Leigh Centurions set to christen Salford City Stadium
10:58am Friday 6th January 2012 in Leigh Centurions
LEIGH Centurions ‘return the favour’ when they open the new year against Salford City Reds on Saturday.
Centurions will help Reds to make history, providing the first opposition at Salford’s new £16m home in Barton.
Reds had done the same for Centurions when Leigh Sports Village staged its first game on December 28, 2008.
A number of new signings are expected to make their debuts for Leigh, who are yet to announce a new head coach following the departure of Ian Millward to Castleford Tigers.
Loyal servant Paul Rowley, the club’s former hooker, has been overseeing the players’ preparations.
Although the Salford City Stadium is expected to have a capacity of 12,000 for its first Super League season, there will be a reduction in place for Saturday’s 2pm kick off.
The ‘gate’ will be restricted to between 5,000 and 6,000 as the stadium goes through the process of satisfying criteria for its safety certificate.
Salford City Stadium, which is three-and-a-half miles away from Reds’ former Willows home of 110 years, is located off the A57 Liverpool Road close to Barton Bridge and within 500 metres of J11 of the M60.
Two sides of the stadium are seating, while the two ends are terracing.
Centurions are selling tickets from the LSV priced at £12 for adults, £8 concessions and £4 for children.
Leigh’s 2012 away kit has been kept a closely guarded secret but Centurions will play in the new strip for the first time on Saturday.
Supporters can pre-order the new shirts from the club’s merchandise outlet, Jitterbugz, which is in Railway Road in Leigh.
They will be in store later this month.
Leigh squad 2012: Bob Beswick, Ricky Bibey, Ryan Brierley, Craig Briscoe, Adam Clay, John Duffy, Tommy Gallagher, Matt Gardner, Chris Gerrard, Tommy Goulden, Sam Hopkins, Stuart Littler, Steve Maden, Dean McGilvray, Gregg McNally, Ricky Murphy, Anthony Nicholson, Michael Ostick, Rob Parker, Jonny Pownall, Martyn Ridyard, James Taylor.
l Leigh hooker John Duffy has been named Scotland player of the year for 2011.
