The sports centre is situated on the southeast side of Durham on the floodplain of the River Wear, just south of the Maiden Castle iron age fort from which it takes its name.

Paths along the river link Maiden Castle to the university's other sports fields at Hollow Drift (150 m north) and The Racecourse.

[6] It was opened on 8 May 1965 by Clive Rowlands, captain of the Welsh rugby team, as "Maiden Castle Sports Hall and Playing Fields", with an athletics meeting being held the same day.

[23][24][25][26] However, the expansion raised opposition from the City of Durham Trust as the site lies within the North East Green Belt and there were concerns about the environmental impact of the floodlights.

Durham County Council's senior planning officer found that the development was inappropriate for green belt land but that the harm was "less than substantial" and outweighed by the benefits of maximizing participation in sport.

The openness of the Maiden Castle training sessions was credited with helping Kevin Keegan's team bond with their fans.

[51][52] The four competing teams were England, Wales, Croatia and Slovakia, with Russia having been originally scheduled to participate prior to their exclusion following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

(association football) moved to Maiden Castle in summer 2020 following work on the facilities around the 3G pitch and running track to meet the requirements of the FA Women's Championship.

[58] The Darlington Mowden Park Durham Sharks (rugby union) played their home games in the latter part of the 2020/21 Allianz Premier 15s season (from February 2021) at Maiden Castle.

The remaining grass pitches and a cricket field with an artificial wicket are located on the east side of the river with access from the west bank via a footbridge.

The Durham University Boat Club boathouse is also located at the Maiden Castle site, on the west bank of the river.