Key information about Gayfield Park

Gayfield Park was originally built in 1880 and is now the home of Scottish Championship’s side Arbroath FC. The ground is located beside the North Sea, close to the Arbroath Harbour, and was actually replaced by a new stadium going by the same name in 1925.

Its current maximum capacity stands at 6,488, 861 of which are seated, and it has a pitch that measures 105m by 65m. The surface is covered with grass and it has no running track surrounding it.

The record attendance of 13,510 supporters at Gayfield Park was set on 23 February 1952 when Arbroath faced Glasgow Rangers.

A history of Gayfield Park

Back when Arbroath FC were formed in 1878, they first played their football at Woodville Park and Hospitalfield before actually buying the site that was initially a former rubbish tip on the seafront of the town. And by 1880, their new home, Gayfield Park, was ready to be introduced to the world.

The very first game to be played at the new venue was a clash against Rob Roy in the Scottish Cup but even though the ground was brand new and still an improvement on their previous facilities, it was very cramped and bigger teams such as Glasgow Rangers were not happy campers whenever they had to visit Arbroath.

But that sometimes worked in their favour since it was at Gayfield Park the club recorded the biggest ever victory in an official match, beating Bon Accord in the Scottish Cup 36-0. In 1921, Arbroath finally entered the Scottish Football League, moving up in the world and playing the first League game at Gayfield Park against Johnstone.

Around that time was when the first talk of potentially constructing a brand new ground was first brought to light in a project dubbed ‘Greater Gayfield’. In 1925, those ideas were also realised and it also led to the pitch being moved 60 yards with the halfway line now becoming the goal line. This also enabled them to erect a stand along Dundee Road.

The new ground, also called Gayfield Park, was opened on 29 August against East Fife and relatively soon after that, Arbroath would also record their highest ever attendance of 13,510 fans when Rangers returned in February 1952. Of course, over the years, the capacity would shrink to its current 6,488 due to safety reasons and this also means the record is highly unlikely to be broken any time soon.

In 1955, the club installed floodlights and three years later, the main stand was destroyed by fire and it would take Arbroath until 2002 to finally replace it with a new one. That one would also get redeveloped and improved in 2010. It is simply known as the Gayfield Main Stand and is the only all-seated area of the ground.

The other sides of the stadium are all terraces of similar size and look. Whenever the away fans have to be segregated from the home supporters, they are usually allocated to the pleasureland stand End and half of the East Terrace, which can also be reduced to just the former area if necessary.

Tickets to watch Arbroath FC at Gayfield Park

All tickets to watch Arbroath FC play at Gayfield Park can be found on the club’s official website. The adult ticket will cost you £18 while children and concessions can get theirs for £10. There is also an option to buy an adult and child ticket as a bundle for £20.

The club also offers season tickets and adults can get one for a price of £220.

https://www.arbroathfc.co.uk/ - Official website of Arbroath FC