Home of Motherwell FC
Opened 1895
Capacity 13,677
★★★★★
★★★★★
Our second visit to Fir Park, for a mid-week Game - unfortunately the weather was fairly bad, strong winds and rain.
The away stand offered minimal shelter the closer to the pitch, bit it's no worse than other stadiums.
The refreshments bar was minimally staffed but they were fairly quick.
The food offered was the standard pre-cooked processed type - Hotdogs, pies, and drinks - was cash only on our till (luckily I take cash just in case).
Fans were allowed out for a smoke this time, so a wee improvement on our last visit.
Most c19 restrictions have been lifted, so no worries about Vaccination Passport or tests -
The football wasn't the best, though with the weather it was understandable.
3/5
🖖
a year ago
History (from Wikipedia)
Motherwell F.C. was formed in 1886.[4] It played at sites on Roman Road and Dalziel Park until 1895, when Fir Park was opened.[4] The ground was laid out in a wooded area belonging to Lord Hamilton of Dalzell, whose racing colours were claret and amber.[4] Motherwell then adopted these colours themselves.[4]
Fir Park did not get off to a convincing start, with low attendances leading to rumours that Hibernian were ready to take over the stadium, something that didn't materialise.[2]
For most of the 20th century, the only stand at Fir Park was a two-tier main stand.[4] The record attendance for the stadium is 35,632 against Rangers in a 1951–52 Scottish Cup replay.[4] Motherwell went on to win the competition.[4] Two years later Motherwell built an enclosure roof over the eastern terrace, costing £6,500.[4] Floodlight lamps were built on the two roofs and the first floodlit game, against Preston, was played in 1956.[4] The enclosure roof was damaged by strong winds, however, which meant that large corner floodlight pylons were built in 1959.[4]
Construction of a new main stand began in 1962.[4] The £92,000 cost of this work was financed by a small quote and the selling of two players, Pat Quinn and Ian St. John.[4][5] To minimise disruption to the old stand, the steel frame was built over and behind it.[4] Construction of the main stand stopped 20 yards short of the south end, however, because a local resident successfully objected to a completed stand.[4] The objection was made because it would have restricted light to the garden and reduced the value of the property.[4] By the time the property owner had decided to sell, Motherwell did not have the funds or will to complete a full-length main stand.[4] The club instead bought the house and used it for their offices.[4]
In 1977, Fir Park came within the terms of the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975.[4] Only routine work was needed to keep the ground within the legislation, but it reduced capacity from 35,000 to 22,500.[4] This included 3,500 seats in the Main Stand and two open terraces behind each goal.[4] The Taylor Report in 1990 mandated that all top division clubs develop all-seater stadiums. Motherwell also had to overcome the economic challenges caused by the closure of the nearby Ravenscraig steelworks.[4] The club won the Scottish Cup in 1991, which financed the £750,000 conversion of the East Enclosure to seating.[4]
A two tier South Stand, which cost £2.2 million, was opened in April 1993.[6] Two years later, Motherwell opened a single tier North Stand, completing the stadium in its present format.[6] The North Stand was dedicated to former Motherwell player Davie Cooper, who died in the year that it was opened.[6] Both of these stands were designed by the company WH Dickie Architects, owned by the club's director Bill Dickie.[7] The Main Stand was renamed the Phil O'Donnell Stand in January 2008, to honour the Motherwell captain who died on the Fir Park pitch.[8][9] A sculptured tribute to O'Donnell was added to the north wall of the stand in 2011.[8][10]
Fir Park received negative publicity during the late 2000s for the quality of its pitch, which was frequently waterlogged and several games were postponed. The pitch and the consequent fixture congestion forced Gretna, who were ground-sharing with Motherwell in the 2007–08 season, to play one of their league games at Almondvale Stadium in Livingston. In the 2008–09 season, a Motherwell game against Hearts was called off due to the pitch being frozen, which prompted media criticism as the required under-soil heating should have prevented this.
