Top facts about Celtic Park, the paradise of Glasgow

Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, located in Glasgow's Parkhead neighborhood. It is Scotland's largest football stadium, with a capacity of 60,411, and the United Kingdom's eighth largest stadium. The first top fact of top facts about Celtic Park is that Parkhead and Paradise are two more names for the area.

The club was founded in 1887, and Parkhead's original Celtic Park opened in 1888. After the rental fee for the previous location was considerably raised, the club relocated to its current location in 1892.

The new location was transformed into an oval-shaped stadium with extensive terracing. On January 1, 1938, a record attendance of 83,500 was achieved at an Old Firm game. Between 1957 and 1971, the terraces were covered and floodlights were added.

Major teams were required to install all-seater stadiums by August 1994, according to the Taylor Report.

Celtic was in a bad financial situation in the early 1990s, and until Fergus McCann gained control of the club in March 1994, no substantial work was done. In a phased reconstruction finished in August 1998, the old terraces were destroyed to make way for a new stadium. In 2016, a portion of rail seats was built.

When Hampden Park was unavailable, Celtic Park was utilized to host Scotland internationals and Cup Finals. Celtic Park featured composite rules shinty-hurling, track and field, and the 1897 Track Cycling World Championships before the First World War.

There were also open-air Masses and recruiting campaigns for the First World War. Celtic Park was the site of the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, as well as concerts by the Who and U2.

Full coverage of top facts about Celtic Park, the paradise of Glasgow

In this article of top facts about Celtic Park, we will first go over some of this stadium's history in a brief manner like the

. Then we will review the structure and take you on a tour inside its walls to show you the different facilities which this structure consists of.

We will also learn about the other uses of this massive field as well as the transportation means of this stadium. Now without any further introduction let us reveal the

top facts about Celtic Park

.

Celtic Park history

If you have been following sportmob for long enough you probably know that we first cover the history of the stadium in a brief manner, thus let us talk about the past of this amazing field in this section of top facts about Celtic Park.

Celtic Football Club was founded in November of 1887. Within six months of its inception, the first Celtic Park was erected by a volunteer labor at the northeast corner of Springfield Road and London Road in Parkhead.

Hibernian and Cowlairs met in the tournament's first match. Celtic's first match was against

on May 28, 1888, at Celtic Park, which Celtic won 5–2.

On March 28, 1891, it hosted a British Home Championship match between

and Ireland.

However, Celtic was forced to leave this location in 1892 when the landlord raised the annual rent from £50 to £450.

The dawn of Celtic Park

The first top fact of

top facts about Celtic Park

is that the new stadium was erected 200 yards from the old one in a decommissioned brickyard on Janefield Street. The new stadium started out as terracing with a capacity of around 40,000 people.

It was shaped like Hampden Park, with an enlarged oval form. Around the perimeter of the pitch, a concrete running track and a concrete cycle track were built.

A pavilion and a seating stand were located on the pitch's northern side.

established the first press box in a football stadium in the United Kingdom in 1894, which is positioned high up on the main stand at Celtic Park.

Celtic purchased the newer Grant Stand entirely after a fire destroyed the older north grandstand and seriously damaged the surrounding pavilion in May 1904. By the following year, the north enclosure had been reconstructed.

The Grant Stand was removed in 1927 after becoming dangerous and was replaced in summer 1929 by a new single-tier Main Stand designed by Duncan & Kerr. This stand was smaller and less ornate than the Main Stand at Ibrox, costing £35,000 and seating 4,800 people.

Early development

The renovated Celtic Park had a capacity bigger than any club stadium in England while being just Glasgow's third-largest stadium. An Old Firm derby versus Rangers on New Year's Day 1938 established the attendance record for a Celtic fixture at Celtic Park.

According to some reports, the attendance for this game was 92,000, however current sources estimate that it was closer to 83,500.

Between 1957 and 1971, significant upgrades were made, thanks in part to Celtic's unprecedented success under Jock Stein's management. In 1957, a roof was constructed over the western "Celtic End" terrace, and floodlights were introduced in 1959.

They were originally used in a friendly match against Wolver in 1966, the northern "Hayshed" terrace, dubbed the "Jungle," was concreted and a new roof was installed. In 1967, a roof was put over the eastern "Rangers End" terrace, adopting the same style as Hampden Park's Rangers End.

In all, there were 4,800 seats in the Main Stand, with a total seating capacity of 80,000. In 1971, an additional 3,900 seats were added to the paddock area of the Main Stand.

In 1986, £1 million was spent to replace the roof of the western terrace with a duplicate of the eastern terrace, which was planned over two decades before.

All main venues were to be fully seated by August 1994, according to the timeline.es on October 12th.

Later development

In December 1994, the comprehensive blueprints were completed. The club planned to construct a 60,000-seat stadium over three phases. The new North Stand, designed by Percy Johnson-Marshall Associates, engineered by Hutter Jennings Titchmarsh, and constructed by Miller Construction, was the first phase.

In August 1996, the second phase of the reconstruction was completed, with the inauguration of the 13,006-seat East Stand. With the inauguration of the South West Corner in February 1998, Phase 3a was completed.

The Jock Stein Stand, which was built on the previous West Terracing site and inaugurated in August 1998 with a match against Liverpool, was the next phase.

His third phase added 13,006 seats, increasing the new Celtic Park's total capacity to 60,411. Barr Construction completed Phases 2 and 3 of the project. Celtic Park was redeveloped for £40 million, making it the largest club stadium in the United Kingdom.

