Home Ground
Wasp's first home was in Finchley Road, North London although subsequent years saw grounds being rented in various parts of London. In 1923 Wasps moved to a permanent home at Sudbury, Middlesex, eventually buying the ground outright. Although the team currently play home matches at Adams Park, High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, and the ground at Sudbury has been developed for housing, the club house still stands (currently being used as a Hindu Community Centre) and is still considered by many as the club's spiritual home.
Wasps previously played their home games at Loftus Road in West London. They however made the move to High Wycombe in 2002. The crowds figure went up by 31.8% the next season. In recent years, Wasps have played their season opener in the London Double Header at Twickenham, in 2006 this drew a crowd of 51,950, breaking the record set in 2004. From the start of the 2003/4 season to the end of the 2005/6 season the stadium was sponsored by Causeway Technologies and known as the Causeway Stadium.
For the 2007/08 season it was announced that Wasps would begin their defence of the Heineken Cup in Coventry, playing their "home" tie against Munster at Coventry City's Ricoh Arena. While commercially the move was seen as a success with Wasps winning the game 24–23 in front of a crowd of 21,506, the move attracted criticism from some of the club's supporters. It could be argued they had little choice in moving the match away from Adams Park, with Wycombe Wanderers playing an FA Cup tie the same day.
It was announced in 2007 that a joint venture between Wasps, Wycombe Wanderers and Wycombe District Council would fund a new stadium in the High Wycombe area. The favoured site for the new stadium now appears to be Wycombe Air Park, a 208-acre (0.84 km2) site owned by Wycombe District Council and close to the M40 motorway. The site is currently leased as an airfield but the lease expires in 2014 and potentially could be taken back earlier. The loose plans are that it would be 16–17,000 capacity, with a terraced section (it would be the first new football ground in England with terraced section since the Taylor Report). The development would also included retail, hotel, conference and other facilities. Wasps and Wanderers funding would primarily be from Steve Hayes, who had become a 25% share holder through a £250,000 investment in Wycombe Wanderers in June 2004, when the football club became a plc company; and later became managing director. Hayes bought an 11.6% stake in London Wasps Holdings Ltd in August 2007, and became chairman of Lawrence Dallaglio's benefit committee. In December 2008, Hayes bought Wright's controlling interest and John O'Connell's share holding in Wasps to take complete control.
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