Celtic Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Celtic Park | |
|---|---|
| Parkhead | |
 |
|
| Location |  Glasgow, Scotland |
| Opened | 1892 (renovated 1995) |
| Owner | Celtic Football Club |
| Surface | Grass (1892–present) |
| Tenants | Celtic Football Club (Scottish Premier League) |
| Capacity | 60,857 (Football) |
Celtic Park is a football stadium in the Parkhead area of Glasgow in Scotland. It is the home ground of Celtic Football Club. The all-seater stadium is also known as 'Parkhead' (due to location) and nicknamed 'Paradise' by Celtic fans, an ironic tag used to denote its close proximity to Janefield Cemetery.
It is the largest football stadium in Scotland, the second-largest sporting arena in Scotland after Murrayfield and the second largest club football stadium in the United Kingdom after Old Trafford.
Contents |
[edit] History
Celtic moved from the original Celtic Park to the present ground in 1892. The main stand was designed by Archibald Leitch, the architect who also designed stadiums for Rangers, Hearts, Sunderland, Fulham and Everton, amongst others.
In 1938 Celtic Park saw its largest attendance of 92,000 when Celtic played a First Division match against Rangers.[1] During the 1990s, Celtic Park hosted a number of cup finals, most recently hosting the Scottish Cup final of 1998, and Scotland internationals. This was while Hampden Park was undergoing redevelopment,
The stadium has undergone numerous redevelopments; in 1988, Celtic's centenary year, the red-bricked exterior to the main stand was added and in the mid-1990s, further development was undertaken to make the stadium comply with the Taylor report.
[edit] Current status
The Jock Stein Stand (capacity 13,006), at the west end of the stadium, is the traditional 'Celtic End'. Away fans are normally accommodated in part of the Lisbon Lions Stand, which holds 13,006. The North Stand, which is the largest stand in British football, is situated on the site of the old enclosure known as "The Jungle" and can house a further 26,970 fans. The Main (south) Stand holds 7,850. The North Stand alone has a greater capacity than 10 of the stadiums used in the Scottish Premier League and five of the stadiums used in the English Premiership during the 2006-07 season.
The stands completely encircle the pitch and the stadium consists of a large double-tiered stand which extends around three-quarters of the pitch and a lower double-tier main stand, which contains the Celtic museum. There are two large screens inside the ground for showing highlights and replays on matchdays.
In 2002, Celtic Park took 59.9% of the votes in a BBC Radio Five Live poll to find the UK's favorite sporting venue, out-polling the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Lord's Cricket Ground in London[2].
In 2004, Celtic announced they were making improvements which were "part of the Club’s Five Year Stadium Refurbishment Plan and will ensure that we remain on track to achieve UEFA's five star stadium status".
[edit] Future
Celtic have investigated the possibility of increasing the capacity of Celtic Park. Chief executive Peter Lawell said in April 2007 that the site of the Main Stand could be redeveloped to increase the capacity by 8,000, but it was considered too expensive[3]. Future development may be influenced by Rangers plans to increase Ibrox to 70,000[4].
Celtic Park will host the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
[edit] References
- ^ Inglis, Simon: Football Grounds of Britain, page 432. ISBN 0-00-218426-5
- ^ Celtic Park voted top venue, BBC Sport, August 16, 2002
- ^ Evening Times article 30/04/07 (Last 3 Paragraphs)
- ^ Rangers consider Ibrox expansion, BBC Sport, January 6, 2008
[edit] External links
- World Stadiums entry
- Description and Gallery
- Satellite map
- Celtic Park at the Scottish Football Archive
- Virtual Celtic Park Stadium Tour
