Twickenham Stoop

Not to be confused with Twickenham Stadium.

This article is about the British stadium. For the 2008 album by Little Jackie, see The Stoop (album).

Twickenham Stoop
Full name	Twickenham Stoop Stadium
Location	Chertsey Road Twickenham London, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°27′1″N 0°20′39″W
Built	1963
Opened	1963
Capacity	14,816 [1]
Tenants
Harlequin F.C. (Aviva Premiership) (1963–present) London Scottish F.C. (Allied Dunbar Premiership) (1998–1999) London Broncos (Super League) (2006–present) London Broncos (Super League) (1997–1999)

Twickenham Stoop (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a sports stadium located in the western suburbs of London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Aviva Premiership, and London Broncos, who play in the Super League. The stadium has a capacity of 14,816.

History

The new South Stand pre-match at the Four Nations game between Australia and New Zealand

The LV Stand pre-match at the Four Nations game between the Kangaroos and the Kiwis

The North Stand pre-match at the Four Nations game between Australia and New Zealand

Harlequins RL vs St Helens in 2006

The Etihad Stand pre-game at the Four Nations game between Australia and New Zealand

View from the old South Stand at the first ever home game for the rebranded Harlequins Rugby League team

Harlequins before the Stoop

In 1906, Harlequins were invited by the Rugby Football Union to use the new national stadium in Twickenham. In those early days, only one or two internationals were played there during the season, and it wasn't long before the RFU ground became the headquarters of the Harlequin Football Club.

Early days

In 1963, the Quins acquired an athletics ground with 14 acres (57,000 m²) just across the road from the RFU ground, which became the Harlequin training pitch. The ground was named Stoop Memorial Ground after Adrian Stoop, a former England international and longtime Harlequins player and president but is generally known as "The Stoop" with even the Harlequins' official website frequently using the informal name.

Redevelopment

The ground's official name changed in July 2005 to Twickenham Stoop Stadium.

The redeveloped Lexus Stand on the western side of the ground opened in September 2005.

For the beginning of the 2007–2008 season there will be a new temporary stand in place until Richmond council agree to a permanent one. The difference with the old temporary stand is the new one will have a roof. Mark Evans (Chief Executive) confirmed at the pre season conference there will be no increase or reduction in the number of seats. He announced that the stand served purely to improve comfort for supporters with a small increase in ticket prices in this stand from £15-£17. The club may not break even on the stand by the time the season ends.

Rugby league

In 2006, the rugby league club formerly known as London Broncos joined Harlequins at The Stoop, becoming Harlequins Rugby League. In 2006 the stadium held a Harlequins rugby union match and a Harlequins rugby league game on the same day. The rugby union match was played first, and in just a few hours the stadium was switched over for the Super League match. This involved changing field markings, advertising boardings and such.

Since 2006, The Stoop has also been home to the annual Rugby League Varsity Match between Oxford University and Cambridge University.

On 24 October 2009 the ground hosted the second match of the 2009 Rugby League Four Nations between world champions New Zealand and defending tournament champions (in Tri-Nations mode), Australia which resulted in a 20-all draw, 12,360 people attended the game making it the largest rugby league crowd at the venue beating the 1997 World Club Championship match between the London Broncos and Canberra Raiders where 7,819 people attended.

International rugby union

The ground played host to the final of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.

External links

• Twickenham Stoop Stadium at Google Maps.
• The Stoop on Worldstadia.com
• Harlequins Rugby League