The King Power Stadium ( besides known as Filbert Way or Leicester City Stadium ascribable to UEFA sponsorship regulations and once known as the Walkers Stadium ) is a football stadium in Leicester, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League side Leicester City since 2002, and was the stage as the cabaret were crowned Premier League champions in 2016. The all-seater stadium has a capacity of 32,261, [ 1 ] the 20th largest football grind in England. It is named after travel retail group King Power, [ 2 ] a caller owned by the club ‘s owners .
history [edit ]
Background and structure [edit ]
Leicester ‘s former stadium was at nearby Filbert Street, which had been their home since 1891. It was gradually upgrade during the twentieth century and with the second coming of the Taylor Report in January 1990 requiring all clubs in the top two divisions to have all-seater stadiums by August 1994, Leicester City ‘s directors began to investigate building a newfangled stadium during the early 1990s, but decided to take the renovation option by building a new stand on one side of Filbert Street and fitting seats into the remaining standing areas, giving the stadium a 21,500 all-seated capability by the 1994–95 season.
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Filbert Street ‘s conversion to an all-seater stadium coincided with their promotion to the Premier League after a seven-year expatriate from the top flight, and with their relegation after just one season it appeared the 21,500 capacity would be adequate. however, success in the late 1990s attend crowd surface, which meant virtually every game at Filbert Street was a sell-out by the end of the decade. resettlement was soon back on the cards ; respective like sized clubs had relocated to raw stadiums around this time, including Leicester ‘s interior rivals Stoke City and Derby County. Some parts of the grind – the East and North Stands in particular – were besides slightly outdated, which led the coach, Martin O’Neill to joke that when he showed Filbert Street to new signings he led them backwards out of the players tunnel to prevent them from seeing the East Stand. In early 1998, plans were announced for a 40,000 all-seater stadium to be built at Bede Island South in time for the 2000–01 season, but they were abandoned on 5 January 2000. Chairman John Elsom vowed early options, including move to another site or even further renovation of Filbert Street, would be considered, hoping either choice would have materialised by August 2002. [ 3 ] The move choice was soon settled upon, as plans were unveiled on 2 November 2000 for a 32,000-seat stadium at nearby Freeman ‘s Wharf, with 2003–04 being the expected completion date, although it was suggested at the clock resettlement could happen at the start of the 2002–03 season. [ 4 ] work on the stadium began in the summer of 2001, and by 10 October that year it was confirmed the new stadium would be ready for the 2002–03 season. [ 5 ] The stadium was completed on time in the summer of 2002, fix for Leicester to take up residence for the begin of the 2002–03 temper. however, it was not an easy begin at their newly stadium as they had precisely been relegated from the Premier League and were more than £30 million in debt. The stadium is thought to have cost around £37 million to build. The record attendance for football at the stadium is 32,242, for Leicester City ‘s first home game of the 2015–16 season against Sunderland. The overall criminal record attendance at the stadium is thought to be between 32,488-32,500, for a rugby coupling couple between Leicester Tigers and Bath in 2006. This is because this rugby match took place anterior to seats being removed to provide segregation of rival football fans, reducing the capacity of the flat coat from precisely 32,500 to 32,262. [ 6 ]
Opening [edit ]
The stadium was formally opened by former Leicester hitter Gary Lineker on 23 July 2002. He used a giant star pair of scissors to cut a ribbon on the pitch after arriving at the stadium in a Walkers lorry. The first crippled at the new stadium was a friendly against Basque team Athletic Bilbao, on 4 August 2002. The game finished 1–1, with Tiko scoring the first goal at the stadium, and Jordan Stewart scoring Leicester ‘s first finish. The attendance was approximately 24,000 ( no official trope was recorded due to a computer trouble ). The first competitive catch took identify six days later and Leicester beat Watford 2–0 in movement of a near-capacity crowd of 31,022. Brian Deane scored both goals, including the stadium ‘s first in competitive games. Leicester ended the 2002–03 season promoted back to the Premier League, losing fair two family games in the season, despite spending the early depart of the season in receivership due to their huge debts, until a coup d’etat conduct was completed .
