Firs Park

Last updated

Firs Park
Abandoned Firs Park - geograph.org.uk - 1439604.jpg
Firs Park shortly after closure
Falkirk UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Firs Park
Location within Falkirk
LocationFirs Street, Falkirk,
Stirlingshire, Scotland
Coordinates 56°00′18″N3°46′44″W / 56.00500°N 3.77889°W / 56.00500; -3.77889
Owner East Stirlingshire F.C.
Capacity 1,800 (200 seated)
Record attendance12,000 v Partick Thistle
21 February 1921
Field size112 x 72 yards
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened1921
Closed2008
Demolished2012
ArchitectArchibald Simpson
Tenants
East Stirlingshire F.C. (1921–64 and 1965–2008)

Firs Park was a football stadium in Falkirk, Scotland, which was the home of East Stirlingshire F.C. between 1921 and 2008. It was located on Firs Street, 0.3 miles north-east of the town centre. At the time of closing the ground had a capacity of 1,800 with 200 seated.

Contents

History

Early years

East Stirlingshire F.C. was formed in 1880 when a group of friends from a cricket team called Bainsford Blue Bonnets formed a football team under the name Britannia. [1] At the end of the club's first year of existence it found a home at Randyford Park in the east of Falkirk. At the time, the ground's previous tenant was a cricket team called East Stirlingshire Cricket Club and in 1881, Britannia also adopted the East Stirlingshire name, which stands to this day. [1] By the time the club was admitted to the Scottish Football League in 1900, the club was playing some home games at Merchiston Park in Bainsford and from 1907 onwards it became permanent. [2] The club's first ever league game at Merchiston Park was a 3–2 defeat to Airdrieonians in August 1900 in front of a crowd of 2,500. [2] [3]

In 1920, the club was forced to move from Bainsford when a railway line was built across Merchiston Park. [2] The club set about looking for a new site to play its home games and a derelict factory site on Firs Street in Falkirk was chosen. The site was named Firs Park after the street in which it was located and was officially opened in 1921 and would be the club's home for the next 87 years. [2] [4] The first ever opposition at Firs Park was Heart of Midlothian F.C. [2]

Shortly after opening, the club's record attendance was set on 21 February 1921 in a Scottish Cup third round tie against eventual champions Partick Thistle F.C., when 12,000 people watched the match. [5] This remained the record attendance for the club during its entire tenure at Firs Park as crowds became smaller due to crowd regulation. In 2007, a limit of 750 was set by police during a Challenge Cup tie with Greenock Morton F.C. This was due to the small number of turnstiles and there only being one main exit gate.

Merger with Clydebank Juniors F.C.

In 1964, the board of directors at the club controversially merged East Stirlingshire and junior club Clydebank Juniors F.C. to create East Stirlingshire Clydebank. [4] [6] As a result, the new club relocated to Kilbowie Park in Clydebank and Firs Park was closed. [4] [6] However, the fans won a legal challenge against the move and the club returned to Firs Park and E.S. Clydebank was disbanded. East Stirlingshire F.C. was reformed in 1965. [4] [6] In the meantime, however, the merged club had taken the enclosure roof and floodlights from Firs Park. [4]

Apart from replacing the roof and floodlights, there were few changes to Firs Park until it closed. [4] The Main Stand was replaced in 1992, with the club opting for a near replica of the previous stand. [4] At closure, the stadium had a seating capacity of 200 with room for a further 1,600 standees. [7]

The final game played at Firs Park Firs Park.JPG
The final game played at Firs Park

Final match and closure

Due to the prohibitive costs of improving facilities to meet regulations set by the Scottish Football Association, [8] the club decided to leave Firs Park at the end of the 2007–08 season. The last league game to be played at Firs Park was a 3–1 victory for the Shire against Montrose F.C., which meant the club avoided finishing bottom of the Scottish Football League for a sixth consecutive season. [9]

East Stirlingshire did subsequently play one last game at Firs Park, a "closed doors" pre-season friendly vs St Johnstone on Tuesday 15 July 2008, losing 1–3. [10]

Relocation

The club groundshared with neighbours Stenhousemuir at their Ochilview Park home. The move was originally intended be for a period of five years during which the club planned to develop a new venue in Falkirk. [8] After lying unused and derelict for almost four years, Firs Park was demolished in January 2012. In March 2018, it was announced The Shire had secured a groundshare at Falkirk Stadium. The first game in their new home was on 5 July 2018; a 3-1 pre-season friendly win over Frickley Athletic.

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing took place from 29 October 1930 until 13 May 1933. [11] The racing was independent (unlicensed) and ended due to the fact that two other circuits opened at nearby Diamond Stadium (Brockville Greyhound Racecourse) and Brockville Park. [12] [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stenhousemuir F.C.</span> Association football club in Larbert, Scotland

Stenhousemuir Football Club is a Scottish football club located in Stenhousemuir, Falkirk. They are a member of the Scottish Professional Football League and currently play in Scottish League Two.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Stirlingshire F.C.</span> Association football club in Scotland

East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the Lowland League, the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins can be traced to 1880 when a local cricket club formed a football team under the name Bainsford Britannia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clydebank F.C.</span> Association football club based in Clydebank, Scotland

Clydebank Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. Formed in 2002, they are currently a member of the West of Scotland Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkirk Stadium</span> Football stadium in Falkirk, Scotland

The Falkirk Stadium is a football stadium in Falkirk, central Scotland, which is the home ground of Scottish League One club Falkirk and Lowland Football League club East Stirlingshire. The stadium has a capacity of 7,937 and currently consists of three fully completed stands.

