King Power Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Leicester, East Midlands, England, and the home of Leicester City since 2002. The stadium has a capacity of 32,259 and was known as the Walkers Stadium until 2011.[2] The club lifted the Premier League title on the site in 2016, which attracted worldwide attention. Since 2021, the stadium has also been the primary home of Leicester City Women.[3][4]
Leicester's previous stadium was at nearby Filbert Street from 1891 to 2002, located less than 300 yards away from the current site.[5] Filbert Street was gradually upgraded during the 20th century and with the advent of the Taylor Report in January 1990 requiring all clubs in the top two divisions to have all-seater stadiums by August 1994, Leicester City's directors began to investigate building a new stadium during the early 1990s, but decided to take the redevelopment option by building a new stand on one side of Filbert Street and fitting seats into the remaining standing areas, giving the stadium a 21,500 all-seated capacity by the 1994–95 season.
Filbert Street's conversion to an all-seater stadium coincided with their promotion to the Premier League after a seven-year exile from the top flight, and with their relegation after just one season it appeared the 21,500 capacity would be adequate.
However, success in the late 1990s saw crowds rise, which meant virtually every game at Filbert Street was a sell-out by the end of the decade. Relocation was soon back on the cards; several clubs had relocated to new stadiums around this time, including fellow Midlands clubs Stoke City and Derby County.
Some parts of the ground – the East and North Stands in particular – were also somewhat outdated, which led the manager, Martin O'Neill to joke that when he showed Filbert Street to new signings he led them backwards out of the players tunnel to prevent them from seeing the East Stand.
In early 1998, plans were announced for a 40,000 all-seater stadium to be built at Bede Island South in time for the 2000–01 season, but they were abandoned on 5 January 2000. Chairman John Elsom vowed other options, including relocation to another site or even further redevelopment of Filbert Street, would be considered, hoping either option would have materialised by August 2002.[6]
The relocation option was soon settled upon, as plans were unveiled on 2 November 2000 for a 32,000-seat stadium in the Freeman's Wharf area, situated alongside the River Soar. The stadium was expected to be completed in time for the 2003–04 season, although it was suggested at the time relocation could happen at the start of the 2002–03 season.[7] Work on the stadium began in the summer of 2001, and by 10 October that year it was confirmed the new stadium would be ready for the 2002–03 season.[8] The stadium was completed on time in the summer of 2002, ready for Leicester to take up residence for the start of the 2002–03 season.
The stadium cost £35-37 million to build. Designed by architects The Miller Partnership, it was constructed by Birse Stadia (the specialist stadium division of Birse Construction). After becoming official contractors, Martin Peat, managing director of Birse Building said: "We are delighted to have been selected by Leicester City Football Club as construction partners for their new stadium which, when completed, will be one of the finest in Europe." The club's chief executive Steve Kind described the stadium as a "flagship development, not just for the club but for the community and city of Leicester as a whole."
As well as being a venue for football, the stadium was originally branded as The Midlands Conference Centre, offering a "state of the art conference, banqueting and catering facility unparalleled in the East Midlands."[9] At the time of building, two large dual-purpose concourses, which could be used as exhibition centres on non-matchdays, were a first in British stadium design.[10]
Opening
The stadium was officially opened by former Leicester striker Gary Lineker on 23 July 2002. He used a giant pair of scissors to cut a ribbon on the pitch after arriving at the stadium in a Walkers lorry. The first game at the new stadium was a friendly against Basque team Athletic Bilbao, on 4 August 2002. Manager Micky Adams described the stadium in the club's pre-match programme: “I am sure everyone will agree our new home is pretty special. Spectacular, I’d call it. Fantastic seems to be the word used by most people to describe the surroundings and the facilities. It’s certainly a stadium befitting the 21st century."[5]
The game finished 1–1, with Tiko scoring the first goal at the stadium, and Jordan Stewart scoring Leicester's first goal. The attendance was approximately 24,000 (no official figure was recorded due to a computer problem). The first competitive match took place six days later and Leicester beat Watford 2–0 in front of a near-capacity crowd of 31,022. Brian Deane scored both goals, including the stadium's first in competitive games. Leicester ended the 2002–03 season promoted back to the Premier League, losing just two home games in the season, despite spending the early part of the season in receivership due to their huge debts, until a takeover deal was completed.