possession [edit ]
The £37 million cost of the newfangled stadium, combined with relegation from the Premiership, the collapse of the English transfer market due to the introduction of the transfer window and the collapse of ITV Digital meant Leicester went into receivership shortly after moving to the modern stadium. Birse Construction who had built the stadium consequently lost a large part of their tip, and they withdrew from football ground construction. [ 7 ] As part of the deal which brought the club out of receivership, the stadium ‘s ownership reverted to American academic retirement fund TIAA–CREF, who had supplied £28 million via a attachment scheme towards the stadium ‘s structure, with the club taking a long-run lease while the shackle repayments were made. On 1 March 2013, Leicester City ‘s Thai owners King Power bought the ground through their company K Power Holdings Co, Ltd. [ 8 ]
Plans [edit ]
In 2015, vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha stated plans were in place to increase the ground ‘s capacity to around 42,000. [ 9 ] Relocation to a bigger stadium has besides been considered. [ 10 ] In April 2018, it was announced that initial planning for the expansion and growth of the King Power Stadium is afoot. [ 11 ] On 28th July 2021, the baseball club confirmed that it would reveal plans to the public which included increasing the capacity to 40,000, angstrom well as a new baseball club shop, sports arena, hotel, and multistory car park in the surrounding areas. [ 12 ] The club announced on October 25, 2021, that they had submitted a hybrid plan application to the Leicester City Council for the renovation of King Power Stadium and the surrounding area. They had besides applied for permits in September 2021 to begin early enabling works in formulation for the renovation. [ 13 ]
Helicopter crash [edit ]
On 27 October 2018, club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha ‘s helicopter crashed in the car ballpark outside the stadium, concisely after taking off from the slope. Four other people were on the helicopter at the time. There were no survivors. [ 14 ]
Naming [edit ]
In 2002, early Leicester City shirt sponsors Walkers signed a ten-year deal for naming rights. The agreement was superseded halfway through the time period, in May 2007, when they again paid a seven-figure sum to extend their sponsorship of the stadium until 2017. [ 15 ] primitively the earth was to have been called the “ Walkers Bowl, ” but the name was dropped after fans objected on the grounds the mention was besides “ american ” ( referring to the american college football bowl game concept ). As a result of a fans ‘ request, the name was promptly changed to the “ Walkers Stadium ” ; however, some fans were still unhappy the name only referenced the presenter, with no Leicester City reference, such as “ Filbert, ” “ Fosse ” or “ Foxes ”. consequently, the stadium was sometimes derogatorily referred to ( by both Home and Away supporters ) as the “ crisp bowl, ” in citation to Walkers best-known products. The mention rights were sold to King Power for the 2011–12 season. The King Power Stadium has honoured past greats of the club, by naming suites and lounges inside the stadium after the golf club ‘s erstwhile players Gordon Banks, Adam Black, Arthur Chandler, Gary Lineker, Arthur Rowley, Sep Smith, Keith Weller and early coach Jimmy Bloomfield. [ 16 ] Some fans refer to the stadium as Filbert Way after the ground ‘s address, retaining a connection with the past, while others refer to the establish as Freeman ‘s Wharf, after the area of the city in which the stadium is situated. [ 17 ] During the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League, and the 2020-21 UEFA Europa League the stadium was known as the Leicester City Stadium. [ 18 ]
stadium design [edit ]
The King Power Stadium has four stands that each articulation in an enclosed design and, like many other football stadium in England, its stands are named for the cardinal points of the compass ( i.e. The North, East, South and West stands respectively ). The North and South stands have original names dating back to when the stadium was built. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] Away supporters are situated in the corner between the North and East Stand. At either end of the ground are two large 20-metre screens which were installed in 2018. [ 21 ]
noteworthy games [edit ]
