Wilderspool
Warrington, Cheshire, England
Wilderspool, Warrington, England — opened 1898 (club's move-in; the site dates to 1881), 2,061 rugby league games hosted, home of Warrington Wolves (until 2003; demolished).
Ground facts
| Opened | 1898 (club's move-in; the site dates to 1881) (Sources differ on whether 1881 (site construction) or 1898 (Warrington's move-in) should count as the 'opening' year.) |
| Home club | Warrington Wolves (until 2003; demolished) |
| Closed | September 2003 |
| Demolished | 2014 (exact day not identified in a fully independent source) |
| Site today | "Bevan Mews" housing development (named for Warrington great Brian Bevan), up to 160 homes on a 5.4-acre site, part of Warrington's "Southern Gateway" regeneration zone |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 2,061 |
| Top recorded crowd | 35,000 |
| Capacity | 9,200 (following an expansion around 2000) |
| Test matches hosted | 7 |
| Floodlights installed | 1965 |
| First rugby league match | Warrington's move-in date is disputed between sources (1898 lease vs. Rugby League Project match records tagged to the venue from as early as 1895) — exact first match not identified in sources found |
| Years used | 1895–2013 |
| Location | Warrington, Cheshire |
Name history
- Wilderspool — 1898-2003, no sponsor-name changes recorded
Rugby league history
Home from 1898 until 2003, when the club moved to the new Halliwell Jones Stadium. Hosted Championship finals, Challenge Cup semi-finals, and international/touring matches, including the first-ever international staged there (Wales vs Other Nationalities, 1953) and a 1994 Kangaroo Tour match. Record attendance was 34,304 for Warrington vs Wigan in the 1948-49 season. The ground was demolished in 2014 and the site became housing.
Historic Test matches, Cup & Grand Finals hosted
- 14 November 1908 — Warrington 10-3 Australia
- 13 February 1909 — Warrington 8-8 Australia
- 20 September 1933 — Lancashire 33-7 Australia
- 14 October 1933 — Warrington 15-12 Australia
- 30 October 1948 — Warrington 16-7 Australia, attendance 26,879
- 11 October 1978 — Warrington 15-12 Australia, attendance 10,056
- 9 November 1994 — Warrington 0-24 Australia
Pre-dates the site's structured match-by-match records for these competitions, so listed here as sourced facts rather than linked match pages.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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