandrugby leaguesideHuddersfield Giants,both of whom moved fromLeeds Road.

The stadium was a venue for theRugby League World Cupin1995,2000,2013and2021,in addition to the1999 Rugby Union World Cup.It is owned by both clubs, as well asKirklees Council.Its naming rights have passed from constructorsAlfred McAlpineto pharmaceutical companyGalpharm Internationalin 2004, then toJohn Smith's Breweryeight years later.

Stadium[edit]

During planning and construction, the stadium was referred to as theKirklees Stadiumwhich is still its official name. It was built byAlfred McAlpine,[8]designed byPopulousand was awarded theRIBABuilding of the Year award for 1995.[9]

The decision to build a new stadium for Huddersfield Town andHuddersfield Giantswas made in August 1992. Construction began the following year and it was completed in time for the1994–95 season,enabling the clubs to move to their new base after 86 years atLeeds Roadand 114 years atFartownrespectively, with the Rugby club sharing Leeds Road from 1992 to 1994.

When the stadium opened only the two side stands (the Riverside and Kilner Bank stands) were ready. The South Stand was opened in December 1994. Construction on the North (Panasonic) Stand began in 1996 and it was completed in 1998, bringing the overall capacity of the stadium to approximately 24,500. The estimated cost of construction was £40 million.

A ski slope will be built next to the stadium.[10]

Ownership[edit]

Initially, the stadium was owned by a consortium made up ofKirkleesMetropolitan Council,Huddersfield Town A.F.C.andHuddersfield Giantsin a 40:40:20 proportion. Following the purchase of Huddersfield Town A.F.C. from theadministratorsin 2003,Ken Davybecame chairman of both sports clubs, which were owned by companies he controls, Sporting Pride.[11]The present ownership of the stadium is Kirklees Metropolitan Council 40%, Huddersfield Town FC 40%, and Huddersfield Giants 20%. The current Managing director of the stadium company is Gareth Davis[12]who succeededRalph Rimmerin 2010. On 24 December 2009, Huddersfield Town announced that 40% of the shares owned by Huddersfield Sporting Pride would be transferred to the football club, owned by current chairmanDean Hoyle,but the deal was delayed due to a rent dispute between Davy and Hoyle. The deal was finally completed on 3 September 2013.[13]

Sponsorship[edit]

From 1994 until 2004 the stadium was known as the Alfred McAlpine Stadium.Alfred McAlpinehad been the main construction contractor and its name was part of the payment contract for ten years. The company elected not to renew its sponsorship which was taken up byGalpharm Healthcare,leading to the new name. Individual stands are sponsored by local businesses. On 19 July 2012, it was announced that the brewery firm,Heinekenhad bought the sponsorship rights for the stadium using their domesticJohn Smith's Breweryas the beneficiary, and as such the stadium was renamed as The John Smith's Stadium on 1 August as part of a five-year deal. In December 2016, this was extended for a further five years.[14]

Layout[edit]

A match againstSwindon Townin February 2010

North Stand[edit]

Capacity – 2,750 (seating)
The North Stand, known as the Big Red Stand for sponsorship reasons, is located behind the goal post at the north end of the ground. It has two tiers and houses 16 hospitality boxes and is completely seated. The lower tier contains temporary seats that can be removed for concerts or other events.

An aerial view of the stadium with the Riverside (bottom) and Kilner Bank (top)

East Stand (Kilner Bank)[edit]

Capacity – 7,000 (seating)
The East Stand known as the Kilner Bank Stand is a large single tier stand that runs along the side of the pitch and is completely covered seating. The stand also holds the TV gantry. It gets its name from the fact the stand is built under and partly into the large hill named Kilner Bank behind it.

A view of the East stand with the Kilner Bank in the background

South Stand[edit]

Capacity – 4,054 (seating)
The Magic Rock Brewing Stand as it is known for sponsorship reasons is an all seated stand built into a bank and is completely covered as well as having the big screen. The stand is generally the away stand for visiting fans in both football and rugby, for football, it used to be completely for away fans but it is now shared with home fans with segregation netting. From 2017–18 a new segregation system was implemented with away fans given 2,500 tickets instead of 2,000.

West Stand (Riverside)[edit]

Capacity – 10,365 (seating)
The West stand is the main stand and is known as the Core Stand[15]for sponsorship or Riverside Stand. It has two tiers and 26 hospitality boxes and incorporates the player changing rooms, tunnel, dug out, ticket office and club shop. It takes its name from the River Colne that passes behind it, a footbridge crosses over the river to the car parks and estates behind the ground.

