Building work is now nearing completion on the new Leigh Sports Village that will eventually provide a new stadium for both Leigh RMI and Leigh Centurions rugby league club in an exciting development for the town - follow the link on the left hand menu for more details.
Hilton Park was built in 1947 and was originally named Kirkhall Lane after the road that leads up to it, but the ground was renamed "Hilton Park" after former Leigh rugby league chairman Jack Hilton, the man who first developed the new ground for the rugby club.
Although the record attendance at Hilton Park is 31,224 for a Leigh Rugby League game against St Helens in March 1953, the ground now has a capacity of 10,000 with around 2,000 seats.
The ground's largest crowd in recent years is 9,760 for a rugby Challenge Cup Quarter Final clash that saw the Centurions facing fierce local rivals Wigan Warriors in February 2002, while the highest ever football attendance at Hilton Park was recorded in November 1998 when 7,024 saw RMI face then-Second Division side Fulham in an FA Cup First Round replay that was screened live by Sky Sports.
The first football game to take place at Hilton Park was in March 1995 when RMI, still known as Horwich RMI at that point, lost 4-0 to Boston United, with the Railwaymen being relegated to the UniBond First Division at the end of the 1994/95 season, officially changing the club's name to Leigh RMI that summer.
During the club's years in the Conference National between 2000 and 2005, Hilton Park hosted the likes of Football League oufits Doncaster Rovers, Yeovil Town, Hereford United, Morecambe, Dagenham & Redbridge, Carlisle United and Shrewsbury Town, while Wrexham visited the ground for an LDV Trophy tie several years before their relegation from the Football League.
The final league fixture to be hosted at Hilton Park was a 2-0 defeat to Blyth Spartans on Saturday 26th April 2008, RMI's last Blue Square North game before being relegated to the UniBond Premier League for the 2008/09 season.
The terraces behind both goals are uncovered, with the Railway End (Asda End) terrace being the slightly larger of the two. Along one touchline runs the Tommy Sale Stand, featuring a lower tier of terracing, and an upper tier of modern seating, although there is a small amount of shallow terracing at the very back of the upper tier. Opposite the Tommy Sale Stand is the 1,000 seat Hilton Stand, which was refurbished in recent years and now features modern seating, new roof and a hospitality suite beneath the stand, with two small terraces flanking the Hilton Stand. Although both the Hilton and Tommy Sale Stands have been substantially refurbished in recent years, views can be slightly obstructed by the numerous pillars that support the roofs of each stand. However, for most RMI games, only the Tommy Sale Stand and Terrace are currently used, though the Railway (Asda) End terrace can be opened for bigger games.
Bookmark or share this story with:
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon
More Leigh Genesis headlines
Leigh Genesis latest threads
Leigh Genesis Poll