Ownership
The cost of the new stadium, combined with relegation from the Premiership, the collapse of the English transfer market due to the introduction of the transfer window and the collapse of ITV Digital meant Leicester went into receivership shortly after moving to the new stadium. Birse Construction who had built the stadium therefore lost a large part of their fee, and they withdrew from football ground construction.[11]
As part of the deal which brought the club out of receivership, the stadium's ownership reverted to American academic retirement fund TIAA–CREF, who had supplied £28million via a bond scheme towards the stadium's construction, with the club taking a long-term lease while the bond repayments were made.
On 1 March 2013, owners King Power purchased the stadium through their company K Power Holdings Co, Ltd.[12]
Development
Since 2014, the stadium has operated at full capacity for league games.[13] In 2015, vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha stated plans were in place to increase the ground's capacity to around 42,000.[14][15] In April 2018, it was announced that initial planning for the expansion and development of King Power Stadium was underway.[16] On 28 July 2021, Leicester City confirmed that they would reveal plans to the public which included increasing the capacity to 40,000, as well as several development projects in the area surrounding the stadium.[17] The club announced on 25 October 2021, that they had submitted a hybrid planning application to Leicester City Council for the redevelopment of King Power Stadium and the surrounding area. They had also applied for permits in September 2021 to begin early enabling works in preparation for the redevelopment.[18] In August 2022, the stadium became the first in Europe to operate a frictionless kiosk for food and drink purchases.[19] In September 2022, plans were provisionally approved for the expansion of King Power Stadium's capacity to 40,000. The other development projects were also given provisional approval.[20] On 14 December 2023, the club announced that they had received formal approval from Leicester City Council to begin development works, following initial approval in September 2022.[21]
On 27 October 2018, a Leonardo AW169 helicopter carrying club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others crashed in a car park outside the stadium. The crash happened shortly after the helicopter took off from the pitch, and there were no survivors on board.[22] The Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Memorial Garden opened a year later on 27 October 2019, before The Khun Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha Statue was unveiled on 4 April 2022.[23][24]
In 2002, former Leicester City shirt sponsors Walkers signed a ten-year deal for naming rights. The stadium was originally to have been called the "Walkers Bowl", but the name was dropped after fans objected on the grounds the name was too "American" (referring to the American college footballbowl game concept). As a result of a fans' petition, the name was quickly changed to the "Walkers Stadium". However, some fans at the time were still unhappy that the name only referenced the sponsor, with no reference to Leicester City.
The agreement for naming rights was superseded halfway through the ten-year period, in May 2007, when Walkers again paid a seven-figure sum to extend their sponsorship of the stadium until 2017.[25] On 5 July 2011, naming rights were sold to King Power, who took ownership of the club in August 2010. The stadium is often referred to as Filbert Way after the site's address, which retains a link with the club's former home ground Filbert Street. It is also referred to as Freeman's Wharf, after the area in which the stadium is situated. During the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the stadium was known as the Leicester City Stadium and this is the same for UEFA competitions.[26][27]
The first game at the stadium was a friendly against Spanish team Athletic Bilbao, on 4 August 2002. The game finished 1–1, with Tiko scoring the first goal at the stadium, and Jordan Stewart scoring Leicester's first goal.
On 20 May 2006, the stadium hosted the Football Conference play-off final between Hereford United and Halifax Town. A goal in extra time gave Hereford a 3–2 win and promotion to the Football League. Nine days later, the ground was also the venue for another international friendly, with Ghana beating Jamaica 4–1.
