Stadium relocations in Scottish football

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Over the 150-year history of football in Scotland, most teams have occupied several grounds as their home; this has occasionally involved a relocation to another community altogether. Grounds which have been in continuous use for several decades have been extensively redeveloped, particularly since the 1990s, with a few exceptions. This article and the accompanying tables focus on those Scottish Football League / Scottish Professional Football League clubs which have moved to a different stadium, including temporarily, since the 1980s when this became more frequent.

Background[edit]

The 1971 Ibrox disaster, in which 66 supporters were killed on an exit stairway with an old, unsafe design led to Rangers redeveloping their Ibrox Park over the next decade, replacing most of the terracing areas with seated grandstands, based on the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.[1] It was the first major modernisation of a football stadium in Scotland for decades.

Partick Thistle rebuilt two stands at Firhill Stadium and hosted two other clubs who had been made homeless.
Almondvale Stadium was built to provide 10,000 seats as required at the time, however attendances rarely exceed half of that total.

In 1986, Clyde became the first of several senior clubs to leave the stadium where they had played since the early years of the sport (1898 in their case); unusually in Scotland they did not own Shawfield Stadium, and the greyhound racing company which were the owners aimed to sell it for redevelopment (which never came to pass) and the football team was evicted.[2] It was the first in what would be a complicated and protracted series of relocations during the final years of the 20th and the outset of the 21st century. For Clyde, eight years of ground-sharing followed before their new home in Cumbernauld – ten miles from their old base in Rutherglen – was ready in 1994 (even then, it was still owned by the local authority rather than the club).[3]

By that time, the 1989 Hillsborough disaster had taken place, and its subsequent inquiry recommended all-seater stadia at the elite professional level,[4] something the Scottish Football League adopted as a rule, requiring almost all Scottish clubs to either upgrade their ageing stadia or construct new ones to comply with the new legislation (for example, both Easter Road and Tynecastle were entirely rebuilt in stages over the next 20 or so years,[5] with Hearts playing a small number of home matches at the neighbouring Murrayfield rugby stadium in the final phase of work).[6] Celtic spent one season – 1994–95 – away from home at Hampden Park[7] (between the national stadium's own periods of extensive renovation that required several national cup finals and Scotland fixtures to be played at the other large Glasgow venues)[8] which was familiar to many of the players from internationals and cup fixtures; indeed, the last match of their spell at Hampden before returning to a half-completed Celtic Park was the 1995 Scottish Cup Final, which they won. The sums spent by Celtic and others to modernise their stadia in that era was in contrast to Rangers who had carried out their major upgrades some years earlier, and this extra revenue was reflected in the Gers' dominance on the field in those years.[1]

Several middle-order teams such as Partick Thistle endured financial hardship modernising their ground,[9] exacerbated by a requirement of the new Scottish Premier League in 1998 (although it was actually set in place in 1994 with clubs given the intervening years to comply)[10] stipulating that a ground had to have 10,000 seats, far more than the average attendance of all but a handful of its members.[11]

A worse fate befell Airdrieonians who vacated their traditional Broomfield Park in 1994, had to wait four years for their new SPL-compliant Excelsior Stadium to be finished, then were out of business by 2002, unable to repay the cost of its construction. In their final match away to Ayr United, some Airdrie supporters staged a destructive pitch invasion at Somerset Park – the Ayr chairman happened to own the construction company which built Excelsior Stadium and was thus a major creditor of Airdrieonians;[12] however his club had not been burdened with the costly disruption of stadium rebuilding,[13] and nor would any major changes be seen at Somerset Park in the subsequent fifteen years.[14][15] A team continues to play in Airdrie, but at the time of its formation, Airdrie United was technically a rebranding of Clydebank,[16] another club which had vacated its old home and spent six seasons playing in Dumbarton and Greenock, with its attendance numbers dwindling all the while.[17] The Bankies fans formed a phoenix club of the same name to compete in the Junior leagues.[18]

Having been landlords to Clyde in the 1980s, Hamilton Academical almost went the way of Airdrieonians when their new stadium took seven years to materialise; it took the intervention of some Glasgow investors (who had previously been at the helm of Clyde)[19] to stabilise the Accies financially, and their youth-focused business model saw the club reach the top tier within a decade.[20]

