Ochilview Park

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Ochilview Park
Ochilview

Location	Stenhousemuir, Scotland
Opened	1890
Renovated	1990s
Owner	Stenehousemuir
Surface	Artificial Sports Turf
Tenants	Stenehousemuir (1890–Present) Stenhousemuir Juniors (1909–10) Falkirk (2003–04) East Stirlingshire (2008–Present)
Capacity	3,776 (626 seated; 3,150 standing)
Field dimensions	110 x 72 yards

Ochilview Park is a football stadium in Stenhousemuir, Scotland. It is the home ground of Stenhousemuir F.C. who share it with local rival East Stirlingshire.

Stenhousemuir moved to the ground in 1890, six years after the club was formed. The name derives from the nearby Ochil Hills which are visible from the area. A new main stand, which came to be nicknamed the "Doll's House" due to small size, was opened in 1928, with bench seating for 310. Due to a design error, however, no provision for accessing the seats was initially included, with two external staircases having to be added later.

Ochilview recorded its record attendance on 12 March 1950, when 12,500 attended a Scottish Cup quarter-final tie between Stenhousemuir and East Fife. Shortly afterwards, Ochilview wrote itself into Scottish football history when it was the venue for the first modern floodlit match in Scotland, a friendly against Hibernian on 7 November 1951.

The early 1990s saw the club considering relocation, having agreed to sell Ochilview to a supermarket chain for £2.5 million. The scheme was, however, frustrated by planning regulations, and instead it was decided to upgrade the existing stadium. A new modern stand, seating 626, was built on the south side of the ground, opposite the smaller old stand. This has been named the Norway Stand due to a sponsorship deal with Stenhousemuir's Norwegian supporters' club. It is now the only seated accommodation available at the ground, as the old "Doll's House" had to be demolished after being refused a safety certificate in 1999. Apart from the new stand, only one side of the ground is now in use for spectators, the terracing at the Tryst Road End (west). A roof has now been installed here as the former covered terracing on the south side of Ochilview was removed to make way for the Norway Stand. The former terracing opposite has been removed and replaced with artificial pitches for community use.

The 2003-04 season saw Stenhousemir share Ochilview with local rivals Falkirk after the latter had vacated their previous home at Brockville, and before the new Falkirk Stadium was completed.

The stadium today has a total capacity of 3,776, and boasts a unique synthetic surface.

[edit] References

Inglis, Simon (1997). Football Grounds of Britain. CollinsWillow, London. ISBN 0-00-218426-5
Stenhousemuir at Scottish Football Ground Guide website
The Changing Face of Ochilview in Pictures