Murrayfield Stadium facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Murrayfield Stadium

Front facade of Murrayfield Stadium, 2018
Location	Roseburn Street Edinburgh EH12 5PJ
Public transit	Haymarket Murrayfield Stadium
Owner	Scottish Rugby Union
Operator	Scottish Rugby Union
Capacity	67,144
Record attendance	104,000 (1975 Five Nations – Scotland vs Wales)
Surface	Desso GrassMaster hybrid pitch
Construction
Opened	21 March 1925; 100 years ago (1925-03-21)
Renovated	1995
Tenants
Scotland national rugby union team (1925–present) Edinburgh Rugby (1996–2017, 2018–present selected matches) Edinburgh Sevens (2007–2011) Scottish Claymores (1995–2002)

Murrayfield Stadium is a huge rugby union stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), which also has its main office there. This stadium is the home ground for the Scotland national rugby union team.

With seats for 67,144 people, Murrayfield is the biggest stadium in Scotland. It is also the fifth largest in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe.

The stadium first opened on March 21, 1925, with a rugby game between Scotland and England. Scotland won that game and achieved a special victory called a Grand Slam. Today, Murrayfield hosts most of Scotland's international rugby matches. It also holds finals for the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup and other important rugby games.

Even though it's mostly for rugby, Murrayfield has also hosted American football, rugby league, and association football (soccer) matches. Many famous music concerts have taken place here too. For sponsorship reasons, the stadium is currently known as Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium.

History of Murrayfield Stadium

How Murrayfield Stadium Started

The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) bought a large piece of land, about 19 acres, from the Edinburgh Polo Club. They raised money for this by selling special tickets called debentures. It took two years to build a main stand and three sloped seating areas. Before Murrayfield, international games were played at Inverleith, but it wasn't big enough for all the fans.

The first groundsman, Arthur Sellers, who used to prepare pitches at Inverleith, helped get Murrayfield ready. On March 21, 1925, 70,000 people watched Scotland beat England. This win gave Scotland their first ever Five Nations Championship Grand Slam.

Murrayfield During World War II

During the Second World War, the SRU offered Murrayfield to the country. The Royal Army Service Corps used it as a place to store supplies. Even during the war, the armed forces managed to organize two Scotland versus England rugby games each year. Scotland's home games were played at Inverleith for the first two years. Then, in 1944, Murrayfield was returned and used again.

Recent Changes and Events

Exterior of Murrayfield, May 2005

Interior of Murrayfield depicting the national flag of Scotland, the Saltire, in the stands

Murrayfield set a record for attendance on March 1, 1975. A massive 104,000 people watched Scotland beat Wales 12–10. This was a world record for attendance until 1999 and is still a European record. A new East stand was added in 1983.

In 1991, another plan was started to improve the West Stand. The new West Stand was designed with a very long roof that stuck out 48 meters. The old West Stand had a museum, but it was not replaced. The first parts of the new stadium, the north and south stands, opened in January 1993. The middle part of the new West Stand opened in February 1994.

In 1994, Murrayfield finished a big £50-million renovation. This included installing floodlights for the first time, so games could be played at night.

In 2012, the SRU started looking for a company to sponsor the stadium's name. They wanted to earn money from their biggest asset. The grass pitch was damaged in 2013, so the SRU replaced it with a special Desso surface in 2014. This is a mix of natural grass and artificial fibers. In May 2014, BT became the sponsor, and the stadium was called BT Murrayfield Stadium.

In July 2023, Scottish Rugby and Scottish Gas started a new five-year partnership. This deal helps Scottish rugby clubs save energy and reduce carbon. Scottish Gas also supports women's rugby. Because of this, the stadium's official name changed to Scottish Gas Murrayfield.

Where is Murrayfield Stadium?

Murrayfield Stadium is located right next to the Murrayfield Ice Rink and Murrayfield Curling Rink. It is also close to Edinburgh Zoo. The stadium is named after the area of Edinburgh where it stands. There are also two cricket pitches and four rugby pitches nearby.

Getting to Murrayfield Stadium

Buses to Murrayfield

Several Lothian Bus services, like 12, 22, 26, 31, and the Airlink 100, go along Corstorphine Road. This road is next to the stadium. After matches, this route can get very busy.

Trains to Murrayfield

Even though a train line runs next to the stadium, the closest train station is Haymarket. This station is about a mile to the east.

You can also connect to the Edinburgh Trams at Haymarket, Edinburgh Park, and Edinburgh Gateway stations. Edinburgh Waverley station is a short walk from the St Andrew Square tram stop.

Trams to Murrayfield

The Murrayfield Stadium tram stop is right next to the stadium's entrance. You can reach the platform by stairs or a lift. To help manage crowds, ticket machines are located at the bottom of the stairs, not on the platform itself.

What Murrayfield Stadium is Used For

Rugby Union Matches

Murrayfield Stadium in 2002.

