| Celtic Park | |
|---|---|
| Parkhead, Paradise | |
 | |
| Location |  Glasgow, Scotland
|
| Opened | 1892 (renovated 1995) |
| Owner | Celtic Football Club |
| Surface | Grass (1892–present) |
| Tenants | (Scottish Premier League) |
| Capacity | |
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 second-largest sporting arena in Scotland (after Murrayfield) and the third largest club football stadium in the UK after Old Trafford and the Emirates Stadium. 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. 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. Now 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 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". 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 [13,006]. The North Stand, on the site of the old enclosure known as "The Jungle" can house a further 26,970 fans, and the South or Main Stand holds 7,850. The North Stand alone has a greater capacity than 10 of the stadiums used in the Scottish Premier League and, in 2006-2007, five of those in the English Premiership. Of the seven flagpoles flying from this stand, there are always two flags flying at any time, the Scottish Saltire and the Irish Tricolour, reflecting the club's roots. Celtic have investigated the possibility of increasing the capacity of Celtic Park. Peter Lawell the Chief Executive said in April 2007 that the site of the Main Stand could be redeveloped to increase the capacity by 8,000, but at the moment it was considered too expensive.[1]
In 1938 Celtic Park saw its largest attendance of 92,000 when Celtic played a First Division match against Rangers.[2] During the 1990s, while the National Stadium at Hampden Park was undergoing redevelopment, Celtic Park hosted a number of cup finals, most recently hosting the Scottish Cup final of 1998, and Scotland internationals. In 2002 Celtic Park took 59.9% of the votes in a BBC Radio Five Live poll to find the UK's favourite sporting venue, out-polling the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Lord's Cricket Ground in London.[3] The stadium is located a few miles east of the city centre in the east end of Glasgow.
Celtic Park will host the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
References
- ^ Evening Times article 30/04/07 (Last 3 Paragraphs)
- ^ Inglis, Simon: Football Grounds of Britain, page 432. ISBN 0-00-218426-5
- ^ BBC Sport website
External links
- World Stadiums entry
- Description and Gallery
- Satellite map
- Celtic Park at the Scottish Football Archive
- Virtual Celtic Park Stadium Tour
