The Circle | |
Former names | KC Stadium (2002–2016) |
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Location | The Circle, Walton Street, Anlaby Road, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, HU3 6HU |
Coordinates | 53°44′46″N 0°22′4″W / 53.74611°N 0.36778°WCoordinates: 53°44′46″N 0°22′4″W / 53.74611°N 0.36778°W |
Owner | Hull City Council / KCOM |
Operator | Stadium Management Company (SMC) |
Capacity | 25,400 (Football and rugby league) |
Surface | Desso GrassMaster |
Construction | |
Broke ground | December 2001 |
Opened | October 2002 |
Construction cost | £44 million |
Architect | The Miller Partnership |
Tenants | |
Hull City A.F.C. (Premier League) (2003–present) Hull FC (Super League) (2003–present) |
The KCOM Stadium (also known as the Hull City Stadium due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a multi-purpose facility in the city of Kingston upon Hull, England. The stadium was previously called the KC Stadium, but was renamed as part of a major rebrand by the stadium's sponsors, telecommunications provider KCOM, on 4 April 2016. Conceived as early as the late 1990s, it was completed in 2002 at a cost of approximately £44 million. The stadium is owned by Hull City Council and operated by the Stadium Management Company (SMC), who are looking to expand the stadium up to 32,000.
The bowl-shaped stadium contains a continuous single tier of seats with a second tier on the west side. Its current capacity is 25,400. The stadium accommodates fans of its two tenants, association football club Hull City A.F.C., which moved there from Boothferry Park, and rugby league football club Hull F.C., relocated from the Boulevard. The ground also hosts international association football and rugby league football competitions and acts as a venue for concerts by musical artists, such as Elton John and The Who.
The idea of a new stadium for Kingston upon Hull, whose professional football club Hull City had played at Boothferry Park since 1946, was first mooted in 1997, but funds to finance such a project only became available when the city council sold a portion of its holdings in Kingston Communications. The council provided most of the funds, more than £42 million, with the rest stemming from government single regeneration budget grants and from the Football Stadium Improvement Fund.