Welford Road (currently known as Mattioli Woods Welford Road for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union stadium in Leicester, England, and is the home ground of Leicester Tigers. The ground was opened on 10 September 1892, and is located between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the southern edge of the city centre. The ground was developed in two main periods: either side of the First World War stands were built on both sides, and then between 1995 and 2016 both ends were developed and the north side redeveloped. The stadium has a capacity of 25,849, making it the largest purpose-built club rugby union ground in England. It hosted five full England national team matches between 1902 and 1923, and staged a single match at both the 1991 and 1999 Rugby World Cups.
History
In 1891 Leicester rented a ground in the north of the city, named the Belgrave Road Cycle and Cricket Ground, on the Belgrave Road, where Roberts Road and Buller Road now stand. At the end of the 1890/91 season Leicester applied for a renewal of the lease but found the terms unacceptable. A committee was formed to find a suitable new ground, and in December 1891 accepted the town corporation's offer of a 10-year lease on the ground between Aylestone Road and Welford Road, at the time this was on the southern edge of the built-up town. The lease was signed in March 1892, and £1,100 was spent levelling, draining and preparing the ground.
The ground was opened on 10 September 1892 when Leicester played the first game at the ground against a Leicestershire XV. The first stands accommodated 3,000 spectators and that season saw derby matches produce attendances up to 7,000 whilst 10,000 saw Leicester lose 12-0 to Coventry in the second round of the Midlands Counties Cup. The original clubhouse built in 1909 was located on Aylestone Road; the ground was known as Welford Road rather than Aylestone Road, for at this time the cricket club played on another sports ground on the Aylestone Road. The Members' Stand and the Crumbie Stand were built just before and just after the First World War respectively.
The east side of the ground was developed in 1995; originally terracing on an ash bank, it became an all-seater modern stand. Initially named the Alliance and Leicester Stand, it has been known as the Mattioli Woods Stand since the 2016–17 season. The total ground capacity is currently 25,849, after the north stand (Members' Stand originally) was redeveloped in 2008 and the west stand (previously clubhouse end) in 2016.
The newly opened West Stand (Robin Hood Stand) is a new all-seating stand replacing the original 1909 clubhouse and a 1980s extension at the Aylestone Road end. Costing £6.7m, the new stand has 2,917 spaces for general admittance & 190 executive seats. Replacing a temporary stand housing 992 places, it has brought the capacity of the stadium to 25,849. The stand is currently known as the Robin Hood Stand due to a sponsorship agreement with Nottingham Building Society.
Before redevelopment of Welford Road began in 2008, Leicester Tigers explored many other options. On 23 November 2004 the club announced that it had entered into a 50–50 joint venture with the city's main football club, Leicester City, to purchase City's current ground, King Power Stadium, then known as the Walkers Stadium. If the purchase had gone through, the Tigers would have surrendered their lease on Welford Road and moved into Walkers Stadium. However, after several months of talks, the two clubs could not agree as to which side would have priority at Walkers Stadium, and they ended any ground-share plans in July 2005.
Leicester Tigers purchased the freehold to the ground and adjacent land in 2006; prior to this, the club operated on a long-term 99-year rolling lease from the city council.
On 11 June 2007, the club announced plans that it was working with AFL, a company then involved in redeveloping Manchester United's Old Trafford, on a redevelopment plan which would raise the capacity from 17,498 to 25,000 by 2011.
On 20 February 2008, Leicester Tigers received planning consent for the £60 million redevelopment of its Welford Road home. The first phase of the development would include space for 10,000 supporters in a new North Stand (Granby Halls side), raising capacity from 17,498 to 24,000. After full renovation it would have a capacity of above 30,000.