Station Park, Forfar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Station Park is a football ground in Forfar, Angus. It is home to Scottish Football League side Forfar Athletic F.C.
| Station Park | |
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| Location | Forfar, Scotland |
| Opened | 1888 |
| Owner | Forfar Athletic Football Club |
| Surface | Grass |
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Station Park is one of the few old fashioned football grounds left in the Scottish League. It presently has a capacity of 4,602, although this has previously been much higher, the record crowd being 10,780 against Rangers in 1970. The total has more recently been reduced for safety reasons. Present attendance averages perhaps around 500 a week but can increase to over 1,000 if a large club with a sizable travelling support visits, such as Greenock Morton or Partick Thistle.
The ground allows access to all four sides of the pitch with one large terrace behind one goal (at the so called "mert end", because a cattle mart is just over the wall!), a main partly covered stand built in the 1960s which includes some seating down the north side of the pitch and two smaller stands on the other sides. The stand on the south side of the pitch is covered. Catering at the ground is quite good and somewhat unique, with the local speciality, Forfar bridies, being popular with home and visiting fans alike, although the more usual pie is available too. There is at present a plan to rebuild the main stand in a more modern style with improved facilities.
The ground, as the name suggests, was once close to the town's railway station, situated on the ex-Caledonian Railway's main line from Aberdeen to Glasgow and London, but unfortunately this station was closed in 1968 as part of the Beeching cuts. As a result the ground is best reached by road. Ironically, it is now the furthest league ground in Britain from a railway station, the nearest being approximately 14 miles away in either Dundee or Arbroath.
