Favourite quirks of Scottish stadiums.

[RandomGuy.]

Muirton Park seemed to have no segregation, even during Rangers v Saints matches. Was this normal in that time period? Sure I heard we only segregated when we played Aberdeen.

 

[dogmc]

Muirton Park seemed to have no segregation, even during Rangers v Saints matches. Was this normal in that time period? Sure I heard we only segregated when we played Aberdeen.

 

First game my old man took me too was a pre season v leeds when leeds fans had a bit of a rep. Defo no segregation for that one. Bunch of them were just wandering round the ground randomly trying to intimidate folk. Couple of em tried to barge me out the way n my dad told them to f**k off. I'd never heard him swear before n they immediately apologised profusely n sloped off. One of those my dad's a superhero moments.

[The Mantis]

37 minutes ago, mrcat1990 said:

Digging this thread alot. Part of me is tempted next season to ditch the season ticket for Thistle and tick off the 20 stadiums I've not visited yet. Imagine it gets a touch lonely without having a travel partner though.

I like new grounds as much as most folk but you're right, I feel a bit sad if I go to a game on my own. It's not the same either if you're just a neutral, it's ok every now and then, you need a team to support. I've been to over 200 but that's largely because I'm getting on a bit. I've come across some sad individuals in my time. They turn up at Whitehill periodically, in fact I've been known to have a rant about them in my blog 

[The Mantis]

31 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Muirton Park seemed to have no segregation, even during Rangers v Saints matches. Was this normal in that time period? Sure I heard we only segregated when we played Aberdeen.

 

Went to all these places as a teenager in the 70s. Never once met segregation apart from OF games. 

Edit - I mean the OF against each other

Edited September 3, 2016 by The Mantis

[naegoodinthedark]

Here's a clip of it, with both ends built and the Govan stand still a shell.

Big crowd!

[parsforlife]

Here's a clip of it, with both ends built and the Govan stand still a shell.

Seeing the morton player volley the ball at his own keeper to casually pick up is a very bizarre sight!

[GordonD]

I used to support Meadowbank Thistle and segregation at away games was unknown. We would stand behind the goal then change ends at half-time. At the halfway line, of course, we'd meet the home fans coming the other way. There would be a fair bit of banter but never the slightest hint of trouble.

Edited September 3, 2016 by GordonD

[HibeeJibee]

Regarding the 10,000 seats thing it's worth remembering many grounds cited were built/rebuilt to that standard long before SPL came into being in 1998.

It had been long anticipated.

[PauloPerth]

3 hours ago, RandomGuy. said:

Muirton Park seemed to have no segregation, even during Rangers v Saints matches. Was this normal in that time period? Sure I heard we only segregated when we played Aberdeen.

 

I wasn't at the 3-3 Rangers game but I thought it was segregated.  Rangers fans were in the Town End and Saints at the Ice Rink End, but with quite a few Rangers infiltrators. If you pause it about 1.11 there's a few police in the enclosure seeming to form a line to keep Saints fans on their side.  I could be completely wrong though.

Aberdeen paid for the big segregation fence at Muirton to allow a far bigger crowd for the Scottish cup tie in 1988 ish, but there was a fence in place before that.  It was just two lines of those silver barriers linked together you see at various public events, with a gap at the top marshalled by stewards, so at most games you could swap ends at half time squeezing past the opposition fans!  I don't know when the barriers were first put in place, had always been there when I started going.

[PauloPerth]

[PauloPerth]

[HibeeJibee]

To return to tapered stands: went to U21s at Tynecastle last night and noted the Main Stand is slightly tapered at the Roseburn end.

Can't say it seems very obvious why it is, though.

[The Mantis]

1 hour ago, PauloPerth said:

I wasn't at the 3-3 Rangers game but I thought it was segregated.  Rangers fans were in the Town End and Saints at the Ice Rink End, but with quite a few Rangers infiltrators. If you pause it about 1.11 there's a few police in the enclosure seeming to form a line to keep Saints fans on their side.  I could be completely wrong though.

I was at that game but in the enclosure, can't remember anything about segregation but it was a long time ago 

[topcat(The most tip top)]

To return to tapered stands: went to U21s at Tynecastle last night and noted the Main Stand is slightly tapered at the Roseburn end.

Can't say it seems very obvious why it is, though.

Assuming you actually mean the Gorgie Road End it's because of the back greens of the flats behind

[HibeeJibee]

Main Stand - easternmost portion.

Tapers (by white van in picture #1/underneath furthest left 3 windows in picture #2).

