Welford Road, the home of Leicester Tigers and the biggest club rugby ground in England, has been axed as a potential venue for the 2015 World Cup.

Gloucester's Kingsholm is the only Aviva Premiership rugby ground on a list that includes the Olympic Stadium, Twickenham, Wembley, the Millennium Stadium and some of the biggest club football stadiums.

Welford Road, which has been Leicester's home for 120 years, has been left off the long list of 17 venues published by the tournament organisers, England Rugby 2015.

The Leicester chairman, Peter Tom, was both astounded and angered by the snub. "We are hugely disappointed to learn that Welford Road will not play a part in England's hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2015," he said. "It is home to the best-supported and most successful club in the history of the professional game in this country and, as such, we believe it is worthy of Rugby World Cup status.

"Who can forget that both head coach and captain of England's World Cup-winning team in 2003 [Sir Clive Woodward and Martin Johnson], and several other members of the squad and backroom staff, spent major parts of their own careers in Leicester colours?

"The current England squad also contains a sizeable number of Leicester players, many of whom have been introduced to the sport as fans at Welford Road and have come through the club's academy structure to first team and then international honours.

"It is that kind of heritage and dedication to the development of the game that makes the name of Leicester Tigers and Welford Road stadium known throughout the rugby-playing world.

"Welford Road is the largest designated club rugby stadium in England, an iconic home of the sport in this country and home to the most successful club in the history of a thriving, competitive and successful league structure yet it will not be at the table when it comes to hosting a global rugby event in this country.

"That the organisers of RWC2015 do not think this an appropriate venue for its fixtures is disappointing and confusing both for the professional club game in this country and for its supporters.".

Gloucester's Kingsholm is the only Aviva Premiership rugby ground on a list of 17 potential venues chosen by tournament organisers England Rugby 2015, with 12 Premier League and Football League grounds included as well as Wembley and the Olympic Stadium. The home grounds of Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Southampton have all been included after expressing an interest in staging World Cup matches.

Outside the Premier League, ER2015 has included Brighton's Amex Stadium, Bristol City's Ashton Gate, Pride Park in Derby, Coventry's Ricoh Arena, Elland Road in Leeds and Stadium MK in Milton Keynes.

Leicester is still represented by the King Power Stadium, which has a capacity of more than 32,000 and, the tournament organisers believe, more suitable off-field facilities than Welford Road.

Critics argue the World Cup should be utilising more rugby grounds but ER2015 has to sell 2.9 million tickets to cover the £80m guarantee owed to the International Rugby Board.

ER2015 will confirm the final list of 10-12 venues early in the new year, once the tournament match schedule has been formulated. The pool draw is being held on 3 December in London.

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium was in the original bid document but it does not feature on the shortlist, replaced by the Olympic Stadium.

ER2015 are in talks with the Olympic Park Legacy Company over the future use of the stadium, which has obvious attractions following the success of London 2012.

Andy Cosslett, the England Rugby 2015 chairman, said: "Our vision for Rugby World Cup 2015 is to ensure that we take this prestigious tournament to as many parts of the country as possible and we believe that the geographical spread of venues selected will enable us to maximise the reach of the tournament.

"In addition, we will be selecting further venues for training and team base camps that will ensure that the rugby community is at the very heart of Rugby World Cup 2015."