The pitch underwent extensive remedial work, costing £350,000, in preparation for the 2009–10 Scottish Premier League season.[11] There was a severe winter in 2009–10, however, which damaged the pitch greatly.[11] The club tried to make the best of the situation by relaying both goal mouths.[12] In season 2010–11, the club removed the top few inches of the pitch and completely relaid the pitch. They also added twisted sand fibre which should prevent the pitch from tearing as easily. On 2 December 2011, a match against Hibernian was abandoned at half-time due to a floodlight fire causing safety concerns.[13]
In recent seasons, the pitch at Fir Park has been considered as one of the best in the UK, winning the best pitch in the Scottish Premiership in the 2017–18 season.[14] The drastic change in the playing surface has came after considerable investment and refurbishment from head grounds keeper Paul Matthew.[citation needed]
Fir Park did not get off to a convincing start, with low attendances leading to rumours that Hibernian were ready to take over the stadium, something that didn't materialise.[2]
For most of the 20th century, the only stand at Fir Park was a two-tier main stand.[4] The record attendance for the stadium is 35,632 against Rangers in a 1951–52 Scottish Cup replay.[4] Motherwell went on to win the competition.[4] Two years later Motherwell built an enclosure roof over the eastern terrace, costing £6,500.[4] Floodlight lamps were built on the two roofs and the first floodlit game, against Preston, was played in 1956.[4] The enclosure roof was damaged by strong winds, however, which meant that large corner floodlight pylons were built in 1959.[4]
Construction of a new main stand began in 1962.[4] The £92,000 cost of this work was financed by a small quote and the selling of two players, Pat Quinn and Ian St. John.[4][5] To minimise disruption to the old stand, the steel frame was built over and behind it.[4] Construction of the main stand stopped 20 yards short of the south end, however, because a local resident successfully objected to a completed stand.[4] The objection was made because it would have restricted light to the garden and reduced the value of the property.[4] By the time the property owner had decided to sell, Motherwell did not have the funds or will to complete a full-length main stand.[4] The club instead bought the house and used it for their offices.[4]
In 1977, Fir Park came within the terms of the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975.[4] Only routine work was needed to keep the ground within the legislation, but it reduced capacity from 35,000 to 22,500.[4] This included 3,500 seats in the Main Stand and two open terraces behind each goal.[4] The Taylor Report in 1990 mandated that all top division clubs develop all-seater stadiums. Motherwell also had to overcome the economic challenges caused by the closure of the nearby Ravenscraig steelworks.[4] The club won the Scottish Cup in 1991, which financed the £750,000 conversion of the East Enclosure to seating.[4]
A two tier South Stand, which cost £2.2 million, was opened in April 1993.[6] Two years later, Motherwell opened a single tier North Stand, completing the stadium in its present format.[6] The North Stand was dedicated to former Motherwell player Davie Cooper, who died in the year that it was opened.[6] Both of these stands were designed by the company WH Dickie Architects, owned by the club's director Bill Dickie.[7] The Main Stand was renamed the Phil O'Donnell Stand in January 2008, to honour the Motherwell captain who died on the Fir Park pitch.[8][9] A sculptured tribute to O'Donnell was added to the north wall of the stand in 2011.[8][10]
Fir Park received negative publicity during the late 2000s for the quality of its pitch, which was frequently waterlogged and several games were postponed. The pitch and the consequent fixture congestion forced Gretna, who were ground-sharing with Motherwell in the 2007–08 season, to play one of their league games at Almondvale Stadium in Livingston. In the 2008–09 season, a Motherwell game against Hearts was called off due to the pitch being frozen, which prompted media criticism as the required under-soil heating should have prevented this.
The pitch underwent extensive remedial work, costing £350,000, in preparation for the 2009–10 Scottish Premier League season.[11] There was a severe winter in 2009–10, however, which damaged the pitch greatly.[11] The club tried to make the best of the situation by relaying both goal mouths.[12] In season 2010–11, the club removed the top few inches of the pitch and completely relaid the pitch. They also added twisted sand fibre which should prevent the pitch from tearing as easily. On 2 December 2011, a match against Hibernian was abandoned at half-time due to a floodlight fire causing safety concerns.[13]
In recent seasons, the pitch at Fir Park has been considered as one of the best in the UK, winning the best pitch in the Scottish Premiership in the 2017–18 season.[14] The drastic change in the playing surface has came after considerable investment and refurbishment from head grounds keeper Paul Matthew.[citation needed]
Things to do nearby.
Chatelherault Country Park.
Hup Lee.
Work sent me to Motherwell for 3 days and if you have ever been to Motherwell than you have probably been to this place, since it's by far the best food... Read More