The average attendance for the 1998–99 season was 59,224, with season ticket sales exceeding 53,000, the most in the United Kingdom at the time.

Celtic Park structure

What distinguishes a stadium from the others? The structure itself and this part of the top facts about Celtic Park is all about the stadium's structure.

Celtic Park was originally an oval stadium, but it has since been transformed into a rectangular one. Its purpose is to create a confining and scary environment for large-scale events.

The North, Jock Stein (West), Lisbon Lions (East), and Main (South) Stands are the four geographical divisions of the stadium. A continuous two-tier circle is formed by the North, East, and West stands. The two end stands each contains 13,000 people, while the North Stand holds 27,000 people.

The Main Stand has a capacity of slightly under 8,000 people, bringing the overall capacity to 60,411. When BBC Radio Five Live polled the public in 2002 to discover the country's favorite sports stadium, it earned 60% of the vote.

Between the pitch and the Eastern Necropolis cemetery, the North Stand is crammed into a small space. Cantilevered over the graves is a portion of the upper tier.

The roof was supported by fourteen internal pillars to save at least £1 million in extra steelwork. In the lowest area of the North Stand, 1600 seats have a heated element controlled by a footswitch.

Although a new roof was placed in 1971 and the facade was renovated in 1988, the Main (South) Stand is presently the oldest portion of the stadium, having been completed in 1929. In 1998, translucent sheets were installed on the roof of the Main Stand to allow more light to reach the pitch.

The East Stand was built in 1996 and christened in 2000 after the Lisbon Lions, the Celtic squad that won the European Cup Final in 1967.

Improvement plans

Although this stadium can serve as a perfect example of a complete stadium, there are still some small changes that can be done to maximize this stadium's functionality. Here is a full reflection of these plans in this section of top facts about Celtic Park.

Celtic have contemplated redeveloping the Main Stand in order to increase the capacity of Celtic Park. Celtic Park would have a capacity of almost 75,000 when the two-tier bowl stadium is built. In April 2007, Celtic CEO Peter Lawwell indicated that an additional 8,000 seats might be added, but that the construction would not be cost-effective.

Celtic began a feasibility study in September 2011 to create a safe standing space in Celtic Park. Although legislation prohibiting top-flight clubs from maintaining standing sections exists in England, no equivalent rule applies in Scotland. Celtic gained safety certification for a project to build rail seats in June 2015.

During the 2016 close season, a portion of 2,975 rail seats was built in the Lisbon Lions Stand.

Celtic Park facilities

Inside this magnificent facet lays a beautiful field with many other facilities about which we will talk in this section of top facts about Celtic Park.

Celtic announced plans for a hotel and museum expansion between the Main Stand and London Road in February 2017. In September of 2017, the proposals were authorized.

The stadium's façade was ornamented with a display of printed banners in the summer of 2015, which will be permanent.

At either end of the stadium, fifteen green-colored parts – each 21 meters high – create a display that says 'Paradise' and features photos of notable players from the club's history (58 players in total, with a different set shown on each stand).

On additional panels in the corners between the main stand and the end stands, photographic banners of key events and trophy triumphs are exhibited.

Celtic Park other uses

Celtic Park was a multi-event arena prior to World War I. In 1897, it held Scotland's first composite rules shinty-hurling match. Every summer, track and field meets were organized, and Celtic Park hosted the only World Cycling Championships held in Scotland in 1897.

On Christmas Day 1893, an experimental floodlit football game was played. Due to the ball continuously impacting the bulbs, which were hung over the pitch by wiring, this proved ineffective.

In 1909, Celtic Park held a game between a Northern Rugby Football Union representative squad and a visiting Australian team, which was the first time rugby league football was played in Scotland. On April 28, 1928, Celtic Park hosted the inaugural pukka speedway racing meeting in Scotland. Before shutting in July 1928, it hosted a total of 12 sessions.

The Who (1976), Bryan Adams (1992), Prince (1992), and U2 have all performed at Celtic Park (1993). Wet Wet Wet performed there in September 1997, however, their show had to be moved up a day to avoid conflicting with Diana, Princess of Wales' burial. In 1991, Billy Graham, an American evangelical Christian missionary, performed an outdoor event at the site, his first visit to Scotland since 1955.

The opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games was held in Celtic Park, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

Celtic played two European ties at Murrayfield Stadium instead of Hampden since Hampden was also utilized for the Games. Celtic booked three pre-season games at St Mirren Park in 2015 due to more construction work at Celtic Park.

The Pro14 final between Leinster and Glasgow was played at Celtic Park for the first time in 2018–19, and it was the ground's debut rugby union match.

Celtic Park transport

For the last section of top facts about Celtic Park let us talk about the transportation means which would assist the fans in getting to this stadium. Celtic Park is around 45 minutes walking distance from Glasgow's main train stations, Central and Queen Street.

Dalmarnock railway station, which is about a 10-minute walk from the ground, is served by local trains from Glasgow Central on the Argyle Line. Fans may also get to Celtic Park via Bellgrove and Bridgeton stations, both of which are around a mile away. 

Celtic Park was served by the Parkhead Stadium railway station from 1897 and 1964. Bus routes 43, 61, and 62 from First Glasgow service the stadium.

Celtic Park is located between the M74 and M8 motorways, next to the A74 (London Road). Visitors arriving by automobile can find parking in the adjacent streets. Celtic Park is near to the new Glasgow East End Regeneration Route, which connects the two motorways.

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