Falkirk were denied promotion in 2000 (Aberdeen being spared possible relegation in a play-off)[21] and 2003 (Motherwell reprieved)[22] due to the condition of Brockville Park before they sold the town centre site for the construction of a supermarket (as Airdrie and Hamilton had done), sharing with Stenhousemuir for one year while their new stadium on the edge of town was being built. The Bairns were angered when Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who already had a new stadium but not of sufficient size, were allowed to join the SPL for the 2004–05 campaign on a ground-sharing agreement with Aberdeen[23] (100 miles away from their home city), albeit only for six months during expansion work, when Falkirk had been denied such an arrangement with Clyde or Airdrie United the year before.[24] This developments caused further annoyance for Partick Thistle as they were the club relegated from the top division when Inverness made their Aberdeen plan.[11] That summer, a reduction in the required seating capacity from 10,000 to 6,000 came into effect,[25] which benefitted clubs such Inverness,[26] Falkirk (who gained promotion in the first season in their new stadium) and later Hamilton, as smaller new venues were now acceptable without even having all four sides built up (to reach the lower threshold in 2008, Hamilton erected a 'temporary' stand for 700 which was still in place a decade later).

St Mirren Park is the most recent new stadium for a top-division club in Scotland, completed in 2009.
Somerset Park in Ayr is an old stadium with a majority of terracing and less than 2000 seats but would now meet SPFL Premiership entry requirements

Gretna also shared with Motherwell, a distance of 100 miles again, during their single campaign in the SPL in 2007–08; the league indicated that such plans would not be considered again due to the very poor condition of the Fir Park pitch as a result of so many matches being played on it.[27]

At either end of this unsettled period, St Johnstone (in 1989) and St Mirren (2009) both relocated to new grounds with much less upheaval than others mentioned above, due to the fact that the replacements were being constructed before the originals were vacated. This was also true further down the leagues for East Fife (1998) and Dumbarton (2000); however when East Stirlingshire vacated Firs Park in 2008, an intended tenancy of five years at nearby Stenhousemuir became ten years, during which time the club lost their league place, being relegated to the recently introduced Lowland Football League in 2016. In 2018, Shire moved in with Falkirk.[28]

Ayr United's impressive form at the outset of the 2018–19 Scottish Championship season led observers to examine the latest SPFL entry requirements due to the possibility of the club achieving promotion while still based at the unmodernised Somerset Park (all other promoted teams' stadia since the advent of the new league body in 2013 had met the previous SPL seating threshold of 6000, therefore little attention was paid to the matter). It was confirmed that the SPFL statutes only required grounds to have 'bronze standard' facilities (500 covered places), meaning Somerset Park would be accepted as a Premiership venue with minimal improvements.[15][29] Arbroath, with their similarly unmodernised Gayfield Park, came close to promotion in 2022,[30] while Queen's Park, long associated with playing in a near-empty Hampden, challenged for a Premiership place a year later while groundsharing at Stenhousemuir's Ochilview Park.[31]

Temporary relocations[edit]

