Post Office Road

Post Office Road

The Millennium Stadium
Interactive map of Post Office Road
Location	Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England
Coordinates	53°40′43″N1°21′17″W / 53.67861°N 1.35472°W / 53.67861; -1.35472
Owner	Featherstone Rovers
Operator	Featherstone Rovers
Capacity	6,954 standing 359
Record attendance	17,000 – Featherstone vs St Helens, 1957
Surface	Grass
Construction
Broke ground	1904
Opened	1904
Tenants
Featherstone Rovers (1904–present) Wakefield A.F.C. (2020–2023, 2024-2025) [1] [2]

Post Office Road (currently known as the Millennium Stadium for sponsorship purposes) is a rugby league ground in Featherstone, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of rugby league club Featherstone Rovers. The ground's current capacity is 6,954.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

The ground opened in 1904 and has been used by the club since their formation in 1908. ^[3] The record attendance is 17,000 from a 1957 game against St. Helens.

In 2011, fans bought stands from the defunct Scarborough F.C.'s McCain Stadium and erected them at the railway end of the ground, replacing the terracing.

Layout

North Stand

Capacity – (seated)
The North Stand or Railway End is the newest part of the ground after originally being terracing it was replaced in 2014 with seated stands which were taken from Scarborough's McCain Stadium. The North-East corner houses the scoreboard.

East Stand

East Stand at Post Office Road

Capacity – (seated)
The Eastern side of the ground has two covered seated stands. The main stand on the halfway line houses bars and toilets while towards the Northern end of the ground, the smaller stand was erected in 2014 after it was relocated from Scarborough's McCain Stadium. To the Southern end of the stand there is a small amount of uncovered terracing.

South Stand

Post Office Road End

Capacity – (standing)
The South Stand or Post Office Road End is located behind the goal posts and is open terracing. Terrace houses overlook behind the stand and people have been known to sit on the roofs and watch games.

West Stand

Main stand at Post Office Road

Capacity – (seated)
The West Stand is the Main Stand in the ground. It contains covered seating, where the TV gantry is and a small amount of uncovered terracing towards the South end of the ground. Towards the North end of the ground is the hospitality building which is connected to the main stand and also houses the changing rooms.

Sponsorship and name changes

From 2007, it was announced that the ground would be renamed the Chris Moyles Stadium after the BBC Radio 1 presenter. This decision attracted criticism from some fans who felt Moyles had nothing to do with the tradition of the club or rugby league (he was born in Leeds and is famously a loyal Leeds United fan). However others saw it as a positive, good move and good publicity for the team. Moyles did not pay any money in the deal but mentioned Featherstone Rovers occasionally on his breakfast show. ^{[4] [5]} From 2009, the ground sponsorship was taken up by Bigfellas Nightclub following a two-year sponsorship deal. In 2017 local health food business LD Nutrition signed a deal to sponsor the stadium.

Year	Sponsor	Name	Ref.
2007–2008	Chris Moyles	Chris Moyles Stadium	[4]
2009–2016	Bigfellas Nightclub	Bigfellas Stadium
2017–2020	LD Nutrition	LD Nutrition Stadium
2020–	Millennium Support	The Millennium Stadium

^[6]

Rugby League Test matches

List of international matches played at Post Office Road. ^[7]

Test#	Date	Result	Attendance	Notes
1	16 October 1995	Cook Islands def.   United States 64–6	3,133	1995 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament
2		Scotland def.   Russia 34–9
3	13 November 2000	BARLA def.   Morocco 60–2		2000 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament

Rugby League Tour matches

Post Office Road also saw Featherstone play host to various international touring teams from 1952–1994.

Game	Date	Result	Attendance	Notes
1	1 October 1952	Australia def. Featherstone Rovers 50–15	3,700	1952–53 Kangaroo tour
2	19 October 1955	New Zealand def. Featherstone Rovers 7–6
3	11 November 1959	Featherstone Rovers def. Australia 23–15	7,671	1959–60 Kangaroo tour
3	2 October 1963	Featherstone Rovers def. Australia 23–17	7,898	1963–64 Kangaroo tour
4	18 November 1973	Australia def. Featherstone Rovers 18–13	5,659	1973 Kangaroo tour
5	24 September 1982	France def. Featherstone Rovers 13–5
6	11 October 1987	PNG def. Featherstone Rovers 22–16	3,315
7	7 November 1989	New Zealand def. Featherstone Rovers 44–20	2,733

References

1. "Wakefield AFC finds home in Featherstone". Wakefield AFC. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
2. "Wakefield bid farewell to the Millennium Stadium". Wakefield AFC. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
3. Featherstone Rovers Yorkshire Rugby League
4. Herbert, Ian (18 November 2006). "Rugby fans baffled as ground is named after DJ". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
5. "Rooney backs Yorkshire schools". Rugby League News. Retrieved 28 January 2007.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. "Featherstone Rovers make a big step to name stadium". Pontefract & Castleford Express. 7 January 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
7. Post Office Road results @ Rugby League Project

External links

• The Millennium Stadium, Featherstone Rovers