# Ravenhill Stadium

Ravenhill Stadium (known as the Kingspan Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby stadium located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the home of Ulster Rugby. With the opening of a new stand for the 2014 Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens on 5 April 2014, the capacity of the stadium is now 18,196. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union.

## History

Ravenhill Stadium opened in 1923. It features an ornate arch at the entrance that was erected as a war memorial for those players killed in World War I and World War II. Prior to 1923, both Ulster and Ireland played games at the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society grounds in Belfast.
Ravenhill has been the annual venue for the Ulster Schools Cup final since 1924, which is traditionally contested on St Patrick's Day. The stadium is traditionally the venue for the Ulster Towns Cup, played on Easter Monday.
Ravenhill has hosted 18 international matches, including pool games in both the 1991 and 1999 Rugby World Cups. The most recent Ireland international played at the stadium was on 24 August 2007 against Italy in a warm-up match for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Prior to that match, Scotland was the last visitor in the 1954 Five Nations Championship. Ravenhill also hosted the 2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship final in which New Zealand defeated South Africa.
Ravenhill hosted memorable Ulster games in the Heineken Cup. Ulster beat Toulouse 15–13 at Ravenhill in the quarter-finals of the 1998–99 Heineken Cup. Ravenhill then hosted the 1998–99 Heineken Cup semi-final in which Ulster defeated Stade Français 33–27. The most memorable moment in that game was when out half David Humphreys ran from the Ulster 10-metre line to score a try.
On 5 June 2014, Ulster signed a 10-year contract with the Kingspan Group for the naming rights to Ravenhill, meaning that the stadium will be known as the Kingspan Stadium until 2024.
On 30 May 2015, the 2015 Pro12 Grand Final was played at the Kingspan Stadium. Glasgow Warriors beat Munster 31–13.
On 26 August 2017, the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Final was played at the Kingspan Stadium. New Zealand beat England 41–32. The semi-final matches and some play-off matches of the Women's Rugby World Cup were also played at the stadium.

## 2009 Redevelopment

The new stand at Ravenhill was officially opened on 9 October 2009 by First Minister Peter Robinson, before a match between Ulster and Bath Rugby. The stand has however been in use since the first home match of the 2009–2010 season, against Edinburgh Rugby.
The stand is on the Mount Merrion side of the ground, and consists of a terraced area, over 500 premium seats, and 20 corporate boxes. The terraced area is now covered by a roof for the first time in the stadium's history. The cost of the project is approximately £4.5 million, and has been funded by a mixture of public-sector funding, sales of premium tickets and boxes, and loans from the IRFU.

## 2012–2014 Redevelopment

In 2011, the Northern Ireland Executive announced that it had granted £138m for various stadium redevelopment projects throughout Northern Ireland. Ulster Rugby received £14.5m, which was used to redevelop Ravenhill and expand its capacity from 12,000 to 18,000.
In 2012, Ulster Rugby confirmed that three new stands would be built at Ravenhill, with work commencing in late 2012. Two new stands at the Memorial and Aquinas ends of the stadium were completed while the main stand was demolished and rebuilt. The major refurbishment was completed in April 2014.

