Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium
Twickers The Cabbage Patch Headquarters
2009 aerial view of Twickenham Stadium
Data
place	Whitton Road Twickenham TW2 7BA, London , United Kingdom
Coordinates	51 ° 27 '21.7 "  N , 0 ° 20' 29.3"  W Coordinates: 51 ° 27 '21.7 "  N , 0 ° 20' 29.3"  W.
owner	Rugby Football Union (RFU)
start of building	1907
opening	October 2, 1909
First game	October 2, 1909 Harlequins - Richmond
Renovations	1921, 1927, 1932, 1981, 1990, 1995, 2005-2006, 2014, 2017-2018
surface	Natural grass
costs	£ 80m (2005-2006) £ 81m (2017-2018)
capacity	82,000 seats
playing area	125 × 70 m
Societies)
English national rugby union team
Events
Rugby Union World Cup 1991 Rugby Union World Cup 1999 Rugby Union World Cup 2015 Gallagher Premiership finals (since 1988) Heineken Cup finals 2000, 2004, 2007, 2012 Final of the European Rugby Champions Cup 2014/15 Anglo-Welsh Cup finals (1972-2009) Challenge Cup finals 2001, 2006 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series (since 2000) Game of the National Football League (2016) Concerts Meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses (annually)

The Twickenham Stadium , often also referred to as Twickers or just Twickenham , is a stadium in the London borough of Twickenham in the Richmond upon Thames district which is primarily used for rugby union games . With a capacity of 82,000, it is the second largest sports facility in the United Kingdom after the new Wembley Stadium and the largest rugby union stadium in the world. Twickenham is home to the English rugby federation Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the venue for international matches for the England rugby union team . The East Stand of the stadium is home to the World Rugby Museum . When The Museum of Rugby opened in 1996, it was given its current name in 2007.

history

After sold-out international matches against the All Blacks and the Springboks in Crystal Palace , the RFU recognized the benefits of having their own stadium. In 1907 the Association acquired a 10¼  acre site in Twickenham for £ 5,572  and 12½  shillings on which cabbage had previously been grown. This fact brought the sports facility the affectionate name Cabbage Patch ( German Kohlacker ). The first grandstands were built the following year. After further investments in access roads, the opening game between the Harlequins and Richmond took place on October 2, 1909 . The first international match with England against Wales followed on January 15, 1910 in front of 20,000 spectators. During the First World War , cows, horses and sheep grazed on the stadium lawn. King George V unveiled a war memorial in 1921.  

During the 1991 World Cup , Twickenham hosted the Group A games and the final between the Wallabies and England. During the 1999 World Cup , which was actually hosted by Wales, several games were played here, including both semi-finals.

The stadium was continuously expanded. As of 1995 the capacity was 75,000 spectators. Between June 2005 and November 2006 the south stand was completely renewed, increasing the stadium capacity to 82,000 seats. The cost of 80 million £ , the incorporation of goods VIP - boxes , a new four-star - Marriott - Hotel with 156 rooms, a cultural center, include a leisure club and various other facilities.

In 2015, Twickenham Stadium hosted group matches, a quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final of the Rugby Union World Cup . During the World Cup, the stadium has a capacity of 81,605 spectators.

In December 2016, the Rugby Football Union announced plans to remodel the East Stand . The city had issued the building permit and work began in spring 2017. An additional area of ​​approx. 11,600 m² was created on six levels, which is used for restaurants, event rooms and new boxes. In early March 2018, it was announced that the cost of the renovation had increased due to the demands of the Rugby Football Union. The association demanded that the grandstands also have to withstand a bomb explosion. The previously estimated costs of EUR 62 million rose by EUR 11.4 million to EUR 73.4 million. After the major fire in Grenfell Tower on June 14, 2017 with 71 deaths, the fire protection in the stadium should also be improved to prevent such a disaster in Twickenham Stadium. The east stand, which was converted for £ 81 million, was inaugurated on November 3, 2018 as part of the rugby union international match between England and South Africa  (12:11). The designs for the redesign were created by the KSS Design Group in collaboration with Wildfire London.

Events

In addition to the international matches of the English national rugby union teams, it is the venue for other sporting and cultural events as well as concerts . The final of the English Premiership as well as individual games in the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup or, since 2014, the European Rugby Champions Cup and tournaments of the World Rugby Sevens Series take place here.

Although the facility is mostly only used for rugby union games, it has also served as a venue for other events. This includes finals of the Challenge Cup , the rugby league cup competition.

The Jehovah's Witnesses regularly use the stadium for their annual congresses. In 2014, the 60th anniversary of the event was celebrated in front of more than 50,000 visitors.

On October 23, 2016, the first American football game of the National Football League (NFL) was played at Twickenham Stadium. The game of the regular season in front of 75,000 spectators won the New York Giants against the Los Angeles Rams with 17:10. This was the first time in the history of the stadium, which is over 100 years old, that it was used for a sport other than rugby. It was also the first NFL guest appearance in London that did not take place at Wembley Stadium .

The stoop

Just a few hundred meters south is the Twickenham Stoop Stadium , or The Stoop for short , the stadium, built in 1963, is home to the Harlequins from the English Premiership , the top division of men in the English rugby union. The RFU invited the Quins to play at the new Twickenham Stadium in 1906.

gallery

• 

  Before the renovation of the South Stand

• 

  During the renovation in August 2006

• 

  Final of the English Premiership 2007/08 at Twickenham

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  West side of Twickenham in January 2011

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  Twickenham Stadium in May 2012

See also

• List of the largest stadiums in the world

literature

• Ed Harris: Twickenham the History: From Cabbages to Concerts , SportsBooks 2005. ISBN 1899807292
• Iain Spragg: Twickenham - 100 Years of Rugby's HQ , Vision Sports Publishing 2010. ISBN 9781905326761

Web links

Commons : Twickenham Stadium  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Twickenham Stadium on the website of the Rugby Football Union (English)
• Twickenham Stadium (the Twickers) on stadiumdb.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ England Rugby: History of Twickenham Stadium. (English)
2. ^ England Rugby: World Rugby Museum. (English)
3. ↑ Stadiums for RWC 2015. (No longer available online.) Planet Rugby, July 28, 2009, archived from the original on July 31, 2009 ; accessed on July 28, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ rugbyworldcup.com: Twickenham Stadium on the Rugby World Cup website ( memento of the original from November 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) 
5. ^ Renovation of the Home of England Rugby. In: stadionwelt.de. December 19, 2016, accessed November 8, 2018 . 
6. ^ Twickenham: Renovation costs are rising. In: stadionwelt.de. March 1, 2018, accessed November 8, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Ben Morgan: First look at Twickenham Stadium's new East Stand restaurants. In: standard.co.uk. Evening Standard , October 5, 2018, accessed November 8, 2018 . 
8. ^ East grandstand opened at Twickenham Stadium. In: stadionwelt.de. November 8, 2018, accessed November 8, 2018 . 
9. ^ East Stand. In: twickenhamexperience.com. Retrieved November 8, 2018 . 
10. ↑ Twickenham Stadium concert list. In: setlist.fm. Retrieved November 8, 2018 . 
11. ^ Daily Mirror : Thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses gather at Twickenham Stadium for huge baptism ceremony. Article from August 27, 2014
12. ↑ bbc.com : NFL: New York Giants beat Los Angeles Rams 17-10 at Twickenham Article from October 23, 2016 (English)