Knowsley Road was a former rugby league stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens RFC from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC also played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010 and, for a period, the venue hosted Liverpool F.C. Reserves. The stadium was demolished during spring 2011 and a new construction then known as Cunningham Grange, named after club legend Keiron Cunningham, was built on the site.Taylor Wimpey – Cunnigham Grange, St Helens, URL accessed 17 May 2013

Stadium Knowsley Road consisted of four stands of open terracing and one seated stand called the Family Stand.

Family Stand

The Family Stand was the only section of the stadium which had a seated area, although there were still areas for standing supporters. The players entered the field from a gateway under the stand and the dugout was also in the Family Stand. The Family Stand contained an area for the media such as local radio stations. It was built after the Second World War, funded by local businesses. The actual design of the stand means that it only ran for two-thirds of that side of the pitch.

When the Main Stand was built, it provided a new changing room facility and gymnasium for the players, replacing the smaller, outdated ones at the old Pavilion End of the ground, next to the scoreboard. Players would come out of the new tunnel before kick off to a centralised view of the stadium, facing the Popular Stand.

When the Main Stand was constructed, it created an overhang at the top of the stand. This was because the old Eccleston railway ran below the site of the new stand, linking the Triplex (Pilkington) factory to the town centre. The railway has long gone now, and was replaced by the club's car park.

Popular Stand

The Popular Stand was an all standing section of the ground and was the most popular stand for home supporters. The stand was built in the 1960s at a cost of over £30,000. It spread across the full length of the pitch. It held the Scaff – the gantry in which the press gathered. When St Helens were on television, the Popular Stand regularly were heard singing and chanting due to the small distance between the cameras and the supporters.

Dunriding Lane End

The Dunriding Lane End was the only stand without a roof. It contained nine corporate boxes, as well as the stadium restaurant and the official store. Prior to being moved to the Family Stand, the changing rooms were at the Dunriding Lane End and players would enter from a tunnel.

The Dunriding Lane End of the ground was known as the Boys' Pen – a spot where die-hard fans congregated during the post-war years. During the 1970s, and 1980s, the club became aware of the need for corporate facilities in line with other clubs and the decision was made to build a bar, restaurant and executive boxes for the fans, and to give them a new and luxurious match day experience.

Eddington End

The Eddington End was a typical Kop. It was the second biggest stand overall at the ground, and the tallest, with the best views of the pitch. In the 1960s, a roof was placed on the Eddington End of the ground. The Eddington End is generally an away end, where most away fans congregated on match days. It became a haunt for local derby chanting with fans of arch rivals Wigan.

History

St. Helens moved to Knowsley Road in 1890, defeating Manchester Rangers in their first match. The stadium pre-dated the birth of the Northern Rugby Football Union (which would later become rugby league) by five years. Having been formed in 1873, St. Helens were a rugby union club when they moved into Knowsley Road. The stadium changed in appearance very little in its 120 years.

Lord Derby open the new pavilion on 26 December 1920 at a match against Wigan. A ground record of 35,695 fans turned up to watch Saints play Wigan on Boxing Day 1949. In January 1950, the training pitch was laid down. In February 1951, the newly completed Eccleston Kop covered enclosure was opened and was named after Supporters' Club Secretary George Eddington. In August 1958, the club's new grandstand was opened by Sir Harry Pilkington. The structure cost £32,000 and could seat 2,400.

In September 1961, new metal goal posts replaced the wooden originals after storm damage. The new popular side enclosure was erected in 1962. The old wooden structure that it replaced was given to Liverpool City for their ground at Knotty Ash. Saints' new floodlighting system opened by Sir Harry Pilkington on 27 January 1965. The bar and restaurant complex was opened at Dunriding Lane End of the Knowsley Road stadium in 1973.

Players' dug outs were moved from the Main Stand to the Popular Side in 1983. In September 1989, work started on nine executive boxes and an electronic scoreboard at the Dunriding Lane End.

In 2006, Knowsley Road was renovated slightly. On the club's new sponsorship deal with Earth Money, the stadium got new signs, new dug outs were installed, as were the toilet facilities which had been long complained about by supporters.

In 2006, Knowsley Road was approved as an international Test venue after safety and capacity improvements. It subsequently hosted an international test fixture in 2006 between Great Britain and New Zealand, which Great Britain won.

In June 2007, club chairman Eamonn McManus announced plans for a new 18,000 capacity stadium, with a Tesco store and plaza with 2,000 car parking spaces for the 2011 Super League Season. These plans were approved by local councillors in May 2008. Plans were put on hold and building work did not start on time. Knowsley Road was closed at the end of the 2010 Super League Season and St Helens played their home games at Widnes' Stobart Stadium for the 2011 Super League Season.

The last first team match at Knowsley Road was the St. Helens vs Huddersfield game, a play-off semi-final on 24 September 2010. St. Helens won 42–22, the final try on the ground being scored by retiring club captain Keiron Cunningham.

