Recreation Ground (Whitehaven)

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Ortus REC
Recre
Recreation Ground (Whitehaven)
Location Whitehaven, Cumbria
Coordinates 54°32′23″N3°35′3″W / 54.53972°N 3.58417°W / 54.53972; -3.58417
Capacity 8603
Record attendance18,650 v Wakefield Trinity
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground1933
Built1948
Opened1948
Renovated1973
Expanded1995
Tenants
Whitehaven

(1948-)

Cumbria rugby league team

The Recreation Ground (known locally as the 'Recre') and for sponsorship reasons the Ortus REC is a rugby league stadium in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England. It is the home of Whitehaven R.L.F.C.

Contents

The ground has witnessed many other sports such as football, boxing, speedway and whippet racing.

Stadium

The ground now has terracing on 3 sides with one end of ground, the Kells end, covered. The other sides are known the Popular side, the Railway end and the LLWR Grandstand which seats 556. The ground is set to have a second seated stand holding 1,100 people where the Popular side terracing now stands. The current ground capacity is 7,500.

There is a disabled supporters view area in the grandstand with disabled toilets located within the ground while the JJ McKeown bar has disabled access.

Matchday parking is available on the Whitehaven Miners' car park adjacent to the stadium main entrance.

History

The Recreation Ground was originally the playing fields for local coal miners dating back to Victorian times and was owned by the Miners' Welfare organisation. The ground was used for junior sides and hosted a Challenge Cup match when the juniors beat St. Helens 13-8 in front of 2,000 spectators.

It was an enclosed field with one wooden stand and opened in 1933. Today the link with the Miners' Welfare poses a potential brake on any outside investment in the ground itself which remains an obstacle in Whitehaven's attempts to join Super League.

The Recreation Ground in its current form was built in 1948 to enable the newly formed Whitehaven to play in the Rugby Football League.

The ground's record attendance was set in 1960 when 18,650 spectators turned up for a third round Challenge Cup game against Wakefield Trinity.

The Kells end stand steel framework was built in 1961.

In 1973 the ground acquired floodlights.

The old wooden grandstand was demolished in 1995 and the B&H Motors Grandstand was built to replace it.

Work began on the stadium in late November 2014 to meet RFL operating rules for Championship clubs for 2015. The Kells end stand was shot blasted, the steel framework repainted and the cladding replaced with new galvanised sheeting. In addition, new changing facilities under the grandstand were built. The next phase of the work to commence later in 2005 is to upgrade the floodlights and increase the ground’s seating capacity to meet RFL requirements. Britain’s Energy Coast financed the improvements.

In April 2021 the club announced that as part of a sponsorship deal with Cumbrian engineering firm Lifttech Engineering Limited the ground would be rebranded as the LEL Arena for the period of the deal - initially three years. [1]

Rugby league internationals

The Recreation Ground has played host to just two rugby league international matches in its history. [2]

Test#DateResultAttendanceNotes
14 February 1926Flag of England.svg  England def. Other Nationalities 37–1110,000
217 November 2000 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg BARLA def. Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 54–0 2000 Rugby League Emerging Nations Tournament

Rugby league tour matches

The Recreation Ground has also played host to various international touring and domestic teams.

Game#DateResultAttendanceNotes
124 October 1908 Australia (1908-1924).png Australia def. County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumberland 52–104,000 1908–09 Kangaroo tour
29 December 1933 County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumberland def. Australian colours.svg Australia 17–165,800 1933–34 Kangaroo tour
314 October 1948 County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumberland def. Australian colours.svg Australia 5–48,818 1948–49 Kangaroo tour
413 September 1952 Australian colours.svg Australia def. Haven colours.svg Whitehaven 15–59,253 1952–53 Kangaroo tour
520 October 1956 Haven colours.svg Whitehaven def. Australian colours.svg Australia 14–1110,840 1956–57 Kangaroo tour
622 October 1959 Australian colours.svg Australia def. Whitehaven / Workington XIII 13–87,463 1959–60 Kangaroo tour
724 October 1973 Australian colours.svg Australia def. County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumberland 28–23,666 1973 Kangaroo tour
88 October 1980 County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumbria def. New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg New Zealand 9–34,070 1980 New Zealand Kiwis tour
919 October 2003 County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumbria drew with New Zealand Kiwis colours.svg New Zealand A 24–244,124
103 October 2010 County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumbria drew with England colours.svg England 18–185,250
1122 October 2011 England colours.svg England Knights def. County Flag of Cumbria.svg Cumbria 26–121,163

References

  1. "Whitehaven RLFC Strike major partnership deal :: Whitehaven RLFC". www.whitehavenrl.co.uk. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  2. Recreation Ground at Rugby League Project