Club Previous stadium Left Reason Moved to Landlord Years Back
Scotland;
Cup finals[32][8] 		Hampden Park 1992[a] Extensive reconstruction[b] Celtic Park;[c]
Ibrox Stadium;[d]
Pittodrie Stadium[e] 		Celtic;
Rangers;
Aberdeen 		1.5 1994[f]
Celtic[7] Celtic Park 1994 Extensive reconstruction Hampden Park Queen's Park 1 1995
Scotland;
Cup finals[32][8] 		Hampden Park 1996[g] Extensive reconstruction[b] Celtic Park;[h]
Ibrox Stadium;[i]
Others[j] 		Celtic;
Rangers;
Various others 		3 1999[k]
Inverness CT Caledonian Stadium 2004[l] Stadium expansion to meet capacity requirements Pittodrie Stadium Aberdeen 0.5 2005[m]
Gretna Raydale Park 2007 Did not meet capacity/safety requirements[27] Fir Park Motherwell 1 N/A
Club dissolved in summer 2008
Queen's Park;
Scotland;
Cup finals[32] 		Hampden Park 2013 Conversion of use:
Athletics at the 2014 Commonwealth Games 		Excelsior Stadium;[n]
Celtic Park;[o]
Ibrox Stadium[p] 		Airdrieonians;
Celtic;
Rangers 		1.5 2015[q]
Edinburgh City Meadowbank Stadium 2017 Redevelopment work[33][34] Ainslie Park Spartans 5 2022[35]
  1. ^ October 1992
  2. ^ a b Queen's Park were able to continue playing at Hampden during this work as the pitch was not damaged, some of the facilities were accessible and their small attendances did not cause capacity or safety issues.
  3. ^ Celtic Park hosted one 1992–93 Scottish Cup semi-final, the 1993 Scottish Cup Final and the 1993 Scottish League Cup Final.
  4. ^ Ibrox hosted one 1993–94 Scottish League Cup semi-final, the 1994 Scottish League Cup Final (as a result of finalists Celtic using Hampden during their own redevelopment) and four Scotland home matches.
  5. ^ Pittodrie hosted two Scotland home matches.
  6. ^ March 1994
  7. ^ May 1996
  8. ^ Celtic Park hosted one 1996–97 Scottish League Cup semi-final, the 1996 Scottish League Cup Final, one 1997–98 Scottish Cup semi-final, the 1998 Scottish Cup Final, one 1998–99 Scottish League Cup semi-final, the 1998 Scottish League Cup Final, one 1998–99 Scottish Cup semi-final and three Scotland home matches.
  9. ^ Ibrox hosted a 1996–97 Scottish Cup semi-final and replay, the 1997 Scottish Cup Final, a 1997–98 Scottish League Cup semi-final, the 1997 Scottish League Cup Final, one 1997–98 Scottish Cup semi-final, one 1998–99 Scottish Cup semi-final and three Scotland home matches.
  10. ^ Several stadia were used for Scotland home matches: Pittodrie hosted two, Rugby Park hosted two, Easter Road hosted one, Tynecastle hosted one.
  11. ^ May 1999
  12. ^ August 2004
  13. ^ January 2005
  14. ^ Excelsior Stadium hosted Queen's Park home matches.[32]
  15. ^ Celtic Park hosted the 2014 Scottish League Cup Final, the 2014 Scottish Cup Final and two Scotland home matches.
  16. ^ Ibrox hosted two 2013–14 Scottish Cup semi-finals and one Scotland home match.
  17. ^ Conversion reversed by January 2015

Indirect relocations[edit]

Moves to new permanent homes via one or more groundshares.[a]

