Stebonheath Park
| Stebo | |
 | |
| Location | Evans Terrace, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales SA15 1EY |
|---|---|
| Owner | Llanelli Town Council |
| Operator | Llanelli A.F.C. |
| Capacity | 3,700 (1,005 seated) |
| Surface | Grass |
| Tenants | |
| Llanelli A.F.C. Llanelli AAC Raiders RL |
19??-2013 1979-present 2015-present |
Stebonheath Park (Welsh: Parc Stebonheath) is a multi-use stadium in Llanelli, West Wales with a capacity of 3,700. It is primarily used as a football ground and is the home of Llanelli Town A.F.C.. It is also used for athletics and Llanelli Amateur Athletic Club (Llanelli AAC) are based at the stadium. It is owned by Llanelli Town Council.From 2015 Raiders RL club used the stadium for their debut season in the Conference League South
History
Stebonheath Park has been used as a football ground since 1920.[1] It almost hosted League football in the 1930s but the club lost out coming second in the vote. At the time the ground had a large wooden grandstand, a covered end terrace and a large bank on the south side, and it could easily have been developed into a Third Division ground. The stand was subsequently demolished and the ground re-shaped to allow the building of an adjacent by-pass road.
Stebonheath Park was home to the Wales national rugby league team in the 1930s. Here Wales where crowned European Champions, after defeating England 17–9, on 10 November 1938. The Great Frank Whitcombe made his debut for Wales in this game.
The stadium has been owned by Llanelli Town Council since 1977. The council undertook major redevelopmemts of the stadium which included floodlighting, a new 700 seater main stand, new terracing, a function room social club as well as all-weather training facilities for the athletics club.[1][2] In July 2008, a new open seated stand was built on existing terracing along one side of the ground with about 300 seats.
Around the pitch is a narrow 400 metre running track with four lanes on each straight. It is the narrowest 400m track in the United Kingdom.[3]
On 28 February 2006 the stadium hosted an international match between Wales Under-21s and Northern Ireland Under-21s, with the Northern Irish side winning 1-0.[4]
Local junior football finals are held at the stadium. The Welsh Cup final has been staged at the stadium including the 2002-03 season final between Barry Town and Cwmbran Town as well as the 2004-05 final between Total Network Solutions and Carmarthen Town.[5] On 6 May 2007 Stebonheath Park staged the 120th Welsh Cup final between Carmarthen Town and Afan Lido.[6]
On 31 October 2008 the stadium hosted a Victory Shield match between Wales under-16 and England under-16 which was shown live on Sky Sports.[7]
In 2016 it held a 2017 Rugby League World Cup Qualifier between Wales and Serbia.[8]
Llanelli AFC
Although the stadium was the home of Llanelli AFC, they used to play major games at Stradey Park which had a capacity of 10,800. Stradey Park was demolished in late 2008 and an option for major games was the then newly built 14,340 capacity Parc y Scarlets.
The new open seated stand at Stebonheath Park enabled Llanelli to host European matches, the first being a UEFA Champions League qualifier against Latvian club FK Ventspils in July 2008.
Llanelli AAC
Lanelli AAC, which was formed in 1978, is based at the stadium and caters for all standards of track and field athletics, cross-country running and road running.[9]
Raiders RL
Raiders RL relocated to Llanelli in 2015 in preparation for the debut season in the Conference league south and struck up a deal to play at the stadium with the local council.
Records
The record attendance at Stebonheath Park is 1,410 for a Welsh Premier League football match between Llanelli and Barry Town on 14 January 2000.[10]
References
- 1 2 "Football & Athletics - Stebonheath Park". Llanelli Town Council. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "Stebonheath Report". Welsh Premier Football. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "Stebonheath Park Track". UK Running Track Directory. 12 January 2002. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "Wales U21 0-1 N Ireland U21". BBC Sport. 28 February 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "TNS face long haul for final". Welsh Premier Football. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "Carmarthen 3-2 Afan Lido". Carmarthen Town A.F.C. 6 May 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ Lavery, Glen (31 October 2008). "Afobe wins it for Lions". The Football Association. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "WALES TO TAKE ON SERBIA IN LLANELLI". walesrugbyleague.co.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ↑ "Llanelli Athletic Club". Llanelli Athletic Club. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
- ↑ "Stebonheath Park". Welsh Premier Football. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
Coordinates: 51°41′02″N 4°08′51″W / 51.6839°N 4.1476°W