Old Craven Park
Encyclopedia
Old Craven Park was a stadium in Hull
, England
. It was the home of Hull Kingston Rovers
rugby league
club between 1922 and 1989.
Hull KR moved to Craven Park from their cramped Craven Street Ground in 1922. The club purchased and developed a site behind the tram and bus depot on the eastern end of Holderness Road and it hosted its first game on 2 September 1922. The ground staged Great Britain
Test matches in 1926 (a 21-11 win against New Zealand
) and in 1929 (an 8-31 loss to Australia).
Craven Park also hosted greyhound racing
. Hull KR
sold the ground to the Greyhound Racing Company in 1930s due to financial difficulties, securing a long term lease to continue playing there.
In the early 1970s Hull KR
purchased a site at Winchester Avenue with the aim of building a new stadium there. These plans never came to fruition and the site was later sold to a private developer. The profit made from this land was used to buy back Craven Park with greyhound racing continuing as a subsidiary concern.
Following the Bradford City stadium fire, capacity was restricted and costs of safety work spiraled. With the club in debt the ground was sold to developers and the final game was played there on 9 April 1989.
The ground was demolished and a supermarket
was built on the land originally belonging to Co-op, it is now occupied by Morrisons
.
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, 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 was the home of Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...
rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club between 1922 and 1989.
Hull KR moved to Craven Park from their cramped Craven Street Ground in 1922. The club purchased and developed a site behind the tram and bus depot on the eastern end of Holderness Road and it hosted its first game on 2 September 1922. The ground staged Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
Test matches in 1926 (a 21-11 win against New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
) and in 1929 (an 8-31 loss to Australia).
Craven Park also hosted greyhound racing
Greyhound racing
Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....
. Hull KR
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...
sold the ground to the Greyhound Racing Company in 1930s due to financial difficulties, securing a long term lease to continue playing there.
In the early 1970s Hull KR
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...
purchased a site at Winchester Avenue with the aim of building a new stadium there. These plans never came to fruition and the site was later sold to a private developer. The profit made from this land was used to buy back Craven Park with greyhound racing continuing as a subsidiary concern.
Following the Bradford City stadium fire, capacity was restricted and costs of safety work spiraled. With the club in debt the ground was sold to developers and the final game was played there on 9 April 1989.
The ground was demolished and a supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
was built on the land originally belonging to Co-op, it is now occupied by Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
.
Structure
The old Craven Park had an East Stand standing area, near the tram and bus depot, and seating opposite in the Main Stand.See also
- Craven Park