Hoghton Road
St Helens (Sutton), Merseyside, England
Hoghton Road, St Helens (Sutton), England — opened 1946 (as a sports ground for St Helens Town A.F.C.); first used for rugby league in 1989–90, 74 rugby league games hosted, home of Runcorn Highfield RLFC (1990–1991), renamed Highfield RLFC (1991–c.1995); football tenant St Helens Town A.F.C. used the ground 1946–2000.
Sourcing caveat: See opened_caveat above re: the earliest documented rugby league match predating Wikipedia's stated tenancy start.
Ground facts
| Opened | 1946 (as a sports ground for St Helens Town A.F.C.); first used for rugby league in 1989–90 (Sources disagree on the earliest rugby league date: Rugby League Project's results archive lists a Challenge Cup match there on 28 January 1989, while Wikipedia dates Runcorn Highfield's tenancy agreement with St Helens Town A.F.C. to August 1990 (for the 1990–91 season). This discrepancy of over a year is unresolved in the sources checked — it's possible an earlier one-off fixture (e.g. a qualifying tie by a different club) used the ground before the formal Runcorn Highfield tenancy began.) |
| Home club | Runcorn Highfield RLFC (1990–1991), renamed Highfield RLFC (1991–c.1995); football tenant St Helens Town A.F.C. used the ground 1946–2000 |
| Closed | 2000 (football); greyhound racing continued until 9 October 2001 |
| Site today | Housing (site sold to Barratt Homes for redevelopment) |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 74 |
| Top recorded crowd | 1,600 |
| Capacity | Approximately 10,000 (football-era figure; not confirmed for the rugby league period, when recorded attendances ranged roughly 150–1,600) |
| Years used | 1990–1995 |
| Location | St Helens (Sutton), Merseyside |
Name history
- Hoghton Road — 1946–2001 (football/greyhound stadium; base name still used generically)
Rugby league history
Hoghton Road in Sutton, St Helens was built as a football ground, purchased in 1946 by local businessman Jack Friar for the newly formed St Helens Town A.F.C. It became a rugby league venue in 1989–90 when Runcorn Highfield, relocating from Runcorn, signed a 99-year ground-share agreement with St Helens Town and moved in for the 1990–91 season; the club dropped 'Runcorn' from its name in summer 1991, playing simply as Highfield. Rugby League Project records 74 matches at the venue across the Challenge Cup, Second and Third Divisions, the Lancashire Cup and the Regal Trophy, run through to April 1995 — Highfield left Hoghton Road that season after a rent increase. The ground later also hosted independent ('flapping') greyhound racing from July 1993, which outlasted both St Helens Town's football tenancy (ended 2000) and Highfield's rugby league tenancy, running until October 2001, after which the site was sold for housing.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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