Club Previous stadium Left Reason Moved to Landlord Years New stadium Back
Clyde Shawfield Stadium 1986 Evicted by controlling company Firhill Stadium Partick Thistle 5 N/A;
New groundshare (Douglas Park) 		N/A
Clyde N/A;
Previous groundshare (Firhill) 		1991 New stadium construction Douglas Park Hamilton Academical 3 Broadwood Stadium 1994
Stirling Albion Annfield Stadium[36] 1992 Sold to developer;
New stadium construction 		Ochilview Park Stenhousemuir 1 Forthbank Stadium 1993[37]
Airdrieonians (1878) Broomfield Park[36] 1994 Sold to developer;
New stadium construction 		Broadwood Stadium Clyde 4 Excelsior Stadium 1998
Hamilton Academical Douglas Park[36] 1994 Sold to developer;
New stadium planned 		Firhill Stadium Partick Thistle 3 N/A;
New groundshare (Cliftonhill) 		N/A
Clydebank Kilbowie Park[36] 1996 Sold to developer;
New stadium planned 		Boghead Park Dumbarton 3 N/A;
New groundshare (Cappielow) 		N/A
Hamilton Academical N/A;
Previous groundshare (Firhill) 		1997 New stadium planned Cliftonhill Albion Rovers 2 N/A;
New groundshare (Firhill) 		N/A
Clydebank N/A;
Previous groundshare (Boghead) 		1999 New stadium planned Cappielow Greenock Morton 3 Excelsior Stadium[b] 2002
Hamilton Academical N/A;
Previous groundshare (Cliftonhill) 		1999 New stadium construction Firhill Stadium Partick Thistle 2 New Douglas Park 2001
Falkirk Brockville Park[36] 2003 Sold to developer;
New stadium construction[38] 		Ochilview Park Stenhousemuir 1 Falkirk Stadium 2004
East Stirlingshire Firs Park[36] 2008 New stadium planned Ochilview Park Stenhousemuir 10 N/A;
New groundshare (Falkirk Stadium)[28][c] 		N/A
Queen's Park Hampden Park 2021 Lease on Hampden ended[39] Firhill[40][d] Partick Thistle[40] 1 N/A;
New groundshare (Ochilview) 		N/A
Clyde Broadwood Stadium 2022 Lease terminated; New stadium planned[41][42] New Douglas Park Hamilton Academical 2[43] To be confirmed[43][42] TBC[43][42]
Queen's Park N/A;
Previous groundshare (Firhill) 		2022 Redevelopment work on Lesser Hampden ongoing[44][45] Ochilview Park[46] Stenhousemuir[46] 1 N/A;
New groundshare (Hampden Park) 		N/A
Queen's Park N/A;
Previous groundshare (Ochilview) 		2023 Redevelopment work on Lesser Hampden ongoing[44][45] Hampden Park[47][48] Scottish Football Association TBC[e] Lesser Hampden TBC[e]
  1. ^ Cove Rangers's move to Balmoral Stadium in 2018 via Harlaw Park, Inverurie is not included as the club was not in the SPFL at the time.
  2. ^ Team relocated and rebranded as Airdrie United to retain existing league place. Stadium previously used by the defunct Airdrieonians .
  3. ^ The groundshare at Falkirk has not been listed separately as East Stirlingshire were not in the SPFL at the time (relegated in 2016).
  4. ^ 6 games in April 2021 played at Falkirk Stadium.
  5. ^ a b Hampden registered as home ground for season, but early matches will be played at Lesser due to other events held at Hampden. Duration and status of tenancy at Hampden uncertain, likely to be 2024

Permanent moves[edit]

Moves which did not involve any substantial period of temporary groundsharing.[a]

