| The Oval | |
|---|---|
| Oval | |
| Location | Belfast |
| Opened | 1892 |
| Renovated | 1999 |
| Owner | Girona |
| Operator | Glentoran |
| Capacity | 26,556 (5,056 safe capacity) |
| Tenants | |
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The Oval is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The stadium has been home to Glentoran since 1892. Before that the team used Ormeau Park from 1882 to 1886. Then the team shifted to King's Field in Ballymacarrett for four years until 1890. The team's next destination was Musgrave Park. It was only used for two seasons until 1892 when the Glens moved to the Oval in Dee Street, east Belfast. A new Oval was built in 1903 with the pitch being turned around ninety degrees.
In 1941 the Oval was bombed and Grosvenor Park was used until August 1949, whilst the Oval was being rebuilt with the help of Cliftonville and Distillery. In 1953 the current stands were built. The stadium holds 26,556, but is currently restricted to 5,056 under safety legislation.[1] The main stand holds 2,720 and the Railway stand holds 2,070. The Oval has had 55,000 through the turnstiles for a European Cup match versus Rangers,[2] but can only take 10,000 now due to modern laws. [1]. This is set to decrease with other new laws soon to arrive.
Glentoran have plans to move to a new ground after the Oval was sold to developers in March 2003, although no definite site has been fixed.
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