In 1990 Newcastle Gosforth, as the Falcons were then known, moved into their new ground Kingston Park, which they had purchased for £55,000.[1] Prior to Newcastle Gosforth moving in, the site had been the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Sports Ground.
View of exterior of West and South stands
The stadium has a capacity of 10,200 people. The stadium was built in stages, with the West Stand being the newest and most modern. There are plans to expand the exposed North Stand to give more protection from the elements and to provide more facilities for the fans. The South Stand (John Smith's stand) is all standing but it has good protection from the elements and facilities for the fans underneath the stand.
Through the 2013–14 rugby and football seasons, the stadium had a grass surface. In March 2014, Premiership Rugby approved Newcastle Falcons' plan to install an advanced artificial pitch during the 2014 close season, and Newcastle City Council approved the plan in May. The new artificial pitch, the second in Premiership Rugby, was installed by SIS Pitches, the company responsible for the Premiership's first such pitch at Saracens'Copthall Stadium.[2]
Northumbria University and the club are to develop the UK's first ever rugby-based Centre of Sporting Excellence at Kingston Park.
Ownership
Newcastle Falcons own the stadium, having bought the ground back in June 2015. The stadium was previously owned by Northumbria University who bought it in late 2008 for an undisclosed fee.[3] The Newcastle Falcons were leasing the site back from Northumbria University, in a similar fashion to the agreement with the previous owner. Included in the university deal for the 23-acre (93,000 m2) site is the rugby stadium, the land around the stadium and the car park. The former owner was the Northern Rock bank, who purchased it in 2007 for £14,756,646.[4][5]
Rugby League internationals
On 28 August 2019, it was announced that Kingston Park would host three games of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup (now to be held in 2022). These games were originally planned to be hosted at a new stadium built in Workington but in early July 2019, Allerdale Council announced that they would be unable to host the games as the project to build a new stadium had stalled.
^Evans, Stewart Martin (2007). Pride in the lion : the history of Newcastle University Rugby Football Club. Newcastle University. ISBN978-0-7017-0217-5.
