Murrayfield Stadium
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| Murrayfield | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Opened | 1925 |
| Renovated | 1995 |
| Owner | Scottish Rugby Union |
| Surface | Underheated Grass |
| Construction cost | £50 million (reconstruction) |
| Architect | Connor Milligan |
| Tenants |
Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Sevens (2007-present) |
| Capacity |
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Murrayfield is a sports stadium in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and is the home of Scottish Rugby Union. It once held the record for the largest ever attendance for a rugby union match, with 104,000 watching Scotland play Wales in 1975. At present its all-seater capacity is 67,800, making it the largest stadium in Scotland.
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[edit] Location
Murrayfield is located in the west-end of Edinburgh, just off Corstorphine Road, right next door to the Murrayfield Ice Rink, and close to the Edinburgh Zoo. It is named after the area of Edinburgh it is located in, Murrayfield.
It has good public transport links, being particularly well-served by bus links along the Corstorphine Road. However, its nearest railway station is Haymarket, which is a 10-15 minute walk from the stadium.
[edit] History
The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield which was opened on 21 March 1925. Previously internationals had been played at Inverleith. The first visitors were England, whom Scotland beat to win their first Five Nations Championship Grand Slam.
During the Second World War the ground at Murrayfield was offered to the nation and was taken over by the Royal Army Service Corps and used as a supply depot. During the war years the armed forces sports authorities managed to arrange two Scotland v. England services internationals each year, on a home-and-away basis. Scotland's home matches were played at Inverleith for the first two years with a return to Murrayfield in 1944 after that ground's derequisition. In 1995 Murrayfield had a 50 million pound renovation where floodlights were installed for the first time in its history.
[edit] Present
Currently Murrayfield is used for most Scottish international rugby union matches, with all Scotland's Six Nations home games being played here. The stadium also hosts Edinburgh Rugby, one of Scotland's two professional sides in the Magners League that also features teams from Ireland and Wales. (For Magners League matches, only the lower tier of the West Stand is typically used.) Since 2007, Murrayfield has hosted the Edinburgh 7s, the final event in the annual IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens. Murrayfield has also host select matches from the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The stadium also hosted the Heineken Cup Final in 2005, when Toulouse beat Stade Français by 18 points to 12, and will host the final again in 2009.[1]
Apart from rugby union, it sometimes hosts football games and was selected by nearby football club Heart of Midlothian F.C. as the venue for their European campaign in the 2006/2007 season, as Tynecastle does not meet the UEFA criteria for hosting European football. In addition, Murrayfield has hosted American football and rugby league. The stadium has also seen performances from major rock artists like David Bowie, U2 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In July 2005, Murrayfield hosted the final Live 8 concert, Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push, with performances from the likes of James Brown, Texas, The Proclaimers and Travis.
Although a union stadium, Murrayfield hosted the rugby league Challenge Cup finals in 2000 and 2002. It also has a 100m running track by the main stand.
In front of a crowd of nearly 58,000, Murrayfield hosted the Hearts vs. Barcelona preseason friendly on July 28, 2007. Hearts have also used the stadium for both their UEFA Cup and Champions League matches. This has seen clubs such as Ferencvaros, Schalke 04 and AEK Athens playing at Murrayfield. The first football match played on Murrayfield was played by Hearts in a 3-1 win over Portuguese side Sporting Braga in September 2004.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
- Murrayfield Tours on the SRU website
- Murrayfield Hospitality on the SRU website
- Murrayfield Library on the SRU website
| Preceded by Twickenham London |
Heineken Cup Final Venue 2004-05 |
Succeeded by Millennium Stadium Cardiff |
| Preceded by Millennium Stadium Cardiff |
Heineken Cup Final Venue 2008-09 |
Succeeded by TBD |
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Celtic League rugby venues
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| Cardiff Arms Park | Firhill Stadium | Galway Sportsgrounds | Liberty Stadium | Murrayfield Stadium | Musgrave Park | Ravenhill | Rodney Parade | RDS Arena | Stradey Park | Thomond Park | ||
