Kirklees Stadium
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| Full name | Galpharm Stadium |
|---|---|
| Former names | Alfred McAlpine Stadium |
| Location | Huddersfield, England |
| Coordinates | 53°39′15″N 1°46′6″W / 53.65417°N 1.76833°W |
| Owner | consortium |
| Operator | KSDL (Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd.) |
| Capacity | 24,500 |
| Field size | 115 x 76 yards |
| Surface | Grass with Under-soil heating |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1994 |
| Opened | 1994 |
| Tenants | |
| Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants | |
The Galpharm Stadium (formerly the Alfred McAlpine Stadium) is a multi-use sports stadium located in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England.
The Stadium
The Galpharm Stadium seats 24,500 people along with hospitality boxes and conference rooms. There are four stands. The Direct Golf UK 'main' Stand (often referred to as the Riverside Stand) incorporates two-tiers, with a row of 26 executive boxes running between the two tiers. The Britannia Rescue Stand, across from the Riverside and commonly referred to at the Kilner Bank Stand, is a large, single-tiered stand which seats over 7,000. It was previously sponsored by John Smith's and is still called this by many today. The Pink Link South Stand is usually allocated to away fans and seats 4,054. This is built into natural banking and is the most basic of the stands. The Fantastic Media North stand is the tallest stand with two tiers, 16 hospitality boxes and a viewing room for players' guests. The lower tier consists of temporary seating that can be removed for events such as concerts.
Construction
During planning and construction, the stadium was referred to as the Kirklees Stadium. It was built by Alfred McAlpine,[1] designed by HOK Sport and was awarded the RIBA Building of the Year award for 1995,[2]
The decision to build a new stadium for Huddersfield Town was made in August 1992, with construction beginning the following year and being completed in time for the 1994-95 season, enabling the Terriers to move to their new base after 86 years at Leeds Road.
When the stadium first opened only the two side stands (the Riverside and Kilner Bank stands) were ready. The South Stand was opened four months later in December 1994. Construction on the North (Panasonic) Stand began in 1996 and it was completed in 1997, bringing the overall capacity of the stadium to approximately 24,500. The estimated cost of construction was £40 million.
Ownership
Initially, the stadium was owned by a consortium made up of Kirklees Metropolitan Council, Huddersfield Town F.C. and Huddersfield Giants in a 40:40:20 proportion. Following the purchase of Huddersfield Town F.C. from the administrators Ken Davy became chairman of both sports clubs, which are owned by companies that he controls.[3] The present details of the ownership of the stadium is Ken Davy's company Huddersfield Sporting Pride 60% and Kirklees Metropolitan Council 40%. The current Managing director of the stadium company is Ralph Rimmer. On December 24th 2009, Huddersfield Town F.C. announced that 40% of the shares owned by Huddersfield Sporting Pride would be transferred to the current chairman Dean Hoyle, with the deal expected to be completed in the New Year.
Sponsorship
From 1994 until 2004 it was known as the Alfred McAlpine Stadium. The company had been the main construction contractor and had the name built into the payment contract for ten years. Alfred McAlpine elected not to renew their sponsorship and this was taken up by Galpharm Healthcare, leading to the new title. Individual stands are sponsored by local businesses.
Sporting venue
The venue is home to Huddersfield Giants RLFC and Huddersfield Town FC, hosting Bradford Bulls' World Club Challenge matches along with several semi-finals of the Challenge Cup. The stadium hosted its first match in August 1994 when Huddersfield Town were beaten 1–0 by Wycombe Wanderers in Football League Division 2. Former Blackburn Rovers player Simon Garner scored the goal.
The stadium has also been used for four full cap international rugby union matches. It hosted three qualifying matches for the 1999 Rugby World Cup and one pool match in the group itself. Half of the matches have seen century scores; by England against Netherlands (110-0) and the All Blacks versus Italy (101-3).[4]
| Date | Competition | Home team | Away team | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 November 1998 | 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying Europe Round C Pool 2 | England | 110 | Netherlands | 0 |
| 18 November 1998 | 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying Europe Round C Pool 2 | Italy | 67 | Netherlands | 7 |
| 22 November 1998 | 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying Europe Round C Pool 2 | England | 23 | Italy | 15 |
| 22 November 1998 | 1999 Rugby World Cup, Pool 2 | Italy | 3 | New Zealand | 101 |
Concert venue
In the summer of 1995, R.E.M. played two concerts at the venue which, over the course of two days, some 70,000 people attended. Elton John, Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Eagles, The Beautiful South and Blue have also performed concerts in the stadium.
References
External links
