St Mirren Park facts for kids
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Greenhill Road
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View of the Main Stand facade
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 The SMISA Stadium
Location in Renfrewshire
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| Location | Greenhill Road, Paisley |
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| Coordinates | 55°51′2″N 4°26′38″W / 55.85056°N 4.44389°W |
| Public transit | St James Railway Station & Gilmour Street Station |
| Owner | St Mirren F.C. |
| Operator | St Mirren F.C. |
| Capacity | 8,023 |
| Record attendance | 7,937 - St Mirren v Kilmarnock (22 April 2023) |
| Field size | 105m x 68m (115y x 74y) |
| Acreage | 12.5 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 7 January 2008 |
| Opened | 31 January 2009 |
| Construction cost | £8 million |
| Architect | Barr Construction |
| Main contractors | Barr Construction |
| Tenants | |
| St Mirren F.C. (2009–) Scotland under-21 (2011–) |
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St Mirren Park, also known as The SMISA Stadium, is a football stadium in Paisley, Scotland. It is the home ground for the St Mirren football team. This stadium is the sixth home for the club and took the place of their old stadium, Love Street.
Contents
Building a New Home
St Mirren started planning a new stadium in 2003. They needed to sell their old home, Love Street, to get money for the new one. After selling Love Street in 2007, construction for the new stadium began on January 7, 2008. It officially opened on January 31, 2009.
Before the first game, fans held a parade from Love Street to the new stadium to celebrate. The First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, was there. He unveiled a special plaque to mark the opening. The first match was between St Mirren and Kilmarnock. It ended in a 1–1 draw. Kevin Kyle from Kilmarnock scored the first goal in the new stadium. Dennis Wyness scored St Mirren's first goal in the same game.
The first match had 7,542 fans, which was a record at the time. This record was broken on May 26, 2019, when 7,732 fans came to a play-off match against Dundee United. St Mirren Park is also often used by the Scotland national under-21 football team.
Stadium Names Over Time
The stadium has had a few different names over the years.
In November 2015, St Mirren made a deal with Renfrewshire Council. The stadium was renamed the Paisley 2021 Stadium for two years. This was to help promote Paisley's bid to become a UK City of Culture in 2021.
In June 2018, the stadium's name changed again to The Simple Digital Arena. This was part of a four-year agreement with a company called Simple Digital Solutions.
In November 2020, the stadium became The SMISA Stadium. This name honors the St. Mirren Independent Supporters Association. It was a way to celebrate that the club would soon be mostly owned by its fans.
Stadium Design
St Mirren Park is built on a large piece of land, about 12.5 acres, in the Ferguslie Park area of Paisley. This spot is less than a mile from where the old stadium used to be.
Barr Construction designed and built the stadium. It has four main stands, which are like big sections for fans. The stadium can hold 8,023 people in total.
- East Stand (Greenhill Road) – This is the Main Stand, holding 2,220 people.
- West Stand (Craigielea Drive) – This stand can hold 2,516 people. Parts of it are used for away fans if there are many visitors.
- North Stand (Ferguslie Park Avenue) – This is mainly for away fans, holding 1,633 people.
- South Stand (Drums Avenue) – This is known as the Family Stand, holding 1,654 people.
Since it was built, the total number of seats has been adjusted slightly.
What's Inside and Around
Outside the stadium, you can see special plaques on the walls. These plaques have the names of fans and their loved ones. Inside, under the home support areas, there are large plaques for the club's 'Hall of Fame' members. These plaques share details about famous players and their stats.
Behind the North Stand, there is a 7-a-side football pitch. It is covered by a special dome called the Airdome. People can rent this pitch to play football.
Getting to the Stadium
The stadium is easy to reach by public transport. Paisley St James Railway Station is right next to St Mirren Park. Trains from Glasgow Central stop here. Some fans wanted the station to be renamed "Paisley St Mirren." As a compromise, the station signs now say "Paisley St James, alight here for St Mirren Park."
Paisley Gilmour Street is another train station about a 15-minute walk away. It has more frequent trains from Glasgow Central. The stadium is also very close to the M8 Motorway, which you can get to from junction 29. Fans coming from North Ayrshire can use the A737 road. There is a car park at the stadium for people with permits, and you can also find street parking nearby.
See also
In Spanish: St. Mirren Park para niños
- Stadium relocations in Scottish football