Brockville Park was a football stadium located on Hope Street in Falkirk, Scotland, 0.25 miles (0.4 km) north-west of the town centre. It was the home of Falkirk F.C. from 1885 until the end of 2002–03 Scottish football season. The record attendance at Brockville Park was 23,100 on 21 February 1953 in a match against Celtic. The stadium has since been replaced with a Morrisons supermarket. An old turnstile is on display next to the supermarket's car park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ochilview Park</span> Football stadium in Stenhousemuir, Scotland

Ochilview Park is a football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League Two club Stenhousemuir, and is also currently shared by Scottish Championship club Queen's Park and East of Scotland Football League Second Division club Syngenta. The stadium has a capacity of 3,746 with 626 seated.

Clydebank Juniors F.C. was a Junior Football club based in the Scottish town of Clydebank. Formed in 1899 as Duntocher F.C., in the neighbouring village of Duntocher, they played their home games at Kilbowie Park in Clydebank.

Kilbowie Park, also known as New Kilbowie Park, was a football stadium in Clydebank, Scotland. It was the home ground of Clydebank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bainsford</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Bainsford is a small village within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is situated in the Forth Valley, 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the town of Falkirk. It is positioned between the River Carron and the Forth and Clyde Canal to the north and south respectively.

The 1997–98 Scottish Challenge Cup was the eighth season of the competition, competed for by the 30 member clubs of the Scottish Football League. The defending champions were Stranraer, who defeated St Johnstone 1–0 in the 1996 final.

East Stirlingshire F.C. is a Scottish association football club from the town of Falkirk, formed in 1881. The club played regional football until 1900 when the club was elected into the Scottish Football League, taking the place of Linthouse.

The 1993–94 Scottish Challenge Cup was the fourth season of the competition, which was also known as the B&Q Cup for sponsorship reasons. It was competed for by the 26 clubs in the Scottish Football League Division One and Two. The defending champions were Hamilton Academical, who defeated Morton 3–2 in the 1992 final.

Merchiston Park was a football ground in Bainsford, near Falkirk, which was the home of East Stirlingshire F.C. between c. 1882 and 1920. It was near Main Street, just north of the Forth and Clyde Canal at Bainsford Bridge.

The East Stirlingshire F.C.–Falkirk F.C. rivalry refers to football matches between East Stirlingshire and Falkirk football clubs, the two senior Scottish Football League teams associated with the town of Falkirk in Scotland. The derby was first contested in 1881 and the last major competitive fixture was in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gairdoch F.C.</span> Former association football club in Scotland

Gairdoch Football Club was a Scottish association football club based in the village of Carronshore, Stirlingshire.

Lochburn Park is a football stadium in the Maryhill area of Glasgow, Scotland. It is the home ground Maryhill F.C. of the Scottish Junior Football Association West Region, who have played there since the late 19th century.

Diamond Stadium was a greyhound racing stadium situated in Falkirk, Scotland. It was also known as the Brockville Greyhound Stadium and Falkirk Diamond Stadium and is not to be confused with the nearby Brockville Park.

The town of Clydebank in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland has been home to, and given its name to, several football teams since 1888. Five of these teams have shared a name, Clydebank F.C., but all are distinct entities.

Clydebank Football Club was a Scottish football club based in the town of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire. The fourth entity to carry the name, Clydebank were formed in 1965 following the relocation of East Stirlingshire Clydebank F.C., a club formed by a contentious merger of Clydebank Juniors and East Stirlingshire in 1964 to bring a with the intention of creating a senior club for the town; this arrangement lasted only one year before East Stirlingshire continued alone as before and a new Clydebank team was formed. Playing their home games at Kilbowie Park, they were elected to the Scottish Football League in 1966. Clydebank had two short spells in the Scottish Premier Division, and reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup in 1990, whilst a First Division club.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Club History - 1880-1900 Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine , East Stirlingshire F.C. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Club History - 1900-1940 Archived 31 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine , East Stirlingshire F.C. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  3. ↑ Results for East Stirlingshire for 1900-01, londonhearts.com. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Inglis 1996 , p. 443
  5. ↑ East Stirlingshire F.C. | Ochilview Park | Football Ground Guide, scottishgrounds.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 Club History - 1940-1970 Archived 25 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine , East Stirlingshire F.C. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  7. ↑ Firs Park - Football Ground Map, footballgroundmap.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011
  8. 1 2 Shire explain Firs Park Departure, BBC Sport. 30 April 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  9. ↑ McInally looks forward for Shire, BBC Sport. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  10. ↑ [http://www.perthstjohnstonefc.co.uk/newsitemsdetail.php?param=69 Archived 11 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine , St Johnstone F.C. 18 July 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  11. ↑ Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. p. 414. ISBN   0-948955-15-5.
  12. ↑ "OS County Series Stirlingshire 1938-1947". old-maps.co.uk.
  13. ↑ "OS County Series Stirlingshire 1944". old-maps.co.uk.
Sources
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.