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’ and nicknamed ‘Paradise’ by Celtic fans. It is the largest stadium in Scotland and the second largest club football stadium in the UK (after Old Trafford), with a capacity of 60,832.
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 the likes of Rangers, Hearts, Sunderland and Everton. 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], traditionally the ‘Rangers End’ at the east of the stadium. 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 Premierleague and, in 2006-2007, 5 of those in the FA Premiership. The full capacity of the stadium is rarely reached in club matches because of the need for some segregation of the fans.
A detail on the outward facing wall of the Main Stand
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A detail on the outward facing wall of the Main Stand
In 1938 Celtic Park saw its largest attendance of 92,000 when Celtic played Rangers.
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.
The stadium is located about 3km east of the city centre.
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