Crown Flatt

Crown Flatt, known as the Tetley's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a rugby league stadium in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of Dewsbury rugby league club. It occupies the site of Shaw Cross Colliery, which closed in August 1968.Crown Flatt was also the name of a stadium used by Dewsbury until 13 September 1988, when it was deliberately burnt down.HistoryOriginal stadiumOn 19 January 1876, Mr A. Fearnsides – a Savile estate tenant – had agreed to sub-let the field to Dewsbury Athletic and Football Club for an initial payment of £20 per year.The earliest surviving reference to the Crown Flatt enclosure is the one goal to nil defeat by Leeds Caledonians on 22 January 1876.In season 1879/1880 the ground acquired its first permanent structure - a wooden terrace occupying the top side of the estate. At around the same time, and at a cost of £250, the field acquired a perimeter wall, turnstiles, viewing platforms and a refreshment tent.Improved changing facilities appeared during the 1884/85 campaign. "Noah’s Ark" - a 3,500-seater grandstand purchased from the Royal Agricultural Show at Preston for £170 was erected along the southern touchline in time for the visit of Morley on 26 September 1885. In 1890, Crown Flatt hosted its first international rugby union match when it was used as England's first venue after a two-year absence from the Home Nations Championship due to the RFU's refusal to join the International Rugby Board. The game is notable as it was the first time England had lost to Wales, with the only try scored by a Dewsbury player, Wales's 'Buller' Stadden.