On 4 April 2014, Leicester won 2–1 against Sheffield Wednesday. The win put them on the brink of promotion back to the Premier League after 10 years, and the next day the club's Premier League status was confirmed as results went in their favour.[30][31]
On 3 May 2014, Leicester lifted the 2013–14 Championship title following a 1–0 home victory over Doncaster Rovers.[32]
On 21 September 2014, Leicester went on to produce one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history, as they won 5-3 against Manchester United at King Power Stadium. They came back from 3–1 down with 30 minutes left to score four goals.[33]
On 8 August 2015, the stadium recorded its current highest ever league attendance. Leicester won 4–2 against Sunderland in their first match of the 2015–16 Premier League season.[34]
On 7 May 2016, Leicester City lifted the 2015–16 Premier League trophy following a 3–1 win versus Everton, less than a week after officially becoming champions as Tottenham Hotspur failed to beat Chelsea.[35][36]Andrea Bocelli performed live before the match.
On 27 September 2016, the stadium hosted its first ever competitive European football match since opening in 2002. Leicester won 1–0 against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League.[37]
On 14 March 2017, at the stadium the club played its UEFA Champions League last-16 second leg fixture against Sevilla FC. The match finished 2–0 on the night, and 3–2 on aggregate which resulted in Leicester reaching the quarter-finals of the competition.
On 30 July 2022, the stadium hosted the FA Community Shield due to Wembley Stadium hosting the final of UEFA Women's Euro 2022 on the following day.[39] As the holders, Leicester City were invited to host. This made Leicester the only club to host this fixture at two different stadia, following Filbert Street in 1971.
On 25 March 2023, the stadium hosted its fourth England international match to date. England U21s played against France U21s in a friendly.[40]
Stadium: King Power Stadium Attendance: 30,256 Referee: Clément Turpin
Rugby matches
In 2004 Leicester Tigers considered sharing the stadium with Leicester City as their own 16,815-capacity ground at Welford Road was considered too small to handle the growing popularity of rugby union. The plan would have seen the two clubs form a jointly owned company to buy the stadium from, then owners, Teachers. The deal was abandoned in 2005 as the clubs failed to fully agree terms.
Due to the continued parlous state of the football club's finances, rumours that groundsharing was still being discussed continued to circulate, with some suggestions Tigers were considering buying the stadium outright from Teachers. In 2007, a permanent groundshare was ruled out as Leicester Tigers received planning consent for a major expansion of their own Welford Road venue, with a new 10,500-seat stand taking Welford Road to a capacity of 24,500.
Leicester Tigers played six matches at the stadium in total. The first three were either to capitalise on the larger capacity with the greater interest in high-profile games, or when competition rules demanded the match be played away from their normal home ground. The other three matches were played due to the demolition of the old Caterpillar Stand at Welford Road.
King Power Stadium has also hosted international rugby, including a match between a World XV and South Africa on 3 December 2006 to mark the centenary of the Springboks' first game abroad.[42] South Africa won 32–7.
The overall record attendance at the stadium is thought to be between 32,488-32,500, for a rugby union match between Leicester Tigers and Bath in 2006. This rugby match took place prior to seats being removed to provide segregation of rival football fans, reducing the capacity of the ground from exactly 32,500 to 32,261.[46]
Leicester City Men
The current highest ever league attendance at the stadium is 32,242, for a Premier League match against Sunderland on 8 August 2015.[47] The highest ever attendance for a non-competitive football match is 32,188, for a pre-season friendly against Real Madrid on 30 July 2011.[48]
The Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup, then the league runners-up provide the opposition. The fixture is recognised as a competitive super cup by the Football Association and UEFA.
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Leicester City Women Football Club is an English professional women's football club based in Leicester. Founded in 2004 as an independent club, Leicester City Women were acquired in 2020 by King Power, the parent company of men's affiliate Leicester City FC. They currently compete in the FA Women's Super League, the first level of the English football pyramid.
The 2010–11 season was Leicester City F.C.'s 106th season in the English football league system and their 59th (non-consecutive) season in the second tier of English football. They played their second consecutive season in the Football League Championship after being promoted from League One in the 2008–09 season.
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On 27 October 2018, a Leonardo AW169 helicopter crashed shortly after take-off from Leicester City's King Power Stadium in Leicester, England, while on route to Luton Airport. All people on board—the pilot and four passengers, including club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha—were killed in the crash. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch attributed the crash to a loss of yaw control owing to a failure of the tail rotor control linkage.
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