Interior of Murrayfield

Murrayfield is the main place for most Scottish international rugby union games. All of Scotland's home games in the Six Nations Championship are played here. The stadium also hosted all of Edinburgh's matches for many years. Since February 2018, Edinburgh Rugby has played its matches at Murrayfield again. A new, smaller stadium for Edinburgh Rugby was built on the back pitches and opened in 2021.

From 2007 to 2011, Murrayfield hosted the Edinburgh Sevens, which was the final event in the annual IRB Sevens World Series (now called SVNS). However, this tournament moved to Glasgow in 2012. Murrayfield also hosted some matches during the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It has also been the venue for the Heineken Cup Final three times: in 2005, 2009, and 2017.

Rugby World Cup Games

Murrayfield has hosted matches for the 1991, 1999, and 2007 Rugby World Cup tournaments. Many exciting games have taken place here during these global events.

Date	Competition	Home team		Away team		Attendance
5 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 2	Scotland	47	Japan	9	40,000
9 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 2	Scotland	51	Zimbabwe	12	35,000
12 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 2	Scotland	24	Ireland	15	54,000
19 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Quarter-final 2	Scotland	28	Western Samoa	6	54,000
26 October 1991	1991 Rugby World Cup Semi-final 1	Scotland	6	England	9	54,000

Date	Competition	Home team		Away team		Attendance
3 October 1999	1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A	Scotland	29	South Africa	46	57,612
8 October 1999	1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A	Scotland	43	Uruguay	12	9,463
10 October 1999	1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A	South Africa	47	Spain	3	4,769
16 October 1999	1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A	Scotland	40	Spain	0	17,593
20 October 1999	1999 Rugby World Cup Quarter-final play-off 3	Scotland	35	Samoa	20	20,000
24 October 1999	1999 Rugby World Cup Quarter-final 3	Scotland	18	New Zealand	30	59,750

Date	Competition	Home team		Away team		Attendance
18 September 2007	2007 Rugby World Cup Pool C	Scotland	42	Romania	0	31,222
23 September 2007	2007 Rugby World Cup Pool C	Scotland	0	New Zealand	40	64,558

Rugby League Games

Even though it's mainly for rugby union, Murrayfield has also hosted Rugby League matches. It held the Challenge Cup Finals in 2000 and 2002. In 2009, the stadium hosted rugby league's Super League Magic Weekend. The biggest crowd for a rugby league game at Murrayfield was 67,247 for the 2000 Challenge Cup Final.

Association Football (Soccer) Matches

Hearts v Sparta Prague at Murrayfield during the UEFA Cup, 2006

Murrayfield has also been used for association football (soccer) games. In 2003, the SRU allowed the local team Hearts to use the stadium for European matches. This was because Hearts' own ground, Tynecastle, did not meet the rules for European games at the time. Hearts used Murrayfield for three years.

Both Hearts and their Edinburgh rivals Hibernian have played friendly matches against famous teams like FC Barcelona at Murrayfield. In July 2007, almost 58,000 people watched Hearts play Barcelona. This was the largest crowd for a soccer match in Edinburgh in 51 years.

In 2014, Glasgow club Celtic played two qualifying matches at Murrayfield. Their home stadium, Celtic Park, was busy with the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Hearts also used Murrayfield for home games in 2017-2018 while their new stand at Tynecastle was being built. In October 2018, a Scottish League Cup semi-final between Hearts and Celtic drew 61,161 fans.

In July 2019, a friendly match between Liverpool and Napoli attracted 65,442 people. This was the highest attendance for a soccer match in Scotland since 1989. More recently, Manchester United played Olympique Lyonnais in 2023 and Rangers in 2024 at Murrayfield for pre-season games.

American Football Games

Murrayfield has also hosted American football. It was one of the home stadiums for the Scottish Claymores team in the NFL Europa league from 1995 to 2004. It also hosted World Bowl '96 in 1996. Some people have suggested Murrayfield could host future NFL International Series games.

Music Concerts

Murrayfield during a concert held by The Rolling Stones, 2018

Many famous musicians have performed at Murrayfield. David Bowie played to 47,000 people in 1983. Tina Turner performed here in 1996, and U2 in 1997. The Rolling Stones played in 1999 and again in 2018. Celine Dion had a sold-out show in 1999 with 67,000 fans.

In July 2005, Murrayfield hosted the final Live 8 concert, called Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push. This event featured artists like James Brown, Texas, and The Proclaimers. Oasis played sold-out shows in 2000 and 2009.

Other big names include Bon Jovi in 2011, Madonna in 2012, and One Direction in 2014, who played to over 64,000 fans. Foo Fighters performed in 2015. The Spice Girls had a huge concert in 2019, their first in Scotland in 21 years.

Most recently, Taylor Swift broke the all-time Scottish concert attendance record three times in June 2024. She played to 73,000 people each night for three nights, with nearly 220,000 fans attending her The Eras Tour shows.

See also

In Spanish: Estadio Murrayfield para niños

• Rugby union in Scotland
• Sport in Scotland
• Scottish Women's Rugby Union
• Lists of stadiums