Franklin’s Gardens opened in 1880 with Northampton Saints moving in 8 years later. The stadium has a capacity of 15,200 and was bought by the club in 1977 for a fee of £30,000. In the future, the club would like to expand the Barewell, South and Carlsberg stands in order to expand the capacity. The other stand (Church’s Stand) is limited to its potential expansion due to its position to the site boundary.
Table of Contents
Stadium Guide by Rugby Tripper
History
Following Northampton Brewery Company’s purchase of the stadium, they began redevelopments immediately by adding running track, bicycle track, cricket ground, swimming pool, bear pit, a large ornamental lake, an improved monkey house and a large zoological garden.
A new stand was built in 1897 at a cost of £45 which would allow more fans to come into the stadium and introduced season tickets. The Second World War required the stadium to be used for livestock before being redeveloped as a rugby stadium by adding a £6,000 stand. Northampton Saints bought the stadium for £30,000 in 1977 which meant they no longer had to share their gate revenue with previous owners Northampton Brewery Company.
Following another renovation in 1990 at a cost of £6 million, the new stadium opened in 2001 with the Carlsberg and south stands finishing just a year later. The north stand has been the most recent development which was completed in the summer of 2015 and required the demolition of the Sturtridge Pavilion.
One notable event that took place at Franklin’s Gardens was the 2011 Anglo-Welsh Cup final between Gloucester and Newcastle Falcons where Gloucester emerged victorious in a 34-7 beating. The 2011 Churchill Cup opener also took place at the ground with Canada beating Italy A and England Saxons beating the USA in a doubleheader event.