Falkirk Stadium facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Falkirk Stadium

Westfield
Falkirk Stadium in 2018
Falkirk Stadium Location in Falkirk
Full name	Falkirk Stadium
Address	Falkirk Scotland
Location	Westfield Falkirk Scotland
Coordinates	56°00′19″N 3°45′10″W / 56.00528°N 3.75278°W / 56.00528; -3.75278
Owner	Falkirk Community Stadium Ltd
Operator	Falkirk F.C.
Capacity	7,937
Record attendance	7,926 (Falkirk v Dundee United, 19 May 2017)
Field size	109 x 79 yards
Surface	synthetic pitch
Construction
Broke ground	2003
Opened	2004
Expanded	2004–2005 (North stand) 2009 (South stand)
Architect	Falkirk Council
Main contractors	Mowlem (North stand and West stand) Ogilvie (south stand)
Tenants
Falkirk F.C. (2004–present) Stirling University F.C. (2016–2018) East Stirlingshire F.C. (2018–present) Queen's Park F.C. (2021)

The Falkirk Stadium is a cool football stadium in Falkirk, Scotland. It's where the Falkirk football team plays their home games. Another team, East Stirlingshire, has also played here since 2018. The stadium has seats for 7,937 fans and has three main stands.

The stadium first opened in 2004. Falkirk FC moved in that year after playing at Ochilview Park while their new stadium was being built. The north and south stands were finished in 2005 and 2009. East Stirlingshire started sharing the stadium in 2018.

Building the Stadium

Work on the Falkirk Stadium started in 2003. This happened after Brockville Park, Falkirk FC's old home since 1885, was sold.

A Team Effort

Building the stadium was a joint project. Falkirk F.C. and Falkirk Council worked together. They created a company called Falkirk Community Stadium Ltd. This company helped pay for and manage the stadium.

The council thought the first part of the stadium would cost about £6.1 million. They gave £3.1 million to start. Falkirk FC got £9 million from selling Brockville Park. Of that money, £2.8 million went towards the new stadium. Another £200,000 came from sportscotland.

First Games at the New Home

The first part of the stadium was ready for the 2004–05 football season. Falkirk FC moved in after playing at Ochilview Park for a year. They had shared that stadium with local rivals, Stenhousemuir.

Falkirk's first game at the new stadium was a friendly match in July 2004. They played against Dundee and lost 2–1. A month later, the first league game was held. Hamilton Academical visited, and the game ended in a 1–1 draw.

The outside of the West Stand.

Adding More Stands

In October 2004, work began on a second stand. This stand was built to the north of the pitch. It can hold 2,000 people. This new stand helped the stadium meet the Scottish Premier League's rule for 6,000 seats. This meant Falkirk could be promoted to the top league. The north stand was fully finished by May 2005.

Construction of the south stand started in December 2008. A fan named Sandy Alexander, who started the shoe company Schuh, gave £2 million to help pay for it. The south stand also holds about 2,000 people. It looks similar to the north stand. It officially opened in August 2009 with a friendly game against Royal Antwerp FC from Belgium. This made the stadium's total capacity around 8,000.

Stadium Management Changes

The partnership between Falkirk FC and Falkirk Council ended in 2009. The football club took full control of the pitch, seats, and lights. The council kept control of most of the land around the stadium. They also manage businesses in the main west stand.

In June 2013, a new artificial playing surface was put in. This type of pitch is made of fake grass. In 2016, Stirling University F.C. started playing their home games here.

New Teams and Names

In April 2018, East Stirlingshire F.C. announced they would play their home games at Falkirk Stadium. They had played at Firs Park until 2008, then shared Ochilview Park for ten years. Queen's Park F.C. also played here for part of the 2020–21 season.

In June 2022, the South Stand was renamed the Kevin McAllister Stand. This was to honor Kevin McAllister, a famous football player for the club.

Stadium Design and Features

The three stands of the stadium.

The Falkirk Stadium has seats for everyone. It has three main stands: the big west stand and two smaller stands to the north and south. The west stand was built first in 2004. The north and south stands were finished in 2005 and 2009.

The west stand can hold about 4,200 people. It also has different facilities, like a nursery and a restaurant. The south stand has a bar called the Brockville Bar. Sometimes, a temporary stand is put up on the east side.

The South Stand.

Fun Events at the Stadium

Summer Concerts

Since 2012, Falkirk Stadium has hosted big summer concerts. These events can have up to 21,000 people!

The band The Killers were supposed to play in 2020, but their concerts were moved to 2022 because of COVID-19. The band Westlife also had a concert planned for 2020, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19.

Rugby Matches

Besides football, the stadium has also hosted international rugby union games for young players. In 2008, the Scottish Rugby Union chose the stadium for Scotland's home matches. These were part of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship.

Other Sports Uses

The stadium is sometimes used by the Scotland women's national football team. They play qualifying games for World and Euro championships, as well as friendly matches. The stadium has also hosted games for the Scotland national under-21 football team. Their first game there was in November 2004 against Sweden.

Getting to the Stadium

The Falkirk Stadium is about a 30-minute walk from Falkirk Grahamston railway station. This station is on the main train lines from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Special bus services run on match days. These buses take fans directly to the stadium from different parts of the Falkirk area. Regular bus services also stop outside the stadium.

See also

In Spanish: Estadio Falkirk para niños