Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The stadium is located close to Twickenham Stadium, which is England's national rugby union stadium. The Stoop is home to the Harlequins in Premiership Rugby and has a capacity of 14,800.

History

Harlequins before the Stoop

In 1906, Harlequins were invited by the Rugby Football Union to use the new national stadium in Twickenham. In those early days, only one or two internationals at most were played there during the season, and it wasn't long before the RFU ground became the headquarters of the Harlequin Football Club.

Early days

In 1963, Harlequins acquired an athletics ground with 14 acres (57,000 m<sup>2</sup>), sited just across the road from the RFU ground, which became the Harlequins training pitch. The ground was for many years named the Stoop Memorial Ground after Adrian Stoop,

Redevelopment

The ground's official name changed in July 2005 from the Stoop Memorial Ground to Twickenham Stoop Stadium.

The club owns the ground freehold through its subsidiary Harlequin Estates (Twickenham) Limited. According to the 2012 annual report submitted by the club's operating company to Companies House, in 2010 external valuers placed the combined value of the land and buildings at £27.19 million on a depreciated replacement cost basis.

In an interview with the fans website on 23 April 2012, the Chief Executive, David Ellis confirmed that an architect has visited the club and given ideas on possible improvement and further expansion of The Stoop which will be further considered if Harlequins can sell out nine or ten games a season in comparison with the six games sold out in the 2011–12 season. David Ellis also said there are some immediate concerns for development such as increasing the size of the debenture lounge and the members bar. He also mentioned the queues for drinks at the bars are too long so that will be looked into as well.

On 5 September 2012 Harlequins announced that they had begun a programme of significant investment in upgrading Twickenham Stoop Stadium. All four of the stands have been deep cleaned, this has included the installation of anti-roosting netting that features an unobtrusive fine mesh, secured high in the stands that will prevent damage to the seats and decking caused by the local pigeon population. Replacement of the broken or sun-bleached seating has also commenced and eventually all seating will be replaced block by block in a rolling programme over the coming seasons. The public areas of the stands, including the toilets, are also in the process of being decorated and upgraded. Four new turnstiles have been constructed at Gate 3 by the corner of the Fullers London Pride and DHL Stand to improve access and a new PA system to improve sound quality throughout the stadium. The hospitality facilities in the DHL and Charles Stanley Stands have also undergone renovations and redecorations. Among the major improvements about to begin is the resurfacing of the North car park.

Current redevelopment plans

In November 2017, Harlequins unveiled plans to build a new state-of-the-art 25,000-seat stadium on the same Twickenham site. The project, which is being led by architects Populous,

Women's International Rugby Union

The ground played host to the final of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.

In 2015, it began hosting what was intended to be an annual event in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series. All matches were held at The Stoop except for the third-place match and Cup final, which were played at Twickenham Stadium. However, the Women's Sevens Series did not return to London for 2015–16.

The Stoop has become a regular venue for England Women's games, hosting Six Nations games and Autumn International Series games.

On 17 January 2016 The Stoop hosted the Women's Premiership final, for the first time.

Concert venue

In the summer of 2017, The Stoop hosted its first music concerts, with the aim of diversifying the range of events hosted, establishing itself as a music venue, as well as sports. and Little Mix.

See also

  • Harlequin Football Club
  • Harlequin Ladies Football Club
  • Twickenham Stadium

References

  • Twickenham Stoop Stadium at Google Maps.
  • The Stoop on Worldstadia.com
  • Harlequins Rugby League