Famous old Headingley ground has stood the test of time

The anniversary was marked yesterday as Leeds Carnegie faced Saracens and both the match and the occasion were far removed from the inaugural game at what is now one of the most iconic venues in world rugby.

Then, Leeds met Manningham on September 20, 1890 in what was still an amateur game but within which were already stirrings of resentment between those who lost earnings by taking time off work to play and those in the professional classes who did not need the money.

That division would, just five years later, lead to a group of clubs based largely in Yorkshire and Lancashire, embracing professionalism and resigning from the Rugby Football Union. They formed the Northern Union which later evolved into the Rugby Football League.

But it was the union code which had initially been embraced by Lord Hawke – one of the key influences behind the development of Yorkshire County Cricket Club – and his colleagues on the board of the Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company. They had paid the Cardigan Estate, descendants of the Earl who had perished in the Charge of the Light Brigade, 20,000 for a plot of land between Cardigan Road and Kirkstall Lane and St Michael's Lane.

Their plan was to stage cricket and rugby matches on adjacent fields – as was the fashion at the time with similar groups in Bradford, Huddersfield, Halifax, Keighley, Hull and Sheffield among many rapidly developing towns and cities – with additional facilities for bowls and tennis and a cycling and athletics track round the perimeter of the cricket arena.

Immediately the potential of the Leeds venue was realised with Yorkshire Cup RFU finals regularly being staged at Headingley – unless Leeds were finalists – drawing crowds of 14,000 and in 1893 the ground staged the international between England and Scotland (the Scots winning 8-0 thanks to two drop goals) which attracted over 30,000 customers to watch a side which contained players from the Huddersfield, Bradford, Bramley and Bingley clubs.

The Yorkshire Cup match between Leeds and Halifax on April 2, 1892 was watched by a crowd of 27,654 – the stadium record for a 'club' union match – but three years later the game had divided and union would not return to Headingley until August 17, 1996 when Leeds RUFC, formed by a merger of the Headingley and Roundhay clubs, faced Swansea in their first game following the inevitable acceptance of professionalism by the union code.

In the interim, Headingley became one of the great venues in rugby league with the record attendance being 40,175, set when Leeds entertained their great rivals, Bradford Northern, in 1945.

It has hosted over 40 Test matches and other major fixtures, including the first Challenge Cup final in 1897 and the 1970 World Cup final between Great Britain and Australia.

The name remains the same but Headingley has changed over the years. The South Stand, still the preferred site for the most vociferous section of Leeds Rhinos' fans, was built in 1931 and the North Stand was completed in 1932 after the original structure had burned down during a match against Halifax.

Terraces at the Eastern end of the ground have been replaced by the Carnegie Stand, which includes extensive corporate hospitality facilities and doubles as a learning centre for students of Leeds Metropolitan University, the Western Terrace remains largely unchanged.

Plans are being drawn up for a new South Stand and the board of Leeds Rugby have also explored the possibility of rebuilding the North Stand but, because that structure is also used by Yorkshire CCC who, having invested heavily in developments in other areas on their side of the ground, are not in a position to make progress on any further rebuilding at this stage.

The directors of Leeds Rugby insist that any development will not be done at the risk of 120 years of tradition.

Commercial director Rob Oates said: "This is an incredible milestone for Headingley Carnegie Stadium.

"We are immensely proud of our tradition as a rugby stadium, be it for rugby league or rugby union, and we want that to continue as a legacy for the next generations of all rugby supporters.

"We have recently introduced new memberships for Leeds Rhinos and Leeds Carnegie fans that allow supporters to directly help fund the future development of our home and there has been a tremendous response already."

So today Headingley reaches a notable landmark but the indications are that the old ground will still be at the heart of Yorkshire sport for many years to come, who knows, maybe another 120 years.