It's considerably more noticeable viewed from the Wheatfield under floodlights but can't find pictures.

Edited September 3, 2016 by HibeeJibee

[Monkey Tennis]

5 hours ago, HibeeJibee said:

Regarding the 10,000 seats thing it's worth remembering many grounds cited were built/rebuilt to that standard long before SPL came into being in 1998.

It had been long anticipated.

I know that McDiarmid was built in the late 80s to have 10,000 seats, but that was just because it seemed about the right size, wasn't it?

Was it seriously anticipated though that a numerical seating requirement would be created long before it was?  I've no recollection of that at all.

I'm not saying you're wrong, because you seldom are, but what was said to warn clubs that their grounds would need to be a certain size at some future point?

Edited September 3, 2016 by Monkey Tennis

[HibeeJibee]

I'm sure that was the case and it's borne-out by a simple look at when the stadiums were built.

All the following grounds were built to have 10,000 seats (in most cases almost literally) or would have done if they ever got finished. There is no way all those stadiums were built in such a way they just happened to hold precisely 10,000 and not more or less or 8,000 or 12,000.

Airdrie - opened 1998 holding 10,215 in 4 stands
Clyde - opened 1994 holding 6,300 in 2 side stands; increased to 8,029 with 1 end stand; if other end stand built would hold c10,000
Hamilton - opened 2000 holding 5,400 in 1 side and 1 end stands; if other stands built would hold c10,500
Livingston - opened 1996 holding 6,100 in 2 side stands; increased to 10,004 with 2 ends stands
Raith - reopened 1996 holding 10,277 in 2 new end stands, 1 extended stand and 1 existing stand

There was almost a template worked to - 3,000 in the sides and 2,000 in the ends.

Clydebank also brought Kilbowie up to 9,950 all seated, but that may just have been a coincidence.

Edited September 3, 2016 by HibeeJibee

[topcat(The most tip top)]

Main Stand - easternmost portion.

Tapers (by white van in picture #1/underneath furthest left 3 windows in picture #2).

It's considerably more noticeable viewed from the Wheatfield under floodlights but can't find pictures.

Sorry I misread you there.

That's because of the nursery behind the stand

[PauloPerth]

23 minutes ago, HibeeJibee said:

I'm sure that was the case and it's borne-out by a simple look at when the stadiums were built.

All the following grounds were built to have 10,000 seats (in most cases almost literally) or would have done if they ever got finished. There is no way all those stadiums were built in such a way they just happened to hold precisely 10,000 and not more or less or 8,000 or 12,000.

Airdrie - opened 1998 holding 10,215 in 4 stands
Clyde - opened 1994 holding 6,300 in 2 side stands; increased to 8,029 with 1 end stand; if other end stand built would hold c10,000
Hamilton - opened 2000 holding 5,400 in 1 side and 1 end stands; if other stands built would hold c10,500
Livingston - opened 1996 holding 6,100 in 2 side stands; increased to 10,004 with 2 ends stands
Raith - reopened 1996 holding 10,277 in 2 new end stands, 1 extended stand and 1 existing stand

There was almost a template worked to - 3,000 in the sides and 2,000 in the ends.

Clydebank also brought Kilbowie up to 9,950 all seated, but that may just have been a coincidence.

McDiarmid opened in 1989 with a handful over 10,000... Geoff Brown and the board obviously felt this was the right size. The first season in the old first division (current championship) we averaged 6000, and the next season back in premiership we averaged about 9000 I think.  

Prior to the next season, the club squeezed in an extra 6-700 seats to bring it up to current capacity.

A lot of people were saying the club had been unambitious and should have built it far bigger but fair play to Geoff, he was spot on.  He wanted a stadium which was mostly home fans, rather than just milking the old firm cash cow with a big ground that would sit empty most of the time, and for the first few years this was the case.  But yes, sadly, even at the size it is, it's too big for current demand.

I'd always just felt the other clubs had simply copied the McDiarmid template and scale which is why 10000 became the norm.  It was also probably an ego thing, as at the time any league stadia with a less than 10,000 capacity was maybe thought of as a bit too diddy.  But thinking about it, you're right, it seems far too big a coincidence that they all ended up at this figure.

[PauloPerth]

3 hours ago, The Mantis said:

I was at that game but in the enclosure, can't remember anything about segregation but it was a long time ago 

I just recalled a lad at school who was a Rangers fan coming in on the Monday bragging about how he'd been lobbing bricks over into the Saints end... So in fairness, this is hardly scientific eveidence and you're probably right!!