Kingston Park is a multi-purpose stadium

Multi-purpose stadium

Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...

 in Kingston Park

Kingston Park

Kingston Park is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, about north west of the city centre. It is home to several large retailers, the largest being one of Tesco's flagship stores—at 11,055 square metres which is also the largest supermarket in the UK...

, Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is used mostly for rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 matches and is the home stadium of Newcastle Falcons

Newcastle Falcons

The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in...

. The stadium is also used for the Newcastle United Reserves

Newcastle United F.C. Reserves and Academy

Newcastle United F.C. Reserves and Academy are the reserve and academy teams for the Premier League club Newcastle United.The reserve team plays in the Premier Reserve League North. It also participates in the Northumberland Senior Cup each season...

 to play their home matches. From 2007 to 2009 it was home to semi-professional football team Newcastle Blue Star

Newcastle Blue Star F.C.

Newcastle Blue Star F.C. was a football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was established in 1930 and joined the Wearside League in 1973. In 1978, it won the FA Vase. Having won promotion to the Northern Premier League Premier Division at the end of the 2008/09 season via the...

.

The ground

In 1990 Newcastle Gosforth, as the Falcons were then known, moved into their new ground Kingston Park, which they had purchased for £55,000. Prior to Newcastle Gosforth moving in, the site had been the Newcastle Chronicle and Journal Sports Ground.

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.

The nearest Tyne and Wear Metro

Tyne and Wear Metro

The Tyne and Wear Metro, also known as the Metro, is a light rail system in North East England, serving Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland. It opened in 1980 and in 2007–2008 provided 40 million public journeys on its network of nearly...

 station is the Bank Foot station.

Northumbria University

Northumbria University

Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...

 and the club are to develop the UK’s first ever rugby-based Centre of Sporting Excellence at Kingston Park.

Ownership

The stadium is owned by Northumbria University

Northumbria University

Northumbria University is an academic institution located in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England. It is a member of the University Alliance.- History :...

 who bought it in late 2008 for an undisclosed fee. Newcastle Falcons lease 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 acres (93,077.8 m²) site is the rugby stadium, the land around the stadium and the car park. The former owner was the Northern Rock

Northern Rock

Northern Rock plc is a British bank, best known for becoming the first bank in 150 years to suffer a bank run after having had to approach the Bank of England for a loan facility, to replace money market funding, during the credit crisis in 2007.  Having failed to find a commercial buyer for...

bank, who purchased it in 2007 for £14,756,646.

External links

• Kingston Park at Newcastle Falcons