Sport in Leeds
Encyclopedia
Leeds
has a strong sporting heritage, with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club
, Leeds Rhinos
(the rugby league
team) and Leeds Carnegie (the rugby union
team) playing at Headingley Stadium
, and Leeds United A.F.C.
playing at Elland Road
. The Headquarters of the Rugby Football League
is based in Leeds.
and Sheffield
, Leeds
has just one football league team, being the city with the largest population to have just one team in the top four divisions of English football (the Premier League and the three leagues comprising The Football League
).
Leeds United will play the 2007-08 season in Football League One
, the third level of the English league system; this will be the first time since the club's election to The Football League in 1920 that they have played outside the top two divisions. They were relegated from the second-level Football League Championship
as a direct result of a 10-point deduction for going into administration. They had been in The Championship since 2004, when a financial crisis and loss of key players cost them their Premiership status and almost put them out of business. Their greatest successes came under the leadership of manager Don Revie
in the late 1960s and 1970s, when they were league champions twice as well as winning the League Cup, F.A Cup and European Fairs Cup. They also won the league title in 1992, when Howard Wilkinson
was manager, the teams last major trophy. There is also an affiliated Ladies team Leeds United L.F.C.
whose closest chance at silverware was in the 2006 FA Women's Cup
, losing to Arsenal L.F.C.
.
Farsley Celtic AFC are a non-league football team from the Farsley
district of West Leeds, and play their home games at Throstle Nest. Another non-league team in Leeds is Garforth Town, who play in East Leeds.
Leeds Carnegie L.F.C. are an English women's football club in the FA Women's National Premier League. They play at Farsley Celtic's Throstle Nest ground, having previously played at Tadcaster
Albion's ground, The Park.
Leeds City Vixens L.F.C.
play in the Northern Combination Women's Football League
and last season the finished 2nd in the league. They moved ground from Adel Memorial to The Bracken Edge the same ground as Yorkshire Amateur A.F.C..
Founded as Leeds St. Johns in 1895 the club is now known as the Leeds Rhinos
have a long history. In recent years the team has comepted in several major finals. Under coach Graham Murray
they competed in the first Super League grand final in 1998 but were defeated by Wigan Warriors
. A year later Leeds won the Rugby League Challenge Cup
, defeating London Broncos at Wembley in the last final held at Wembley stadium before its re-building. After several years without a trophy the appointment of Tony Smith of coach saw Leeds top the league at the end of the season and went on to be crowned Super League
champions on 16 October 2004 after defeating arch rivals Bradford Bulls
16-8 at Old Trafford
. In 2005 the Rhinos reached the final of both the Challenge Cup and the Super League but lost both games to Hull and Bradford Bulls respectively. Leeds now hold the 2007 crown after thrashing former champions St Helens 33-6 in the Grand Final. This was Coach Tony Smith's final game before leaving to be G.B coach and this win makes it two grand final trophies in four years. They won the next two super league grand finals, topping the regular season league table in the latter, setting a record for the most consecutive grand final wins. They also won the crown in 2011, coming from 5th place after the regular season rounds. The team reached the challenge cup final for the first time at the redeveloped Wembley Stadium
in 2010, and then again in 2011, losing out 6-30 to the Warrington Wolves
and then 18-28 to Wigan Warriors
. Leeds Rhinos are the best supported Rugby League club in the United Kingdom
, their Headingley ground holds up to 20,500 spectators and is regularly filled, with sell out's particularly common, at games against Bradford Bulls, St. Helens and Wigan Warriors. Leeds Based Tetley's Bitter, Leeds Building Society
, Jet2 and Leeds Carnegie are all major sponsors of the Leeds Rhinos.
Hunslet Hawks
are a rugby league
team based in the Hunslet
district of South Leeds. They were formed in May 1883 with the merger of two local teams. They were the first club to win All Four Cups
, which they did in the 1907-08 season. They currently play in National League Two. Hunslet now play at the John Charles Centre for Sport
(formerly the South Leeds Stadium). Hunslet have one of the best grounds in their league.
Bramley Buffaloes
are a rugby league
team based in the Bramley
district of West Leeds. Bramley were founded in 1879. At the end of the 1999 season Bramley resigned from the Northern Ford Premiership to become a feeder team for Leeds Rhinos, but this never materialised. They were reformed as a supporter-owned club and now play in National League Three.