Events[edit]

Football[edit]

It hosted its first match on 20 August 1994 when Huddersfield Town lost 1–0 toWycombe Wanderersin theSecond Division.Only the two touchline stands had been completed, and 13,334 spectators attended.Simon Garnerscored the goal for the visitors.[16]

On 4 June 1999, it hostedEngland under-21in a2000 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group 5match againstSweden,a 3–0 win for England.[17]

On 20 August 2017, it held its firstPremier Leaguegame, with Huddersfield'sAaron Mooyscoring the only goal of a 1–0 win overNewcastle Unitedin front of a crowd of 24,128.[18][19]

The record for a football match is 24,263 for aPremier Leaguematch between Huddersfield Town andLiverpoolon 20 October 2018.[20]

Rugby League[edit]

During aHuddersfield Giantsgame.
The England–Ireland game at the2013 Rugby League World Cupset the stadium's attendance record

Rugby League World Cupmatches were held at the stadium in1995,2000and2013.SevenGreat Britainrugby league internationals have been held at the ground, from 1998 to 2007.[21]Since the Great Britain team was split into home nations, it has hosted fourEnglandrugby league internationals, including a 42–0 win overIrelandin the group stage of the 2013 World Cup, in front of 24,375 spectators. It was the ground's first sell-out crowd,[22]and its record attendance.[23]

On 29 January 2019, it was announced that the John Smith's Stadium would play host to a quarter-final of the2021 Rugby League World Cup.

The results of international matches are as follows;

Date Winners Result Runners-up Attendance Part of
31 October 1998 Great Britain 22–16 New Zealand 18,500 1998 New Zealand tour of Great Britain
11 November 2001 Great Britain 20–12 Australia 21,458 2001 Ashes Series
16 November 2002 Great Britain 14–14 New Zealand 23,604 2002 New Zealand tour of Great Britain and France
22 November 2003 Australia 18–12 Great Britain 24,126 2003 Ashes Series
6 November 2004 Great Britain 22–12 New Zealand 20,372 2004 Tri-Nations
12 November 2005 Great Britain 38–12 New Zealand 19,232 2005 Tri-Nations
27 October 2007 Great Britain 20–14 New Zealand 16,522 2007 All Golds Tour
7 November 2009 England 20–12 New Zealand 19,390 2009 Four Nations
4 July 2012 Exiles RL 32–20 England 7,865 2012 International Origin series
2 November 2013 England 42–0 Ireland 24,375 2013 Rugby League World Cup
29 November 2016 New Zealand 17–16 England 24,070 2016 Four Nations

The stadium has held semi-finals of theChallenge Cupand the finals of the now defunctRegal Trophycompetition were held there in 1995 and 1996.Wigan Warriorswon on both occasions. The stadium has also hosted three ofBradford Bulls'World Club Challengematches, from 2002 to 2006. The Huddersfield Giants attendance record at the venue stands at 15,629 for a match against rivalsLeeds Rhinoson 10 February 2008.[24]

Rugby Union[edit]

Despite Huddersfield not being a strong rugby union area, the stadium has been used for four full cap international rugby union matches. It hosted three qualifying matches for the1999 Rugby World Cupand one match in the pool. Two of the matches saw teams pass 100 points: England beat the Netherlands 110–0 in a qualifier and New Zealand defeated Italy 101–3 in the pool.[25]

Concerts[edit]

The first concerts at the stadium were on 25 and 26 July 1995 by American bandR.E.M.,attended by around 80,000 people and providing a £3 million boom to local businesses.[26]TheEagles,[27]Bryan Adamsandthe Beautiful Southalso performed there in the 1990s,[28]followed four years later byBon Joviin June 2001.[29]

