The stoop
| Twickenham Stoop Stadium | |
|---|---|
| The stoop | |
|
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| Earlier names | |
|
Stoop Memorial Ground |
|
| Data | |
| place | Twickenham , London , England |
| Coordinates | 51 ° 27 ′ 1 ″ N , 0 ° 20 ′ 39 ″ W |
| start of building | 1963 |
| opening | 1963 |
| capacity | 14,800 |
| Societies) | |
|
Harlequins (since 1963) |
|
The Stoop is a stadium in the south-west London borough of Twickenham . It seats 14,816 spectators and is the home of the rugby club Harlequin FC , which was founded in 1866 and plays in the English Premiership , the highest English league. The Stoop was also home to the London Broncos rugby league team from 1997 to 1999 and 2006 to 2013 .
As early as 1906, the Quins moved to the much more famous Twickenham Stadium , which is only a few hundred meters away. In 1963 the club then acquired a 57,000 m² track and field area on which the Stoop was built.
Initially, the official name was Stoop Memorial Ground . In 2005, the name was changed to Twickenham Stoop Stadium , but the unofficial name is far more common. The stadium is named after Adrian Stoop , a Dutch immigrant who played for England and who was President of Harlequin FC for 29 years.