There are numerous British Amateur Rugby League Association
teams based in Leeds. Leeds is considered to be in the Rugby League Heartland. East Leeds RLFC and Wetherby Bulldogs have enjoyed success in recent years as amateur rugby league clubs. Rugby League is also played at many secondary schools in the Leeds district as well.
Leeds Carnegie (Part of Leeds Metropolitan University
) sponsor the Challenge Cup
as well as Headingley Stadium
, they have become one of the biggest sponsors in British Sport outside of Football.
in the Powergen Cup
final. However the teams fortunes declined and in 2006 they were relegated from the Guinness Premiership
. After one season in National Division One they won promotion back to the top flight of rugby union.
Shortly after the end of the 2006-07 season, Leeds Metropolitan University
bought a 51% stake in the club and renamed it Leeds Carnegie, after the university's sport faculty of Carnegie College.
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
have played most of their games at Headingley Stadium
, Leeds since 1888.
Test match cricket has been played there since 1899. As shown in the picture right.
moved to leeds in 2007 and have been playing there everysince. Currently all there home games are played in the John Charles Stadium (Formerly South Leeds Stadium).
The Rams have a small but very dedicated fan base, with attendances regularly between 100-200. They are currently playing there football in the BAFL Division 1.
football stadium, a host stadium during the 1996 European Football Championship, 22,000 capacity Carnegie Headingley Stadium
, world famous for both Cricket
and rugby league
, South Leeds Stadium used for athletics, bowls, football, rugby league and tennis. Other facilities include the Leeds Wall (climbing), Xscape (real snow indoor ski and snowboard slope with ice climbing wall) and Yeadon Tarn, sailing centre.
Leeds' 50m international pool has now being demolished.
There is one racecourse within the Leeds City area, and that is Wetherby Racecourse
. Wetherby is a National Hunt racecourse (incidentally the only one in Yorkshire). West Yorkshire has a flat racecourse at Pontefract
. Racedays attract people from across the UK to Wetherby
. Wetherby is a medium sized raceourse (although one of the larger ones in Yorkshire). The nearest major racecourse to Leeds is York
.
Amongst the best courses in the area are Alwoodley, Moortown and Moor Allerton. Alwoodley is an 18 hole heathland course which has hosted many national tournaments. Moortown is also a 18 hole heathland course which has, in the past staged many national events and the Ryder Cup. Moor Allerton is a 27 hole parkland course that has hosted many national tournaments including European Tour events.
All 3 of these courses can be found north of the city, just north of the Leeds city ring road.
Leeds' first major pool was the Leeds International Pool
, designed by disgraced architect, John Poulson
, this opened in 1967 and was inches too narrow to qualify as an Olympic standard pool. These closed in October 2007 and were replaced by the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Centre for Sport
. This offers an enlarged diving pool with a movable floor for alterations to the pools depth, as well as a 50m Olympic standard pool, with two inflatable booms enabling it to be divided up should this be desired. The new Aquatics centre also has an enlarged area for spectators around both pools. The Leeds International Pool has now closed and since been demolished.
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
has a strong sporting heritage, with the Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
, Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
(the 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...
team) and Leeds Carnegie (the 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...
team) playing at Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, and Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
playing at Elland Road
Elland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
. The Headquarters of the Rugby Football League
Rugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
is based in Leeds.
Football
In the early 20th Century Leeds was known as a rugby town. The first football team to bear the name of the city were called Leeds City F.C..Leeds City. However this team was disqualified from the league for financial breaches. In 1919 http://www.lufctalk.com/forums/|Leeds United]] were formed. Unlike many northern cities such as ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
has just one football league team, being the city with the largest population to have just one team in the top four divisions of English football (the Premier League and the three leagues comprising The Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
).
Leeds United will play the 2007-08 season in Football League One
Football League One
Football League One is the second-highest division of The Football League and third-highest division overall in the English football league system....
