Wilderspool Stadium was a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

stadium in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the

Halliwell Jones Stadium The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England, which is the home ground of the Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day, ...

History

In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lease was agreed with Greenall Whitley for land on the east side of their previous ground, a pitch previously used by Latchford Rovers Rugby Club. Warrington's previous pitch was used to build houses in Fletcher Street. Wilderspool Stadium was modernised and extended in the inter-war period, becoming one of the finest venues in rugby league, and being awarded host status for Championship finals, Challenge Cup semi-finals, and tour games. A new west perimeter wall and turnstiles were built at Wilderspool around 1921. In 1925 the supporters' club provided Warrington with covered accommodation on the popular side of the ground and two years later, they donated a scoreboard. In 1926, the perimeter wooden fence being replaced by a concrete wall. New dressing rooms underneath the main stand were opened in January 1934. Wilderspool's record attendance was created in the 1948-9 season when 34,304 spectators turned up to see Warrington lose only their second game of the season to Wigan. During the Second World War, Wilderspool was requisitioned for the war effort; being used as a storage depot. In April, 1953, Wilderspool staged its first international, a match between Wales and Other Nationalities. In 1958, the popular side terracing became fully covered and soon after the Fletcher Street End was given a roof. In 1965, floodlights were installed at Wilderspool. A stand was completely destroyed by arson in 1982. The Brian Bevan stand was built in 1983 to replace the one lost to arson. During the

1994 Kangaroo tour The 1994 Kangaroo Tour was the 18th and last Kangaroo Tour played in the conventional format, where the Australia national rugby league team (known as the XXXX Kangaroos due to sponsorship reasons) played a number of matches against British and Fre ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

defeated Warrington 24-0 at Wilderspool before a crowd of 11,244 in the Kangaroos' last game at the ground. The record

Kangaroo Tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours t ...

attendance at the stadium was on the 1948-9 tour when 26,879 saw Warrington defeat the Kangaroos 16-7. Warrington RLFC left Wilderspool for the

in 2003. The final game was played in September 2003 with Warrington beating Wakefield 52–12. The stadium was finally demolished between August and October 2014. A plan for 160 houses on the site was submitted in 2019, more than 16 years after the final game at Wilderspool. The scoreboard from Wilderspool was restored and placed in Warrington's Victoria Park in 2017.

Rugby League Test matches

List of Test and World Cup matches played at Wilderspool Stadium.Wilderspool results @ Rugby League Project
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Rugby League Tour Matches

Wilderspool also saw Warrington and the county team

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

play host to various international touring teams from 1907–1994.

References

{{1995 RLWC Venues Buildings and structures in Warrington Sports venues in Cheshire Warrington Wolves Rugby League World Cup stadiums Defunct rugby league venues in England Sport in Warrington 1881 establishments in England 2014 disestablishments in England Sports venues completed in 1881 Sports venues demolished in 2014