The foremost game at the raw stadium was a friendly against spanish team Athletic Bilbao, on 4 August 2002. The plot finished 1–1, with Tiko scoring the first goal at the stadium, and Jordan Stewart scoring Leicester ‘s first base goal. During their absence from Wembley Stadium, the England home football team played a home plate friendly game against Serbia and Montenegro at the stadium on 3 June 2003. Goals from Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole gave England a 2–1 victory. On 12 October of the same year, the ground hosted an international friendly match between Brazil and Jamaica, with Roberto Carlos scoring the winner. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] On 20 May 2006, the stadium hosted the Football Conference play-off concluding between Hereford United and Halifax Town. A goal in supernumerary time gave Hereford a 3–2 gain and promotion to the Football League. Nine days late, the ground was besides the venue for another international friendly, with Ghana beating Jamaica 4–1. On 12 October 2007, it hosted the 2009 UEFA european Under-21 Championship qualification Group 3 match between England ‘s under-21s and Montenegro ‘s under-21s. The hosts edged out the visitors 1–0 with Matt Derbyshire ‘s finish. On 30 July 2011, Leicester City played a potent real Madrid side in the Npower Cup in movement of a record 32,188 home fans, with asterisk players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká playing for Madrid. After falling behind to a first-half goal from José Callejón and a irregular on the hour from Karim Benzema, Sven-Göran Eriksson ‘s men pulled a goal back a moment from the conclusion through substitute Lloyd Dyer. On 4 April 2014, Leicester won 2-1 in a Friday night home victory against Sheffield Wednesday. The acquire put them on the brink of promotion back to the Premier League, and the adjacent day their Premier League condition was confirmed as results went in Leicester ‘s favor. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] On 21 September 2014, Leicester went on to produce one of the greatest comebacks in Premier League history, as they won 5-3 against Manchester United at the King Power Stadium. They came bet on from 3–1 down with 30 minutes left to score four goals. [ 26 ]
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On 8 August 2015, Leicester City hosted Sunderland at the King Power Stadium for the first bet on of the 2015–16 Premier League season. The attendance for the match was 32,242, which is thought to be the largest-ever league attendance at the stadium since it opened in 2002. On 7 May 2016, Leicester City lifted the 2015–16 Premier League trophy following a 3–1 gain versus Everton, less than a workweek after formally becoming champions as Tottenham Hotspur failed to beat Chelsea. [ 27 ] [ 28 ] Andrea Bocelli performed alive before the meet. On 27 September 2016, the stadium hosted its beginning ever european football pit since its open in 2002. Leicester won 1–0 against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League. [ 29 ] On 14 March 2017, at the stadium the club played its UEFA Champions League last-16 second stage fixture against Sevilla FC. The equal finished 2–0 on the nox, and 3–2 on aggregate which resulted in Leicester reaching the quarter-finals of the contest. On 11 September 2018, the stadium hosted a friendly between the England national team and Switzerland. England won 1-0 with a goal from Marcus Rashford, with Leicester left-back Ben Chilwell making his England debut as a 79th minute alternate at his home stadium. [ 30 ]
International matches [edit ]
Jamaica
Ghana
| 29 May 2006 Friendly | 1–4 | Leicester | ||
Euell  58
‘ |
Muntari 5
‘ Stewart ‘ (o.g.) 19Appiah 66
‘ Amoah 68
‘ |
Stadium: Walkers Stadium Attendance: 32,000 |
England
Switzerland
| 11 September 2018 Friendly | 1–0 | Leicester | ||
| 20:00 BST | Rashford 54
‘ |
Stadium: King Power Stadium Attendance: 30,256 Referee: Clément Turpin |
Rugby union [edit ]
In 2004 Leicester Tigers considered sharing the stadium with Leicester City as their own 16,815-capacity flat coat at Welford Road was considered besides small to handle the growing popularity of rugby union. The plan would have seen the two clubs form a jointly owned company to buy the stadium from, then owners, Teachers. The deal was abandoned in 2005 as the clubs failed to fully agree terms. Because of the continued parlous state of the football club ‘s finances, rumours groundsharing was inactive being discussed continued to circulate, with some suggestions Tigers were considering buying the stadium outright from Teachers. In 2007, a permanent groundshare was ruled out as Leicester Tigers received planning consent for a major expansion of their own Welford Road venue with a new 10,500-seat stand taking Welford Road to a capacity of 24,500.
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however, Tigers have played six matches at the stadium The first three were either to capitalise on the larger capacity with the greater interest in high-profile games or when competition rules demanded the match be played away from their normal home grind while the early three was due to the destruction of the erstwhile Caterpillar Stand at Welford Road .
The King Power Stadium has besides hosted international rugby, including a equal between a World fifteen and South Africa on 3 December 2006 to mark the centennial of the Springboks ‘ first game afield. [ 31 ] South Africa won 32–7. The stadium was a host for matches in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The grind hosted three pool matches : Argentina – Tonga, Argentina – Namibia and Canada – Romania .