, the third level of the English league system; this will be the first time since the club's election to The Football League in 1920 that they have played outside the top two divisions. They were relegated from the second-level Football League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
as a direct result of a 10-point deduction for going into administration. They had been in The Championship since 2004, when a financial crisis and loss of key players cost them their Premiership status and almost put them out of business. Their greatest successes came under the leadership of manager Don Revie
Don Revie
Donald George 'Don' Revie, OBE, , was an English footballer who played for Leicester City, Hull City, Sunderland, Manchester City and Leeds United as a deep-lying centre forward. After managing Leeds United he managed England from 1974 until 1977...
in the late 1960s and 1970s, when they were league champions twice as well as winning the League Cup, F.A Cup and European Fairs Cup. They also won the league title in 1992, when Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson
Howard Wilkinson is a former English football player and manager, and has recently stepped down as a Non-Executive Director at Sheffield Wednesday after formerly relinquishing the chairman role to Milan Mandaric...
was manager, the teams last major trophy. There is also an affiliated Ladies team Leeds United L.F.C.
Leeds United L.F.C.
Leeds United Ladies Football Club are an English women's football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. They compete in the FA Women's Premier League National Division for the 2009–10 season and are one of two Yorkshire teams in the FA Women's Premier League National Division, along with...
whose closest chance at silverware was in the 2006 FA Women's Cup
FA Women's Cup
The Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier...
, losing to Arsenal L.F.C.
Arsenal L.F.C.
Arsenal Ladies Football Club are an English women's association football club affiliated with Arsenal F.C.. Founded in 1987, they are the most successful club in English women's football having won 34 major trophies to date; which are 12 FA Women's Premier League titles, 11 FA Women's Cups, ten...
.
Farsley Celtic AFC are a non-league football team from the Farsley
Farsley
Farsley is a commuter town in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England 6 miles to the west of Leeds city centre, and 4 miles east of Bradford. It was formerly in the municipal borough of nearby Pudsey....
district of West Leeds, and play their home games at Throstle Nest. Another non-league team in Leeds is Garforth Town, who play in East Leeds.
Leeds Carnegie L.F.C. are an English women's football club in the FA Women's National Premier League. They play at Farsley Celtic's Throstle Nest ground, having previously played at Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
Albion's ground, The Park.
Leeds City Vixens L.F.C.
Leeds City Vixens L.F.C.
Leeds City Vixens Ladies Football Club is an English women's football team founded in 1993 by Martin Cockerill, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
play in the Northern Combination Women's Football League
Northern Combination Women's Football League
The Northern Combination Women's Football League, also known simply as the Northern Combination, is at the fourth level of the English women's football pyramid, along with the three other Combination Leagues - South West, South East and Midland...
and last season the finished 2nd in the league. They moved ground from Adel Memorial to The Bracken Edge the same ground as Yorkshire Amateur A.F.C..
Rugby league
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
have a long history. In recent years the team has comepted in several major finals. Under coach Graham Murray
Graham Murray
Graham Murray is an Australian rugby league player and coach. Murray is currently the High Performance Unit Director of Coaching at the Newcastle Knights.-Playing career:...
they competed in the first Super League grand final in 1998 but were defeated by Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
. A year later Leeds won the Rugby League Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
, defeating London Broncos at Wembley in the last final held at Wembley stadium before its re-building. After several years without a trophy the appointment of Tony Smith of coach saw Leeds top the league at the end of the season and went on to be crowned Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
champions on 16 October 2004 after defeating arch rivals Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
16-8 at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (football)
Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 75,811, Old Trafford is the second-largest football stadium in England after Wembley, the third-largest in the United Kingdom and the eleventh-largest in Europe...
. In 2005 the Rhinos reached the final of both the Challenge Cup and the Super League but lost both games to Hull and Bradford Bulls respectively. Leeds now hold the 2007 crown after thrashing former champions St Helens 33-6 in the Grand Final. This was Coach Tony Smith's final game before leaving to be G.B coach and this win makes it two grand final trophies in four years. They won the next two super league grand finals, topping the regular season league table in the latter, setting a record for the most consecutive grand final wins. They also won the crown in 2011, coming from 5th place after the regular season rounds. The team reached the challenge cup final for the first time at the redeveloped Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in 2010, and then again in 2011, losing out 6-30 to the Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
and then 18-28 to Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
. Leeds Rhinos are the best supported Rugby League club in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, their Headingley ground holds up to 20,500 spectators and is regularly filled, with sell out's particularly common, at games against Bradford Bulls, St. Helens and Wigan Warriors. Leeds Based Tetley's Bitter, Leeds Building Society
Leeds Building Society
Leeds Building Society was established as the Leeds and Holbeck Building Society in 1875 and is now the 5th largest in the UK and serves approximately 650,000 customers. The society was renamed to Leeds Building Society in September 2005. It has 70 branches across the UK, with 29 located in...
