Totally Wicked Stadium – stadium description

Initially occupied by a glass factory, this land in attractive part of St. Helens (just east of Liverpool) was earmarked for regeneration in late 2000s. Vast majority of the industrial complex (190,000 m²) was demolished in 2009 to make way for a stadium of 18,000 and a large Tesco supermarket.

Both buildings were built at the same time, though the store was delivered a month earlier, in October of 2011. First official game took place early into 2012 as anchor tenants St. Helens RFC took over. While primarily a rugby ground, it's also used as the home of Liverpool FC reserves.

Built on the east-west axis, the stadium has its main stand along the south side, which is where all crucial media, sporting, office and commercial facilities are based. The grandstand is decorated with bright red cladding, matching club colours and creating a more vivid identity to the otherwise simple structure.

Only the stands along both sides are equipped with seating, because in the UK rugby games are permitted with standing room, prohibited at football. This is also part of the reason why record attendance is slightly above nominal capacity.

At the time of opening it was named Langtree Park, promoting the main contractor in a 5-year deal. In late 2016 a new contract was secured and in turn it secured the stadium headlines throughout the world of sport as the new name became Totally Wicked Stadium, this time advertising an e-cigarette brand for further 5 years.