McDiarmid Park

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McDiarmid Park
View from the Main (West) Stand
Location	Perth, Scotland
Opened	1989
Owner	St Johnstone F.C.
Surface	Grass
Tenants
St Johnstone F.C. Scotland (women)
Capacity
10,673
Dimensions
115 x 75 yards (pitch)

Coordinates: 56°24′34.87″N, 3°28′36.94″W

McDiarmid Park is the home of St. Johnstone Football Club from Perth, Scotland. It has an all-seated capacity of 10,673. The record attendance is 10,525, which occurred on May 23, 1999, when Tayside rivals Dundee were the visitors.^[1]

1 History
2 Football
- 2.1 Women's Football
3 Rugby
4 Ground information
5 References
6 External link

[edit] History

For 65 years, St. Johnstone called Muirton Park, in the city's north end, their home, but in 1986 the ground was purchased by the ASDA retail group who wanted to demolish it - and the adjoining ice rink - and build a supermarket in their place. In return, the club would be relocated, at no cost to them, to a brand-new stadium at the western edge of the city. A local farmer, Bruce McDiarmid, donated the land on which the stadium now stands.

[edit] Football

McDiarmid Park, considered to be the first of the new generation of stadia, was officially opened on August 19, 1989, prior to a Saints victory over Clydebank. It provides excellent facilities for its patrons, with parking for 1,000 cars and 100 coaches, a synthetic playing surface adjacent to the ground (which is used as the team's training ground), and conference facilities within the main (west) stand.

The stadium consists of four covered, single-tier stands. Three of the stands are the same height; the Main Stand, on the western side of the ground, is a little taller. In the north-east corner of the ground there is an electronic scoreboard, in front of which the players have their annual squad photo taken.

The south stand is named the Ormond Stand, after Willie Ormond, the club's most successful manager to date.

[edit] Women's Football

The Scotland Women's national team play their home games at McDiarmid Park.

[edit] Rugby

On November 13, 2004 the Scotland national rugby union team played Japan there in a historic first test match north of the River Forth. The result was a 100-8 scoreline in favour of Scotland, the first time the Scottish rugby team had scored a century. Chris Paterson scored 40 points (three tries, 11 conversions and one penalty).

The stadium has hosted several of Scotland's "A" team: a victory over Italy in 1999, a draw over Argentina in 1999, a win against Samoa in 2000, and a loss to Italy in 2003. Also, the Glasgow Warriors (formerly the Glasgow Caledonians) played their home games at McDiarmid Park.

On November 21, 2006, Scotland "A" faced Australia in Perth, their first appearance on home soil in three years.[1]

On February 23, 2007, Scotland "A" hosted Italy at McDiarmid Park.^[2]