## Ireland Internationals

Ireland Senior Test Matches :
| Date | Competition | Home | Away | Score | Attendance |
| 9 February 1924 | Five Nations | Ireland | England | 3–14 | 15,000 |
| 14 March 1925 | Five Nations | Ireland | Wales | 19–3 | |
| 23 January 1926 | Five Nations | Ireland | France | 11–0 | 20,000 |
| 28 January 1928 | Five Nations | Ireland | France | 12–8 | 20,000 |
| 9 March 1929 | Five Nations | Ireland | Wales | 5–5 | |
| 25 January 1930 | Five Nations | Ireland | France | 0–5 | 25,000 |
| 14 March 1931 | Five Nations | Ireland | Wales | 3–15 | 30,000 |
| 11 March 1933 | Home Nations | Ireland | Wales | 10–5 | |
| 9 March 1935 | Home Nations | Ireland | Wales | 9–3 | 35,000 |
| 3 April 1937 | Home Nations | Ireland | Wales | 5–3 | 20,000 |
| 11 March 1939 | Home Nations | Ireland | Wales | 0–7 | 28,000 |
| 13 March 1948 | Five Nations | Ireland | Wales | 6–3 | 32,000 |
| 11 March 1950 | Five Nations | Ireland | Wales | 3–6 | |
| 24 January 1953 | Five Nations | Ireland | France | 16–3 | 38,000 |
| 27 February 1954 | Five Nations | Ireland | Scotland | 6–0 | |
| 24 August 2007 | 2007 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches | Ireland | Italy | 23–20 | 14,100 |
Ireland's Record at the Ravenhill :
| Competition | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | % Won |
| Test Match | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Home/Five Nations | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 60% |
| Total | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 62.5% |
| This table does not include the results of the Ireland Wolfhounds, Ireland A, Ireland B or the Ireland U25 sides. ||||||
Updated 21 April 2021
Ireland Uncapped International Matches :
| Date | Competition | Home | Away | Score | Attendance |
| 4 December 1982 | | Ireland B | England B | 6–10 | |
| 22 December 1990 | | Ireland B | Scotland B | 16–0 | |
| 26 November 1997 | | Ireland A | Canada | 26–10 | |
| 1 December 1998 | 1998 South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland | Ireland A | South Africa | 19–50 | 10,000 |
| 28 December 1998 | | Ireland U25 | Italy | 21–16 | |
| 7 November 2000 | 2000 Japan tour of Europe | Ireland U25 | Japan | 83–13 | |
| 16 February 2001 | | Ireland A | France A | 23–55 | |
| 13 November 2001 | 2001 New Zealand rugby union tour | Ireland A | New Zealand XV | 30–43 | |
| 1 March 2002 | | Ireland A | Scotland A | 60–3 | |
| 7 March 2003 | | Ireland A | France A | 19–29 | |
| 9 February 2007 | | Ireland A | England Saxons | 5–32 | 3,528 |
| 13 November 2009 | 2009 end-of-year rugby union internationals | Ireland A | Tonga | 48–19 | 3,777 |
| 5 February 2010 | | Ireland Wolfhounds | Scotland A | 34–19 | 2,746 |
| 4 February 2011 | | Ireland Wolfhounds | England Saxons | 20–11 | 2,000 |

## Rugby World Cup Matches

* 14 October 1991
| Japan | 52–8 | Zimbabwe |
| Try: Horikoshi Kutsuki (2) Mashuho (2) Yoshida (2) Matsuo Luaiufi Con: Hosokawa (5) Pen: Hosokawa | (Report) | Try: Tsimba Nguruve |
* Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Rene Hourquet (France)
* 3 October 1999
| Australia | 57–9 | Romania |
| Try: Horan 2' m Kefu (3) 7' c, 25' c, 78' c Little 41' m Roff (2) 43' c, 48' m Paul 64' c Burke 67' c Con: Eales Burke (5) | (Report) | Pen: Mitu (3) 12', 70', 74' |
* Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

