UK Stadiums: Kirklees Stadium, Huddersfield, England
Kirklees Stadium (aka John Smith's Stadium) in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, is the home ground of Huddersfield Town and rugby league team Huddersfield Giants. It is presently known as the Accu Stadium for sponsorship purposes.
Capacity
The stadium has a capacity now of 24,121 and is an all-seater stadium. The record attendance for a football match is 24,263 for a Premier League game between Huddersfield Town and Liverpool in 2018.
The football stadium opened in 1994 and as well as football, rugby league and the occasional rugby union game is frequently a venue for music concerts.
The first game at the new ground was a 0-1 loss to Wycombe Wanderers in the Second Division when the stadium was still incomplete.
Club History
Founded in 1908, Huddersfield (nicknamed 'The Terriers') were the first club to become English champions three times in a succession in the 1920s, under the management of the legendary Herbert Chapman. The team won the old Football League First Division in 1923-24, 1924-25 and again in 1925-26 but have never been champions since. The feat has since been equalled by both Manchester United (twice) and Manchester City. The club also won the FA Cup in 1922. They are now owned by American businessman Kevin Nagle.
Some historic greats at the club include Billy Smith a winger who made a club-record 574 appearances between 1913 and 1934, scoring the winning goal in the 1922 FA Cup Final. Ray Wilson was a Town and England left-back who earned the most international caps while at the club and won the 1966 World Cup. George Brown was a prolific striker and the club's all-time top goalscorer with 159 goals during their dominant 1920s era. Denis Law began his professional football career at Huddersfield Town, making his debut at age 16 in 1956. More recent stars include Aaron Mooy the Australian midfielder who was instrumental in driving the club to a historic promotion to the Premier League in 2017 and Andy Booth, a locally-born striker who scored close to 150 goals across two major spells for the club spanning the 1990s and 2000s. In addition, Christopher Schindler is remembered with affection by fans as the German defender cemented his legacy by scoring the winning penalty in the 2017 Championship play-off final.
The Terriers presently find themselves in League One (2026) after relegation from the Championship in May 2024. They were last in the Premier League between 2017-2019, reaching the top flight through the play-offs under German coach David Wagner, a disciple of Jürgen Klopp's gegenpressing style of play.
The stadium complex also includes a conference centre and cinema.
Accessibility
The ground has good overall wheelchair accessibility, featuring dedicated viewing spaces, accessible parking, and step-free routes. Disabled parking is available close to the venue, with spaces located within 50 meters of an accessible entrance. The main car park provides step-free entry to the stadium via a footbridge crossing the River Colne. The venue provides designated easy-access, amenity, and wheelchair spaces distributed across the stands. Accessible toilets are also located throughout the stadium concourses.
Access - Getting There
The nearest railway station to the ground is the picturesque Huddersfield train station. Huddersfield Station has trains to Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Airport as well as Liverpool (via Manchester Victoria). There are also local trains to Sheffield, Leeds, Bradford Interchange via Halifax and Wakefield Kirkgate. The station also has rail services to Hull, York, Scarborough, Middlesbrough and Newcastle.
Huddersfield Bus Station is a short walk from the station and has buses to the stadium. Convenient buses include the 202 and 203 Max and the 229 Sapphire.
On foot from the station, the ground is around 20 minutes away.
Address: Stadium Way, Huddersfield, HD1 6PG
Nearby Hotels
Close to the station is the Stay Hotel. The more upmarket Cedar Court Hotel is a little out of town near the M62 motorway. The Plumbers Arms is a guest house with flat-screen TV and en suite bathrooms.
See here for a complete listing of hotel accommodation close to the station in Huddersfield.
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