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 |  Paisley St James |
| 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 Club. This stadium is the sixth home for the club. It replaced their old ground, Love Street.
Contents
The Story of St Mirren Park
The idea for a new stadium started on January 15, 2003. The club wanted to sell their old ground, Love Street. They planned to use the money from the sale to build a brand new stadium.
The club sold Love Street to a company called Tesco for £15 million on April 25, 2007. Work on the new stadium began on January 7, 2008. It officially opened on January 31, 2009, costing £8 million to build.
Before the first game, fans marched from Love Street to the new stadium. This celebrated the big opening. Important people like club chairman Stewart Gilmour and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond were there. Alex Salmond even unveiled a special plaque.
The first match at the new stadium was between St Mirren and Kilmarnock. It ended in a 1-1 draw. The first goal was scored by Kilmarnock's Kevin Kyle. St Mirren's first goal at their new home was scored by Dennis Wyness in the same game.
The opening match had 7,542 fans, which was a record at the time. This record was broken on May 26, 2019, when 7,732 fans watched a play-off game. St Mirren Park also became the regular home for the Scotland under-21 football team.
Stadium Names Over Time
The stadium has had a few different names because of sponsorship deals.
- In November 2015, it was called the Paisley 2021 Stadium. This was part of a deal with Renfrewshire Council. It helped promote Paisley's bid to become a UK City of Culture in 2021.
- In June 2018, it changed to The Simple Digital Arena. This was a four-year deal with an IT company.
- Since November 2020, it has been known as The SMISA Stadium. This name honors the St. Mirren Independent Supporters Association (SMISA). It marked the season before the club became mostly owned by its fans in 2021.
How the Stadium Was Built
St Mirren Park is built on a 12.5-acre piece of land. This land is on Greenhill Road in the Ferguslie Park area of Paisley. It's less than a mile from where the old Love Street ground used to be.
Barr Construction designed and built the stadium. It has four main stands, which are like big seating areas. The stadium can hold 8,023 people in total.
- The East Stand is the Main Stand. It holds 2,220 fans.
- The West Stand can hold 2,516 people. Some parts of it are used for away fans if there are many of them.
- The North Stand is mainly for visiting (away) fans. It has space for 1,633 people.
- The South Stand is known as the Family Stand. It can seat 1,654 fans.
The total capacity of the stadium has been adjusted to 8,023 since it was built.
What's Inside and Around the Stadium
Outside the stadium, there are special plaques on the walls. These plaques have names of fans and their loved ones.
Underneath the home fan sections, there are large plaques. These honor members of the club's 'Hall of Fame'. They tell you about the players' careers and stats.
Behind the North Stand, there is a 7-a-side football pitch. It's 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.
- Train: Paisley St James Railway Station is right next to St Mirren Park. Trains from Glasgow Central stop here. Some fans wanted the station name changed to "Paisley St Mirren." Now, the station signs say "Paisley St James, alight here for St Mirren Park."
- Train (another option): Paisley Gilmour Street station is about a 15-minute walk away. It has more frequent trains from Glasgow Central.
- Car: The stadium is very close to the M8 Motorway. You can get there by taking junction 29. Fans from North Ayrshire can use the A737 road. There is a car park at the stadium for people with permits. You can also find street parking nearby.
See also
In Spanish: St. Mirren Park para niños
- Stadium relocations in Scottish football
