MKM Stadium
The MKM Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Kingston upon Hull, England. It has a current capacity of 25,586. The stadium is home to both association football club Hull City A.F.C. of the EFL Championship and rugby league club Hull F.C. of the Super League.
It was previously known as the KC Stadium, but was renamed the KCOM Stadium as part of a major rebrand on 4 April 2016 by the stadium's sponsor KCOM. In June 2021, it was renamed to its current name, the MKM Stadium, as part of a five-year sponsorship with MKM Building Supplies. During UEFA competitions, the stadium is known as the Hull City Stadium due to sponsorship regulations.
Conceived in the late 1990s, it was completed in 2002 at a cost of approximately £44 million. The stadium is owned by Hull City Council and operated by the Stadium Management Company, who have previously considered expanding the stadium capacity up to 34,000. The bowl-shaped stadium contains a continuous single tier of seats with a second tier on the west side.
The stadium occasionally hosts international association football and rugby league competitions and acts as a venue for concerts by musical artists. Previous performances at the stadium include Elton John and The Who.
History
The idea of a new stadium for Kingston upon Hull, whose professional football club Hull City had played at Boothferry Park since 1946, was first mooted in 1997. However, funds to finance such a project only became available when the city council sold a portion of its holdings in Kingston Communications. The council provided most of the funds, more than £42 million, with the rest stemming from government single regeneration budget grants and from the Football Stadium Improvement Fund.The council appointed John Topliss to head the stadium construction project. He and his team partnered with consulting firm Drivers Jonas to explore preliminary issues such as stadium location, seating capacity, and facilities offered. Topliss stated that his team had "a totally blank canvas" and, by working with consultants, they made "a thorough assessment" of what was needed.
The project team considered over a dozen sites, inside and outside of the city, before settling on The Circle in West Park. Factors contributing to the decision include transport guidance, central government planning guidelines, existing athletic facilities, isolation from residential areas, and council ownership. The stadium site is located around from the original 'Circle' Stadium, one of Hull City's previous home grounds.
The final recommendation of Drivers Jonas included additional facilities for both indoor and outdoor sports for the people of West Hull, in addition to the main stadium, planned to seat from 25,000 to 30,000 spectators. Professional services firm Arup Associates provided initial concept proposals for the stadium. The Miller Partnership, an architectural and interior design firm, adopted these proposals during the stadium's design. The construction work began in the autumn of 2001 was undertaken by Birse Group.
There were a handful of obstacles during the course of the project, including Hull City A.F.C.'s receivership in early 2001, just after the granting of planning permission. Despite this, the stadium complex was completed on time after fourteen months of work and on budget, sitting at approximately £44 million. The stadium officially opened its doors on 18 December 2002.
That day, there were 22,467 spectators in attendance as Hull City beat Sunderland A.F.C. 1–0 in a friendly match to mark the occasion. Steve Melton scored the only goal of the game, consequently the first at the new stadium. Furthermore, the clubs contested for the 'Raich Carter Trophy' in honour of the late Raich Carter, who played for both of the clubs during his playing career, eventually also managing Hull between 1948 and 1951.
Twenty years later, almost to the day, on 17 December 2022, the clubs met again at the now MKM Stadium in the EFL Championship. Both sides agreed to recontest the Raich Carter Trophy to mark two decades at the Tigers' new stadium. The game ended 1–1 with Hull retaining the trophy, in front of a crowd of 18,120 spectators.
Design
The stadium is an all-seater, asymmetrical bowl with an official capacity of 25,586. A single tier runs around the entire bowl that can seat approximately 20,000 spectators, while the West Stand has a second tier that can hold approximately 5,000 more. The stadium's seats are mostly black, with a band of white and amber seats around the circumference. White and amber seats form the word Hull in both the North Stand and the South Stand. In the East Stand, the seats form an image of a coronet, a symbol of the city that also appears in the club crest for Hull F.C. and in the coat of arms of the city council. Black, white, and amber were chosen to remain neutral toward the colours of its two tenants: black and white for Hull F.C. and black and amber for Hull City. The blue and gold of owner Hull City Council appear in the stadium's four external columns. Set within Hull's West Park, it is the first stadium in England to be built in a parkland setting.Each stand has a name for corporate sponsorship purposes. On 4 July 2011, Hull City revealed that the stadium's West Stand would be sponsored by the local Cranswick plc under a two-year agreement, which was extended on 26 July 2013. On 10 July 2013, it was announced the East Stand would be sponsored by Ideal Standard and become known as the Ideal Standard Community East Stand. Ahead of the home fixture against West Bromwich Albion on 5 March 2022, the stand was renamed the Chris Chilton Stand, in honour of Hull City's all-time record goalscorer, the late Chris Chilton; on Hull F.C. match days, the stand will alternatively be named the Johnny Whiteley Stand, in honour of former Hull F.C. player and coach Johnny Whiteley, with a naming ceremony taking place at the home fixture against Bradford Bulls on 14 February 2026.
Facilities
Hospitality
Corporate hospitality is provided by 28 executive boxes located between the two tiers of the West Stand, while security of the stadium is maintained through the use of 57 closed-circuit television cameras that cover the stadium. The stadium complex also includes the 1,500 capacity Bonus Arena, a skate park, two multi-use all-weather pitches, a community learning zone complete with classrooms, a health & fitness suite, a cyber cafe, and a library.Pitch
The size of the playing surface is 114 x 74 m and made of rye grass with a 3% additive of artificial grass. This provides ample room for a FIFA-regulation football pitch of 105 x 68 m and a standard rugby league pitch of 100 x 68 m, plus the minimum 6 m long in-goals at each end. The playing surface has an automated watering system and below-surface heating.Upgrades
Plans have previously been prepared for the potential extension of the stadium. A further 4,500 seats could be added to create a second tier to the East Stand, while there is also a possibility of adding extensions to both the North Stand and the South Stand of around 2,000 seats each. This would make the stadium a complete two-tier bowl with an overall capacity of approximately 34,000 seats.Over the summer of 2007, SMC installed an LED screen in the North Stand to replace the old electronic scoreboard. The screen has an area of approximately 40 m2 and displays such content as live home game feeds, match highlights, interviews, and action replays.
In 2011, Hull City owner Assem Allam announced that he wanted to buy the stadium freehold so he could develop, as he stated, "a sports park" on the site. After the council refused, Allam stated "I had in mind £30m to spend on the infrastructure of the club, to increase the stadium by 10,000 and to have commercial activities around the stadium – cafeterias, shops, supermarkets – to have all this to create income for the club so that in the future it can be self-financing and not relying on me."
Ahead of the 2013–14 season, goal-line technology was installed in the ground to abide by the new Premier League regulations.
In February 2023, Tan Kesler, Hull City's vice chairman, announced that the club was exploring the plans that had been made during the stadium's construction to upgrade the area surrounding the ground. These plans included "community pitches" and "multi-dimensional sports facilities", similar to those seen at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, albeit on a smaller scale. Kesler stated that the club would work closely with the local council to ensure that the Hull Fair would not be impacted by any upgrades, as it occupies an area of land that could be used for potential development. However, in September 2024, the fair's organisers deemed the early plans to upgrade the area as "unacceptable" and that they were even willing to begin a boycott in retaliation, if action was not taken to change the plans.
On 13 April 2025, it was announced that safe standing would be introduced to the stadium, with work set to begin at the end of the 2024–25 season. Approximately 2,700 seats were converted, with both the home and away ends affected. The upgrade was carried out by Ferco Seating and completed in time for the new 2025–26 campaign.