Halliwell Jones Stadium

The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England, which is the home ground of the Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day, two games of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and four games of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

Halliwell Jones Stadium
Map
Full nameThe Halliwell Jones Stadium
LocationMike Gregory Way, Warrington, WA2 7NE , England
Coordinates53°23′42″N 2°35′44″W / 53.39500°N 2.59556°W / 53.39500; -2.59556
Public transitNational Rail Warrington Central
OwnerWarrington Wolves
OperatorWarrington Wolves
Capacity15,300
Record attendance15,026 (Warrington vs Wigan 14 April 2023)
Field size120 by 74 yards (110 m × 68 m)
SurfaceGrass
ScoreboardPhilips Vidiwall
Construction
Built2002–2003
Opened2004
Expanded2011
Tenants
Warrington Wolves (2003–present)
Liverpool Reserves (2007–2009)

History

edit

1990s–2004: Origins and construction

edit

By the late 1990s, Warrington's Wilderspool Stadium had become decrepit and unfit for purpose, and so the club looked to move to a new stadium. Before settling on a site just north of the town centre, which had formerly housed the Tetley Walker brewery, a site in Burtonwood was considered but these plans were rejected.

Ground was broke at the new site in 2002 and bucked the common trend of modern stadia by including terracing areas rather than being an all-seater stadium, with the South and West stands both containing 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 stadium officially opened in 2004.

2011–present: Expansion

edit

During the 2010 Championship Grand Final between Featherstone Rovers and Halifax, 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 was treated as arson.[1]

On 3 March 2011, the club announced that the corners of the East Stand at the stadium would 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 has also announced plans to increase the stadium's capacity to around 22,000 should the need arise. The largest ever crowd at the Halliwell Jones was recorded on 14 April 2023, with a record crowd of 15,026 were in attendance.

Brian Bevan monuments

edit
 
Statue of Brian Bevan at the Halliwell Jones Stadium
 
Brian Bevan commemorative mural

Two monuments to Australian winger and world record try scorer Brian Bevan, who played for Warrington 1945–62 (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 to ex-players at the ground are the naming of the South-East quadrant the Jack Fish corner, and the road the stadium is on Mike Gregory Way.

Layout

edit

North Stand

edit

The North Stand is the main stand of the ground, housing hospitality, changing rooms and dugout.

East Stand

edit
 
Halliwell Jones Stadium

The East Stand is situated behind the goal posts and is an all seater stand with hospitality boxes. In 2011, the corners next to the stand were filled in to increase the capacity.

South Stand

edit

The South Stand runs along the side of the pitch and is terraced. It also houses the scoreboard and TV gauntry.

 
West Stand

West Stand

edit

The West Stand is terraced and houses the away fans. Unlike the East Stand at the opposite end of the ground, the corners are not filled in but there are future plans to do so if there is demand for the capacity to be increased.

Sponsorship

edit

Halliwell Jones, which holds the naming rights for the stadium, is a large BMW and MINI motor group owned by Phillip Jones, a businessman from the North West.

Years Sponsor Name
2004- Halliwell Jones Halliwell Jones Stadium

Usage

edit

Rugby league

edit

The stadium was primarily built as a rugby league venue and to be home of Warrington Wolves. It has also been used as a neutral venue on multiple occasions, the first being the Challenge Cup semi-finals since it opened in 2004:

Year Winners Score Losers Attendance
2004   St Helens 46–6   Huddersfield 13,134
2007   Catalans 37–24   Wigan 10,218
2009   Huddersfield 24–14   St Helens 10,638
2011   Wigan 18–12   St Helens 12,713
2015   Leeds 24–14   St Helens 11,107
2017   Wigan 27–14   Salford 10,796

After successfully hosting its first Challenge Cup semi final in 2004, the ground was also selected to hold the Championship Grand Final on five separate occasions between 2006 and 2011.

Year League Winners Score Losers Attendance
2006 National League 1   Hull Kingston Rovers 29–16   Widnes
National League 2   Sheffield 35–10   Swinton
National League 3 Bramley 29–16   Hemel Stags
2008 National League 1   Celtic Crusaders 18–36   Salford
National League 2   Doncaster RLFC 18–10   Oldham
National League 3 Crusaders Colts ?–? Bramley
2009 Championship   Barrow 26–18   Halifax 11,398
League 1   Keighley 28–26   Oldham
Conference Bramley ?–?   Underbank Rangers
2010 Championship   Halifax 23–22
aet
  Featherstone 9,443
League 1   York 25–4   Oldham
Conference Warrington Wizards ?–?   Underbank Rangers
2011 Championship   Featherstone 40–4   Sheffield 7,263
League 1   Keighley 32–12   Workington
Conference   Underbank Rangers ?–? Kippax Knights

It 2015, Warrington were chosen to play in the inaugural World Club Series. The club chose to host the game at the Halliwell Jones rather than move it to a bigger venue.

Year Winners Score Losers Attendance
2015   St George-Illawarra 18–12   Warrington 13,080
2017   Warrington 27–18   Brisbane 12,082

The Halliwell Jones has also been a venue for international rugby league, hosting a European Cup and World Cup.[2]

Date Winners Score Losers Competition Attendance
7 November 2004   England 36–12   Ireland 2004 European Cup 3,582
28 October 2011   Australia 26–12   New Zealand 2011 Four Nations 12,491
14 June 2013   England 42–24 Exiles 2013 International Origin 14,965
27 October 2013   New Zealand 42–24   Samoa 2013 World Cup 14,965
17 November 2013   Fiji 22–4   Samoa 2013 World Cup 12,766
16 October 2022   New Zealand 34–12   Lebanon 2021 World Cup 5,453
25 October 2022   Papua New Guinea 32–16   Cook Islands 2021 World Cup 6,273
30 October 2022   Samoa 62–4   France 2021 World Cup 6,756
6 November 2022   Tonga 18–20   Samoa 2021 World Cup 12,674

Association football

edit

The Halliwell Jones was chosen as one of the venues to host the 2005 Women's European Championship. In 2007, Liverpool chose the stadium to host their reserve team, who played there until 2009.

England's strongest man

edit

The Halliwell Jones was chosen as the venue to hold the England's strongest man tournament in 2022 and 2023.

Non-sporting events

edit

The Halliwell Jones held the Autumn Pops Concert with Three Sporting Tenors. In 2010, the ground was used to film an episode of Candy Cabs which aired in April 2011 on BBC One.

References

edit
  1. ^ "UPDATED: Fire hits Halliwell Jones". Warrington Guardian. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  2. ^ Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson (9 February 2016). "Custom Match List". Retrieved 9 February 2016.
edit