After three years with no performances,Blueplayed at the stadium on the 31 July 2004 withGirls AloudandDariussupporting, in an event to reveal Galpharm's new sponsorship of the venue.[30]The following two summers,Elton JohnandLuluin 2005, and Bryan Adams again in 2006, performed.[31]After a gap of twelve years,Little Mixwere booked to perform in July 2018 followed byTake Thatin June 2019.Green Day,WeezerandFall Out Boyappeared in June 2022 after the concert was postponed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[32][33][34]Museperformed at the stadium in June 2023 as part of theirWill of the People World Tour.[35]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Stadium History".The John Smith's Stadium.Archived fromthe originalon 4 August 2017.Retrieved26 April2018.
  2. ^2013 RLWC – England vs IrelandRugby League Project
  3. ^"Huddersfield Town v Liverpool Stats".Premier League.21 October 2020.Retrieved7 August2021.
  4. ^"VIEWING PLATFORM FOR AWAY SUPPORTERS".Huddersfield Town AFC. 3 November 2017.Retrieved3 November2017.
  5. ^"New deal signed for naming rights for John Smith's Stadium".Examiner Live.Reach. 13 December 2016.Retrieved26 April2018.
  6. ^"Are you coming to the John Smith's Stadium? Here are the best ways for you to get to the match!".Huddersfield Town AFC.Retrieved26 April2018.
  7. ^"Matchday information".Huddersfield Giants.Retrieved26 April2018.
  8. ^"Galpharm Stadium at AJ Specification database".Archived fromthe originalon 30 October 2007.Retrieved13 September2019.
  9. ^Engineering giant StadiaArchived2 October 2011 at theWayback MachineIngeniaMagazine, March 2005
  10. ^"England: Huddersfield stadium to get... a ski slope".stadiumdb.com.Retrieved13 September2019.
  11. ^Conn, David (5 May 2009)."David Conn: Huddersfield Town's community stadium dream sours in ownership wrangle".The Guardian.Retrieved20 August2020.
  12. ^Live, Examiner (8 October 2010)."Gareth Davies is new boss of Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd".Huddersfield Examiner.Retrieved13 September2019.
  13. ^Shaw, Martin (3 September 2013)."Dean Hoyle hails 'landmark' deal to restore Huddersfield Town stadium shares".Huddersfield Examiner.Retrieved13 September2019.
  14. ^Zientek, Henryk (13 December 2016)."New deal signed for naming rights for John Smith's Stadium".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  15. ^Stadium Map
  16. ^Thomson, Doug (27 August 2011)."Huddersfield Town nostalgia: Wycombe Wanderers spoil the new stadium party in 1994".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  17. ^"Sweden v England background".UEFA. 16 June 2017.Retrieved15 September2017.
  18. ^Robinson, Andrew (26 August 2017)."Can the capacity at the John Smith's Stadium be increased? Here's what Town had to say".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved23 September2017.
  19. ^Chowdhury, Saj (20 August 2017)."Huddersfield Town 1–0 Newcastle United".BBC Sport.Retrieved23 September2017.
  20. ^"Huddersfield Town v Liverpool Stats".Premier League.21 October 2020.Retrieved7 August2021.
  21. ^"John Smith's Stadium International rugby league matches".Rugby League Project.Retrieved29 May2015.
  22. ^Hirst, Andrew (19 October 2013)."World Cup fever means sell-out at John Smith's Stadium for England's clash with Ireland".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  23. ^Sutcliffe, Richard (20 February 2017)."Haven't we met before? Huddersfield Town's Jon Gorenc Stankovic gets upper hand over Manchester City's Leroy Sane".Yorkshire Post.Retrieved15 September2017.
  24. ^"Super League XIII 2008 – Round 1 – Rugby League Project".www.rugbyleagueproject.org.Retrieved13 September2019.
  25. ^"Rugby Union – ESPN Scrum – Statsguru – Test matches – Team records".ESPN scrum.Retrieved13 September2019.
  26. ^Gildea, Samantha (21 May 2014)."REM rock Huddersfield: we look back to the band's gig at the McAlpine in July 1995".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  27. ^Gildea, Samantha (26 August 2014)."The Eagles flew into the McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield in July 1996 – were you there?".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  28. ^Gildea, Samantha (13 June 2014)."Were you there? The Beautiful South, Cast and the Lightning Seeds rock the McAlpine in 1997".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  29. ^Gildea, Samantha (12 August 2001)."One Wild Night: Bon Jovi rock Huddersfield's McAlpine Stadium in June 2001".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  30. ^"Blue to reveal stadium's name".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.7 June 2004.Retrieved15 September2017.
  31. ^Richardson-Hudd, Sam (19 December 2013)."Did you go? Bryan Adams rocked Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium in 2006 – relive it here".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved15 September2017.
  32. ^Douglas, Joanne (28 November 2017)."Little Mix in Huddersfield: Tickets, times and prices".The Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved7 May2018.
  33. ^Ankers, Wayne (4 June 2019)."Every picture from Take That in Huddersfield 2019".Huddersfield Examiner.Retrieved13 September2019.
  34. ^Ballinger, Lauren (10 September 2019)."Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy to play at John Smiths Stadium".Huddersfield Examiner.Retrieved13 September2019.
  35. ^"MUSE – Tues 20th June 2023 – Frequently Asked Questions".John Smith's Stadium.14 April 2023.Retrieved12 February2024.

External links[edit]

53°39′15″N1°46′6″W/ 53.65417°N 1.76833°W/53.65417; -1.76833

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