, Jet2 and Leeds Carnegie are all major sponsors of the Leeds Rhinos.
Hunslet Hawks
Hunslet Hawks
Hunslet Hawks is a professional rugby league club based in Hunslet, West Yorkshire, England. The club, sometimes known as 'the Parksiders' after their former stadium, are currently champions of Championship One.-History:-Early years:...
are a 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...
team based in the Hunslet
Hunslet
Hunslet is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is south east of the city centre and has an industrial past.Hunslet had many engineering companies based in the district, such as John Fowler & Co...
district of South Leeds. They were formed in May 1883 with the merger of two local teams. They were the first club to win All Four Cups
All Four Cups
Between 1905 and 1970 there were four trophies available to any British rugby league side:* Challenge Cup* Rugby Football League Championship* County league * County cup...
, which they did in the 1907-08 season. They currently play in National League Two. Hunslet now play at the John Charles Centre for Sport
John Charles Centre for Sport
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was previously named the South Leeds Stadium and was renamed to honour John Charles , the former Leeds United, Juventus F.C. and Wales footballer...
(formerly the South Leeds Stadium). Hunslet have one of the best grounds in their league.
Bramley Buffaloes
Bramley Buffaloes
Bramley Buffaloes is a rugby league club from the Bramley area of West Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. Previously known simply as Bramley RLFC, the club is a famous name in rugby league, having existed prior to the formation of the Northern Union in 1895...
are a 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...
team based in the Bramley
Bramley, Leeds
Bramley is a district in west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is an old industrial area and home to a lot of 19th century architecture alongside 20th century council housing in the east and private suburban housing to the west. It has its own railway station which is on the Caldervale and...
district of West Leeds. Bramley were founded in 1879. At the end of the 1999 season Bramley resigned from the Northern Ford Premiership to become a feeder team for Leeds Rhinos, but this never materialised. They were reformed as a supporter-owned club and now play in National League Three.
There are numerous British Amateur Rugby League Association
British Amateur Rugby League Association
The British Amateur Rugby League Association is the governing body for social and recreational rugby league in the United Kingdom...
teams based in Leeds. Leeds is considered to be in the Rugby League Heartland. East Leeds RLFC and Wetherby Bulldogs have enjoyed success in recent years as amateur rugby league clubs. Rugby League is also played at many secondary schools in the Leeds district as well.
Leeds Carnegie (Part of Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
) sponsor the Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
as well as Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, they have become one of the biggest sponsors in British Sport outside of Football.
Rugby union
Leeds Carnegie were founded in 1991 as Leeds RUFC after the merger of Roundhay and Headingley and played their first match on 1 September 1992 against Hull Ionians. In 1998, after the club amalgamated with Leeds Rhinos, it took the name Leeds Tykes. The club won their first ever trophy in 2005 with battling performance to defeat huge favourites BathBath Rugby
Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...
in the Powergen Cup
EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup , is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions...
final. However the teams fortunes declined and in 2006 they were relegated from the Guinness Premiership
Guinness Premiership
The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
. After one season in National Division One they won promotion back to the top flight of rugby union.
Shortly after the end of the 2006-07 season, Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
bought a 51% stake in the club and renamed it Leeds Carnegie, after the university's sport faculty of Carnegie College.
Cricket
Yorkshire County Cricket Club
Yorkshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Yorkshire as one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure....
have played most of their games at Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, Leeds since 1888.
Test match cricket has been played there since 1899. As shown in the picture right.
American Football
The Yorkshire RamsYorkshire Rams
Yorkshire Rams are an English American Football club, based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. They represent the county of Yorkshire. They are currently playing in British American Football Association Community League Division 1.-History:...
moved to leeds in 2007 and have been playing there everysince. Currently all there home games are played in the John Charles Stadium (Formerly South Leeds Stadium).
The Rams have a small but very dedicated fan base, with attendances regularly between 100-200. They are currently playing there football in the BAFL Division 1.