Club Previous stadium Left New stadium Notes
St Johnstone Muirton Park[36] 1989 McDiarmid Park [b]
Livingston Meadowbank Stadium 1995 Almondvale Stadium [c]
Inverness CT Telford Street Park 1996 Caledonian Stadium [d]
East Fife Bayview Park[36] 1998 Bayview Stadium
Dumbarton Boghead Park[36] 2000 Dumbarton Football Stadium [e]
St Mirren St Mirren Park (Love Street) 2009 St Mirren Park
  1. ^ Peterhead's move to Balmoor Stadium in 1997 is not included as the club was not in the SFL at the time.
  2. ^ McDiarmid Park was the first purpose-built all-seater stadium in the United Kingdom.
  3. ^ Rebranded from Meadowbank Thistle and relocated from Edinburgh to Livingston, West Lothian.
  4. ^ Followed a merger between Caledonian (who played at Telford Street) and Inverness Thistle in 1994 to gain SFL entry.
  5. ^ Stadium opened 2 December 2000. 9 games from August–November played at Cliftonhill.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Forsyth, Roddy (31 December 2010). "'Waddell accepted the need for urgent change and drew inspiration from the grounds at the 1974 World Cup finals'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Change, Decline & On The Road - Shawfield, Firhill & Douglas Park - 1970-1993". Clyde F.C. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  3. ^ "Council company to sue Clyde FC". BBC Sport. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  4. ^ Matt Slater (14 March 2007). "Call grows for return of terraces". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  5. ^ The changing face of Scotland's football grounds over the last 40 years, The Scotsman, 10 June 2020
  6. ^ "Hearts confirm home game with Kilmarnock will be played at Murrayfield". The Scotsman. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Queen's Park respond to former Celtic chief Fergus McCann's scathing criticism of Hampden". Daily Record. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ^ a b c Paul MacDonald (14 December 2017). "A sporting nation: The new Hampden re-opens 1994". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. ^ McLean, Euan (26 April 2012). "Partick Thistle captain Alan Archibald: Jags were first club to hit financial skids back in 1998.. we should have been the last". www.dailyrecord.co.uk. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  10. ^ "The 10,000 seat rule – the facts". Dundee United F.C. 7 April 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Hughes Court Warning to SPL". BBC Sport. BBC. 13 March 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Airdrie match stopped by invasion". BBC Sport. BBC. 27 April 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  13. ^ "Ayr are not at the SPL races". BBC Sport. BBC. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Ayr United's New Director Jim Kirkwood Wants To Stay at Somerset Park". Ayrshire Post. 15 February 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  15. ^ a b Fraser Wilson (1 December 2018). "Is Ayr United's Somerset Park fit for the Premiership? The rules explained". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Airdrie United given green light". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 July 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  17. ^ Lamont, Alasdair (1 July 2002). "Demise of the Bankies". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  18. ^ "Reborn Clydebank in Junior Cup final seven years after 'death'". sport.scotsman.com. Johnston Press. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  19. ^ "Ex-Clyde duo take charge at Hamilton". The Scotsman. 17 May 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  20. ^ Graham Speirs (4 October 2014). "Spiers on Saturday: understanding the Hamilton Accies success story". The Herald. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Falkirk stadium hopes boost". BBC News. 6 December 2000. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  22. ^ "Falkirk denied promotion". 27 June 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  23. ^ "Inverness win SPL vote". BBC Sport. 22 June 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  24. ^ Jonathan Coates (24 May 2003). "Falkirk lose out as SPL closes ranks and denies them place". The Scotsman. UK. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  25. ^ "SPL to consider rule change". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 May 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  26. ^ "Inverness are homeward bound". BBC Sport. 7 December 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  27. ^ a b "SPL groundshare plans 'shelved'". BBC Sport. 3 March 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  28. ^ a b Oliver, David (4 April 2018). "East Stirlingshire are back in town after decade at Stenhousemuir". Falkirk Herald. Johnston Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  29. ^ "Club Licensing Manual 2018" (PDF). Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  30. ^ ‘Close to immortality’: Arbroath’s part-timers chase Premiership dream, Niall McVeigh, The Guardian, 9 May 2022
  31. ^ Queen’s Park close to Scottish top-flight return but there is sting to tale, Ewan Murray, The Guardian, 5 May 2023
  32. ^ a b c d "The current Hampden Park, 1981 - Date". QPFC. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  33. ^ Pilcher, Ross (29 March 2017). "Edinburgh City and Spartans confirm three-season groundshare". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  34. ^ Edinburgh City unlikely to return to Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh Evening News, 14 February 2018
  35. ^ McPartlin, Patrick (11 July 2022). "Hibs announce formal partnership with FC Edinburgh with Hibs Women set to benefit from tie-up". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  36. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Scotland's lost football grounds remembered". The Guardian. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  37. ^ "History". Stirling Albion F.C. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  38. ^ "Falkirk Stadium approved ... now work begins". Falkirk Herald. 20 March 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2018.[permanent dead link]
  39. ^ Pattullo, Alan (20 March 2021). "Mystery hangs over Queen's Park's last-ever game at Hampden Park on what should be a hugely significant occasion for Scottish football". The Scotsman. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  40. ^ a b "Queens Park: League 1 club to play home games at Firhill next season". BBC Sport. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  41. ^ "Clyde submit final bid for new ground that they hope takes them back to Glasgow". Daily Record. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  42. ^ a b c "Relocation Project". Clyde FC. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  43. ^ a b c "Clyde to leave Broadwood and play at Hamilton's stadium next season -". BBC Sport. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  44. ^ a b Bigger And Better For Lesser Hampden, Queen's Park FC, 4 December 2021
  45. ^ a b 21/02646/FUL | Alterations to stadium including erection of directors stand with associated hospitality function (Class 11). | Lesser Hampden Park Letherby Drive Glasgow, Glasgow City Council Planning Application Documents. Retrieved 7 August 2022
  46. ^ a b Galindo, Alan (25 May 2022). "Queen's Park reach agreement with SPFL club to use stadium for start of season". GlasgowLive. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  47. ^ "Queen's Park move back to Hampden for next season after 2020 sale to Scottish FA". BBC Sport. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  48. ^ "Queen's Park agree deal to return to Hampden Park". Sky Sports. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
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