Key information about McDiarmid Park

McDiarmid Park was built in 1989 and is now the home of St. Johnstone FC who are playing their football in the Scottish Premiership. The ground is located in Perth, Scotland, and is the first purpose-built all-seater stadium in the United Kingdom.

Its capacity is 10,696 and has a pitch that measures 105m by 68m without a running track surrounding it and with a surface covered with natural grass and no undersoil heating installed.

McDiarmid Park’s record home attendance was set on 26 February 1991 when 10,721 watched a huge clash against Glasgow Rangers.

A history of McDiarmid Park

Before they moved to McDiarmid Park, St. Johnstone had played at a ground called Muirton Park since 1924. But the stadium had fallen into disrepair by the time the 1980s arrived and since they were not exactly the richest of clubs at that time, they simply couldn’t gather the funds to fix it. Luckily, in December 1986, the club received news that Asda wanted to buy the land and the adjoining ice rink to build a brand new supermarket.

This would also see St. Johnstone relocated for free to a brand-new stadium at the western edge of the city with a local farmer, Bruce McDiarmid, donating 16 acres of land at his Newton of Huntingtower Farm to erect the ground for the club. Later on, he was given the title of honorary president and also a 20% shareholding as a thank you.

The stadium itself was designed by Percy Johnson-Marshall and built by Miller Construction just in time for the 1989/90 season with the first ever game on 19 August 1989 being a 2–1 victory for Saints in a First Division clash against Clydebank.

Interestingly enough, great success followed suit once the stadium was open for public with St. Johnstone winning promotion to the Premier Division in their first season at McDiarmid Park. Around that time, with the interest soaring, they also recorded their highest attendance of 10,721 during a clash against Glasgow Rangers on 26 February 1991.

Interestingly enough, even though the stadium was actually built after the Hillsborough disaster, all the planning and most of the construction work had been done beforehand, which also makes McDiarmid Park the first purposefully built all-seated stadium in Britain.

There were some renovations planned in recent years and in 2011, the ideas to demolish the 2,000 capacity North Stand were publicised but ultimately rejected by Perth and Kinross Council. Still, McDiarmid Park has been chosen to host the final of the Scottish Challenge Cup nine times and it has also been used for rugby union, multiple Scotland A fixtures and some home matches of the former Caledonia Reds team.

Tickets to watch St. Johnstone at McDiarmid Park

All tickets to watch St. Johnstone play at McDiarmid Park can be found on the club’s official website. The adult ticket will cost you £25 if you choose the most expensive category while kids aged 12 or under can enter for free, provided they are accompanied by an adult.

St. Johnstone also offer season tickets as well as group tickets that can secure you family discounts. More information can be found on their website.

https://www.perthstjohnstonefc.co.uk/ - Official website of St. Johnstone FC