Other
Leeds City AC is amongst the biggest and most successful athletics clubs in the North of England and has had the most successful men's harriers section in the country in the 21st century. Since the turn of the millennium the team has never been out of the top 4 in the National Cross Country Championships, winning in 2003 and 2006. In 2006 the team achieved the 'Grand Slam' of wins - Yorkshire, North of England and English National Champions.Sports facilities and stadia in Leeds
Leeds has a wealth of sports facilities including the 40,000 capacity Elland RoadElland Road
Elland Road is an all-seater football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It has been the permanent residence of Leeds United A.F.C...
football stadium, a host stadium during the 1996 European Football Championship, 22,000 capacity Carnegie Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium
Headingley Stadium is a sporting complex in the Leeds suburb of Headingley in West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, rugby league team Leeds Rhinos and rugby union team Leeds Carnegie ....
, world famous for both Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and 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...
, South Leeds Stadium used for athletics, bowls, football, rugby league and tennis. Other facilities include the Leeds Wall (climbing), Xscape (real snow indoor ski and snowboard slope with ice climbing wall) and Yeadon Tarn, sailing centre.
Leeds' 50m international pool has now being demolished.
Horse Racing
Wetherby Racecourse
Wetherby Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse situated near the market town of Wetherby in West Yorkshire, England, located from Leeds city centre.-Location:...
. Wetherby is a National Hunt racecourse (incidentally the only one in Yorkshire). West Yorkshire has a flat racecourse at Pontefract
Pontefract Racecourse
Pontefract Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England.Pontefract is one of the best appointed courses of its kind in the country. There are modern bars and refreshment areas in all enclosures....
. Racedays attract people from across the UK to Wetherby
Wetherby
Wetherby is a market town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Wharfe, and has been for centuries a crossing place and staging post on the Great North Road, being mid-way between London and Edinburgh...
. Wetherby is a medium sized raceourse (although one of the larger ones in Yorkshire). The nearest major racecourse to Leeds is York
York Racecourse
York Racecourse is a horse racing track in the southwest of the city of York in North Yorkshire, England with a spectator capacity of 60,000. The most famous race to be held at York on an annual basis is the Ebor Handicap, which is run during the Ebor Festival meeting in August...
.
Golf facilities in the Leeds area
Leeds is also home to many top class golf courses. With over 20 courses within 30 mins drive of the city centre Leeds offers golf courses of all varieties.Amongst the best courses in the area are Alwoodley, Moortown and Moor Allerton. Alwoodley is an 18 hole heathland course which has hosted many national tournaments. Moortown is also a 18 hole heathland course which has, in the past staged many national events and the Ryder Cup. Moor Allerton is a 27 hole parkland course that has hosted many national tournaments including European Tour events.
All 3 of these courses can be found north of the city, just north of the Leeds city ring road.
Swimming
Leeds International Pool
The Leeds International Pool often referred to as the LIP, was a swimming facility in Leeds city centre, West Yorkshire, England. The Pool was situated at the lower end of Westgate and was notable for its brutalist architecture...
, designed by disgraced architect, John Poulson
John Poulson
John Garlick Llewellyn Poulson was a British architect and businessman who caused a major political scandal when his use of bribery was disclosed in 1972. The highest-ranking figure to be forced out was Conservative Home Secretary Reginald Maudling...
, this opened in 1967 and was inches too narrow to qualify as an Olympic standard pool. These closed in October 2007 and were replaced by the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Centre for Sport
John Charles Centre for Sport
The John Charles Centre for Sport is a sports facility in South Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was previously named the South Leeds Stadium and was renamed to honour John Charles , the former Leeds United, Juventus F.C. and Wales footballer...
. This offers an enlarged diving pool with a movable floor for alterations to the pools depth, as well as a 50m Olympic standard pool, with two inflatable booms enabling it to be divided up should this be desired. The new Aquatics centre also has an enlarged area for spectators around both pools. The Leeds International Pool has now closed and since been demolished.
See also
- LeedsLeedsLeeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
- Football in LeedsFootball in LeedsThe city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, has several Football Clubs within its boundaries. Due to the popularity of rugby league almost all association football clubs in the city have the suffix "A.F.C." instead of the more prevalent "F.C." used in most of England....
- Sport in EnglandSport in EnglandSport plays a prominent role in English life. Popular team sports in England are association football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league. Major individual sports include badminton, athletics, tennis, golf, motorsport and horseracing...
- Sport in the United KingdomSport in the United KingdomThe United Kingdom has given birth to a range of major international sports including: Association football, rugby , cricket, golf, tennis, badminton, squash, rounders, hockey, boxing, snooker, billiards and curling...