Stadium records game Date Teams Attendance Notes1 26 December 1949 St Helens vs Wigan 35,695 Knowsley Road attendance record2 26 August 1996 St Helens vs Warrington 18,098 Super League attendance record3 10 April 1957 vs 23,250 Test match attendance record4 10 October 1959 St Helens vs 29,156 Tour match attendance record

Rugby League Test matches List of rugby league test matches played at Knowsley Road.Knowsley Road @ Rugby League Project Test No. Date Result Attendance Notes1 14 February 1914 England def. 16–12 10,000 2 25 February 1939 def. England 12–9 8,557 1938–39 European Rugby League Championship3 19 September 1951 def. 35–11 20,918 1951–52 European Rugby League Championship4 16 September 1953 def. 24–5 19,357 1953–54 European Rugby League Championship5 10 April 1957 def. 29–14 23,250 6 22 November 1958 def. 26–8 16,000 7 26 March 1960 drew with 17–17 13,165 8 28 January 1961 def. 27–8 14,804 9 30 November 1969 def. 34–10 6,080 10 17 March 1971 def. 24–2 7,783 11 28 May 1978 def. 60–13 9,759 1978 European Rugby League Championship12 13 October 1995 def. 22–6 8,679 1995 Rugby League World Cup Group B13 1 November 2000 def. 76–4 5,736 2000 Rugby League World Cup Group 114 28 June 2006 def 46–14 10,103 2006 Baskerville Shield

Rugby League Tour Matches Other than St Helens club games, Knowsley Road also saw St Helens, a combined St Helens – St Helens Recs XIII, the county team Lancashire and an English League XIII play host to international touring teams from Australia (sometimes playing as Australasia), New Zealand and France from 1907–2002.

Game Date Result Attendance Notes1 30 October 1907 def. St Helens 24–5 1907–08 All Golds tour2 22 February 1908 def. St Helens 21–10 4,0003 9 February 1909 St Helens def. 9–0 1,500 1908–09 Kangaroo Tour4 14 October 1911 Australasia def. St Helens 16–5 12,000 1911–12 Kangaroo Tour5 23 November 1921 Australasia def. St Helens 16–8 6,000 1921–22 Kangaroo Tour6 16 November 1929 St Helens drew with 18–18 9,500 1929–30 Kangaroo Tour7 2 December 1933 def. St Helens 20–11 5,735 1933–34 Kangaroo Tour8 2 December 1937 def. St Helens / St Helens Recs XIII 15–7 2,000 1937–38 Kangaroo tour9 2 September 1939 def. St Helens 19–3 4,000 1939 New Zealand Kiwis tour10 25 September 1947 def. St Helens 11–5 22,000 1947-48 New Zealand Kiwis tour11 14 October 1948 St Helens def. 10–8 20,175 1948–49 Kangaroo Tour12 30 August 1950 Italy def. St Helens 74–38 14,000 1950 Italy Tour13 20 October 1951 def. St Helens 33–10 18,210 1951–52 New Zealand Kiwis tour14 27 September 1952 St Helens def. 26–8 17,205 1952–53 Kangaroo Tour15 26 October 1955 St Helens def. 16–8 11,327 1955–56 New Zealand Kiwis tour16 24 November 1956 St Helens def. 44–2 15,579 1956–57 Kangaroo Tour17 23 September 1959 Lancashire def. 30–22 15,743 1959–60 Kangaroo Tour18 10 October 1959 def. St Helens 15–2 29,15619 22 November 1959 France def. Rugby League XIII 26–8 16,000 Friendly20 12 October 1960 St Helens def. 15–12 12,250 Australian 1960 Rugby League World Cup tour21 14 October 1961 St Helens def. 25–10 21,680 1961 New Zealand Kiwis tour22 28 September 1963 def. St Helens 8–2 21,284 1963–64 Kangaroo Tour23 15 September 1965 St Helens def. 28–7 11,270 1965 New Zealand Kiwis tour24 13 October 1965 def. Lancashire 21–10 8,78125 24 October 1967 St Helens def. 8–4 17,275 1967–68 Kangaroo Tour26 9 November 1970 St Helens def. 37–10 15,570 Australian 1970 Rugby League World Cup tour27 6 September 1971 St Helens def. 18–8 8,169 1971 New Zealand Kiwis tour28 15 November 1972 def. St Helens 24–9 10,000 Australian 1972 Rugby League World Cup tour29 13 November 1973 St Helens def. 11–7 10,013 1973 Kangaroo Tour30 12 October 1975 def. St Helens 32–7 10,170 Australian 1975 Rugby League World Cup tour31 12 November 1978 def. St Helens 26–6 16,352 1978 Kangaroo Tour32 31 October 1979 St Helens Amateurs def. Papua New Guinea 19–17 4,000 1979 Papua New Guinea tour33 12 October 1980 St Helens def. New Zealand 11–6 6,000 1980 New Zealand Kiwis tour34 17 October 1982 def. St Helens 32–0 8,190 1982 Kangaroo Tour35 27 October 1985 def. St Helens 46–8 7,897 1985 New Zealand Kiwis tour36 2 November 1986 def. St Helens 32–8 15,381 1986 Kangaroo Tour37 31 October 1987 Lancashire drew with Papua New Guinea 22–22 4,202 1987 Papua New Guinea Tour38 1 October 1989 St Helens def. New Zealand 27–26 6,940 1989 New Zealand Kiwis tour39 7 October 1990 def. St Helens 34–4 15,219 1990 Kangaroo Tour40 20 October 1993 def. St Helens 14–8 8,170 1993 New Zealand Kiwis tour41 1 November 1994 def. St Helens 32–14 13,911 1994 Kangaroo Tour42 25 October 2002 def. St Helens 38–26 5,162 2002 New Zealand Kiwis tour

See also English rugby league stadia by capacity Development of stadiums in English football

References

External links

St Helens website New St Helens stadium site Jon Wilkin column: On Knowsley Road and the new stadium