Central Park (Wigan)

Infobox Stadium
stadium_name = Central Park


fullname = Central Park
nickname = "Home of Rugby League"
location = Wigan
built = 1902
opened = 1902
demolished = 1999
seating_capacity = 18,000
tenants = Wigan Warriors
dimensions = Unknown

Central Park was a multi-use stadium in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, one of the most famous stadiums in rugby league. It was the home of Wigan Warriors prior to their move to the JJB Stadium in 1999, and it was used mostly for rugby league matches. When it closed, its capacity was 18,000.

The site of the former stadium is now a car park for the local Tesco supermarket.

History

On 6 September 1902, Wigan played at Central Park for the first time against Batley, in the opening match of the newly formed First Division. An estimated crowd of 9,000 spectators saw Wigan beat Batley 14–8.

The visit of St Helens on 27 March 1959 produced Central Park's all time record attendance of 47,747 which is still a record for any home and away regular season rugby league league game in this country. Wigan went on to win the game 19–14, after holding off a Saint's comeback despite having led 14–0.

Due to Wigan's ineligibility to play in the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy, convert|120|ft|m|sing=on high pylons were constructed in the summer of 1967 and the installation was completed by September.

The final game at Central Park was on Sunday 5 September 1999. Wigan beat local rivals St Helens by 28 points to 20, 96 years and 364 days after the first game against Batley was played.

ee also

*English rugby league stadia by capacity

External links

* [http://www.wiganwarriors.com Wigan Warriors Official]
* [http://wigan.rlfans.com/fusion_pages/index.php?page_id=48 Central Park History Page @ Cherry & White.co.uk]
* [http://www.wigan-warriors.com Wigan-Warriors]