Welford Road Stadium

The Welford Road Stadium is a stadium in the English city of Leicester. It is the home ground of Rugby Union club Leicester Tigers and has a capacity of 24,000 spectators. This makes it the largest of a club used rugby stadium in England that was built solely for this purpose. It is located on the southern edge of the city center between the Aylstone Road and Welford Road.

In 1891, the Tigers leased the premises and on 10 September 1892, the first game took place. The first stands originated in 1893, the clubhouse was opened in 1909. In the years 1918 and 1920 respectively followed by the construction of the stands Members ' Stand and Crumbie stand; This expansion led to nearly bankrupt the club. The preliminary conclusion was formed in 1995 of Alliance & Leicester stand, which is named after a bank.

The Leicester Tigers expressed in 2005 its intention to abandon the stadium at Welford Road and share with the football club Leicester City almost twice the Walkers Stadium. The club officials appeared the Welford Road Stadium as too small, given the rise in popularity of rugby. However, the two clubs could not agree, so the plan was abandoned. However, the Tigers occasionally rent the Walkers Stadium for games where a large crowd march is expected, especially in encounters in the Heineken Cup. 2009, a new grandstand was built, with which the audience capacity was increased from 16,815 to 24,000. In a second step, the capacity will be increased to 30,000 spectators.

For the Rugby Union World Cup in 2015, the stadium will be expanded to 30,000 seats. It will then be the venue of several preliminary matches.