## Ulster Home Attendance

| Domestic League | Domestic League | Domestic League | Domestic League | Domestic League | European Cup | European Cup | European Cup | European Cup | European Cup | Total | Total |
| League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | League | Fixtures | Average Attendance | Highest | Lowest | Total Attendance | Average Attendance |
| – | – | – | – | – | 1995–96 Heineken Cup | 1 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 | 2,500 |
| – | – | – | – | – | 1996–97 Heineken Cup | 2 | 5,750 | 8,000 | 3,500 | 11,500 | 5,750 |
| – | – | – | – | – | 1997–98 Heineken Cup | 3 | 2,617 | 3,250 | 2,100 | 7,850 | 2,617 |
| – | – | – | – | – | 1998–99 Heineken Cup | 5 | 11,000 | 20,000 | 4,500 | 55,000 | 11,000 |
| – | – | – | – | – | 1999–00 Heineken Cup | 3 | 8,667 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 26,000 | 8,667 |
| – | – | – | – | – | 2000–01 Heineken Cup | 3 | 12,500 | 13,500 | 12,000 | 37,500 | 12,500 |
| 2001–02 Celtic League | 4 | 8,500 | 12,000 | 6,000 | 2001–02 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,833 | 13,000 | 10,000 | 69,500 | 9,929 |
| 2002–03 Celtic League | 4 | 8,375 | 10,500 | 6,000 | 2002–03 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,717 | 12,500 | 11,000 | 68,650 | 9,807 |
| 2003–04 Celtic League | 12• | 6,863 | 12,000 | 5,041 | 2003–04 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,489 | 12,300 | 10,243 | 116,819 | 7,788 |
| 2004–05 Celtic League | 10 | 6,693 | 8,145 | 5,638 | 2004–05 Heineken Cup | 3 | 9,452 | 11,435 | 7,320 | 95,283 | 7,330 |
| 2005–06 Celtic League | 10 | 9,181 | 12,300 | 6,487 | 2005–06 Heineken Cup | 3 | 12,284 | 12,300 | 12,252 | 128,665 | 9,897 |
| 2006–07 Celtic League | 10 | 10,207 | 12,900 | 7,429 | 2006–07 Heineken Cup | 3 | 12,599 | 12,772 | 12,278 | 139,862 | 10,759 |
| 2007–08 Celtic League | 9 | 9,661 | 13,132 | 6,592 | 2007–08 Heineken Cup | 3 | 10,335 | 13,000 | 8,340 | 117,956 | 9,830 |
| 2008–09 Celtic League | 9 | 9,085 | 13,500 | 7,368 | 2008–09 Heineken Cup | 3 | 9,329 | 10,397 | 8,729 | 109,752 | 9,146 |
| 2009–10 Celtic League | 9 | 8,863 | 11,800 | 7,334 | 2009–10 Heineken Cup | 3 | 10,509 | 11,000 | 8,262 | 109,947 | 9,162 |
| 2010–11 Celtic League | 11 | 8,476 | 11,426 | 6,651 | 2010–11 Heineken Cup | 3 | 8,863 | 10,566 | 7,777 | 119,829 | 8,559 |
| 2011–12 Pro12 | 11 | 8,258 | 11,379 | 6,296 | 2011–12 Heineken Cup | 3 | 9,593 | 11,900 | 7,494 | 119,620 | 8,544 |
| 2012–13 Pro12 | 12 | 10,373 | 11,078 | 8,108 | 2012–13 Heineken Cup | 3 | 11,123 | 11,451 | 10,940 | 157,840 | 10,523 |
| 2013–14 Pro12 | 11 | 13,348 | 16,950 | 10,693 | 2013–14 Heineken Cup | 4 | 14,464 | 16,853 | 12,977 | 204,678 | 13,645 |
| 2014–15 Pro12 | 11 | 16,037 | 17,139 | 13,501 | 2014–15 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 16,179 | 16,931 | 15,659 | 224,946 | 16,068 |
| 2015–16 Pro12 | 11 | 15,310 | 17,332 | 12,640 | 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 16,111 | 17,108 | 15,108 | 216,740 | 15,481 |
| 2016–17 Pro12 | 11 | 15,961 | 17,676 | 13,663 | 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 16,028 | 16,843 | 14,924 | 223,658 | 15,976 |
| 2017–18 Pro14 | 12* | 14,026 | 17,631 | 7,014 | 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 15,314 | 15,646 | 15,004 | 214,247 | 14,283 |
| 2018–19 Pro14 | 11 | 13,835 | 17,358 | 11,882 | 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 14,039 | 16,842 | 12,124 | 194,300 | 13,879 |
| 2019–20 Pro14 | 7‡ | 13,818 | 17,483 | 10,975 | 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 17,024 | 17,923 | 15,466 | 147,796 | 14,780 |
| 2020–21 Pro14 Pro14 Rainbow Cup | 0‡ | – | – | – | 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup | 0‡ | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2021–22 United Rugby Championship | 10 | 11,696 | 16,274 | 9,542 | 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup | 3 | 14,969 | 18,196 | 12,000 | 161,869 | 12,452 |
| 2022–23 United Rugby Championship | 10 | 13,413 | 16,741 | 10,858 | 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup | 1 | 18,196 | 18,196 | 18,196 | 152,330 | 13,848 |
| 2023–24 United Rugby Championship | 8† | 13,679 | 18,196 | 10,181 | 2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup | 2 | 14,437 | 16,592 | 12,282 | 138,305 | 13,831 |
| •Match figures inclusive of both Celtic League and Celtic Cup fixtures. ||||||||||||
| *Match figures inclusive of both Pro14 League fixtures and a European Champions Cup playoff fixture. ||||||||||||
| ‡Match figures include fixtures in which COVID-19 restrictions limited attendance, but exclude fixtures in which no spectators were allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ||||||||||||
| †Only matches in which there was a reported attendance are included. ||||||||||||
Up to date as of the 2022–23 season.
Key :
| | Record high |
| | Record low |
| * | Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic |

## Ravenhill Facilities Prior to Redevelopment

| View from grandstand | Grandstand | View from grandstand | Old Ravenhill grandstand |