The Stoop
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the British stadium. For the 2008 album by Little JackieLittle JackieLittle Jackie is an American band consisting of Imani Coppola and Adam Pallin. Little Jackie, which derives its name from the 1989 hit song "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, released a hit single in 2008 called "The World Should Revolve Around Me" from their debut album...
, see The Stoop (album)The Stoop (album)The Stoop is the 2008 studio debut album released by duo Little Jackie on the S-Curve label. The album produced a single hit, "The World Should Revolve Around Me", which reached #92 on the Pop 100 Billboard chart and peaked at #14 on the UK Singles Chart...
.
Twickenham Stoop (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a sports stadium located in the western suburbs of London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
rugby union team, who play in the Aviva Premiership, and tenants London Broncos
London Broncos
London Broncos are a professional rugby league football club based in London, England. The club has competed in the Super League competition since its introduction in 1996...
, who play in the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. The stadium has a capacity of 14,816.
History
Harlequins before the Stoop
In 1906, Harlequins were invited by the Rugby Football UnionRugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
to use the new national stadium in Twickenham. In those early days, only one or two internationals 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, the Quins acquired an athletics ground with 14 acres (57,000 m²) just across the road from the RFU ground, which became the Harlequin training pitch. The ground was named Stoop Memorial Ground after Adrian StoopAdrian Stoop
Adrian Stoop was an English rugby union player of Dutch descent.He played 182 times for Harlequins between 1901 and 1939, and won 15 caps for England.He was president of the Harlequins 1920–1949...
, a former England international
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
and longtime Harlequins player and president but is generally known as "The Stoop" with even the Harlequins' official website frequently using the informal name.
Redevelopment
The ground's official name changed in July 2005 to Twickenham Stoop Stadium.The redeveloped Lexus
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
Stand on the western side of the ground opened in September 2005.
For the beginning of the 2007–2008 season there will be a new temporary stand in place until Richmond council agree to a permanent one. The difference with the old temporary stand is the new one will have a roof. Mark Evans (Chief Executive) confirmed at the pre season conference there will be no increase or reduction in the number of seats. He announced that the stand served purely to improve comfort for supporters with a small increase in ticket prices in this stand from £15-£17. The club may not break even on the stand by the time the season ends.
Rugby league
In 2006, the rugby leagueRugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
club formerly known as London Broncos joined Harlequins at The Stoop, becoming Harlequins Rugby League. In 2006 the stadium held a Harlequins rugby union match and a Harlequins rugby league game on the same day. The rugby union match was played first, and in just a few hours the stadium was switched over for the Super League match. This involved changing field markings, advertising boardings and such.
Since 2006, The Stoop has also been home to the annual Rugby League Varsity Match
Rugby League Varsity Match
The Rugby League Varsity Match is an annual rugby league match between Cambridge University and Oxford University. It is played at Twickenham Stoop in London, England, usually in the first week of March. The 2010 match took place on Thursday 4 March. Oxford, the winners of the match, received the...
between Oxford University and Cambridge University.
On 24 October 2009 the ground hosted the second match of the 2009 Rugby League Four Nations between world champions New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
and defending tournament champions (in Tri-Nations
2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations
The 2006 Rugby League Tri-Nations was hosted for the second time by Australia and New Zealand. Sponsored by Gillette the tournament followed the same format as in 2004 and 2005, with each team meeting the other two teams twice, and the top two teams at the end of the group stages proceeding to the...
mode), Australia which resulted in a 20-all draw, 12,360 people attended the game making it the largest rugby league crowd at the venue beating the 1997 World Club Championship match between the London Broncos and Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
where 7,819 people attended.
International rugby union
The ground played host to the final of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup2010 Women's Rugby World Cup
The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was the sixth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was being held in England. The International Rugby Board Executive Committee selected the host union following a recommendation from the Rugby World Cup Limited board after considering bids from the Rugby...
.