Swinton Lions are celebrating the 96th anniversary of their former stadium and the launch of their new heritage association.
The club’s former playing ground Station Road, is still an important part of the club’s history to this day with the first game being played there in 1929 – where the Lions beat Wigan 9-3 in front of 22,000 people.
The stadium was an iconic venue in Rugby League, with Station Road hosting 22 Major Finals, 30 Challenge Cup Semi Finals, nineteen international games and two World Cup matches.
The venue was a major part of the club’s history and support, having the capacity to reach 60,000 supporters – reaching its attendance record of 44,621 during the Warrington Wolves vs Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup semi-final.
And the club were able to host many international affairs, with the biggest international win coming in 1963 when Australia beat Great Britain 50-12 in the second Ashes test during the 1963 Kangaroo tour – also known as the “Swinton Massacre.”
However, despite the rich history the stadium had, Swinton’s last match at Station Road came against Salford on Easter Monday in 1992, resulting in a 24-16 loss.
The closure of Station Road was caused by fires in the main stand and many acts of vandalism.
And following the closure, the club moved out of Station Road in 1992 and was sold to David McLean Homes for property development – with the site now a housing estate.
The club now play at Heywood Road in Sale, sharing the ground with rugby union club Sale FC.
Swinton Lions will be celebrating their 96th anniversary since the opening of Station Road, and the same year they have created a heritage association, that will aim to bring their heritage work under a single banner.
A representative at Swinton Lions said: “The Heritage Association, in conjunction with private collections, will seek to preserve and share for the purpose of viewing, all manner of club related memorabilia.
“The Heritage Association will produce written, oral and visual content, not only for our social media and online channels, but also in hard copy form.”
The spokesperson continued: “The Heritage Association will regularly invite former players to match as special guests of the club; organise Heritage Certificates for past players or their families, as well as organise special events.
“These special events will be a big annual reunion, as well as the re-launch of our Hall of Fame with a fresh intake of inductees.”
The Heritage Association Grand Launch Night will take place on Friday 14 March and will include five new inductions to the club’s hall of fame.
For ticket information click here.
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