St Mirren Park Explained

Stadium Name:The SMISA Stadium
Nickname:Greenhill Road
Location:Greenhill Road, Paisley
Pushpin Map:Scotland Renfrewshire
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Renfrewshire
Pushpin Label Position:left
Coordinates:55.8506°N -4.4439°W
Broke Ground:7 January 2008
Surface:Grass
Acreage:12.5
Dimensions:105m x 68m (115y x 74y)
Scoreboard:Yes
Owner:St Mirren F.C.
Operator:St Mirren F.C.
Record Attendance:7,937 - St Mirren v Kilmarnock (22 April 2023)
Construction Cost:£8 million
Architect:Barr Construction
Main Contractors:Barr Construction
Publictransit: Paisley St James
Tenants:St Mirren F.C. (2009 -)
Scotland under-21 (2011 -)

St Mirren Park, also known as The SMISA Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Paisley, Scotland. It is the home of St Mirren F.C.. The stadium is the sixth home of the club and replaced Love Street.[1] [2] [3] [4]

History

Talks over a new stadium began on 15 January 2003, when the club met representatives from Aldi and Lidl. The club were looking to sell their ground at Love Street for retail development. Selling Love Street would secure the necessary funding to build the new stadium. Planning applications for a retail development at Love Street were passed on 24 May 2005 and the club subsequently sold the ground to Tesco on 25 April 2007 for £15 million. The new stadium site broke ground on 7 January 2008 and was officially opened on 31 January 2009 at a cost of £8 million.[2] [5] Before the first game at the new stadium there was a parade from Love Street to Greenhill Road to celebrate the opening of the stadium.[6] Club chairman Stewart Gilmour and First Minister Alex Salmond were also present at the first match at the new ground. Alex Salmond unveiled a plaque before the game to commemorate the opening.[4] The game between St Mirren and Kilmarnock finished in a 1 - 1 draw, with the first goal at the new stadium being scored by Kilmarnock striker Kevin Kyle.[7] Dennis Wyness scored St Mirren's first goal at the new ground, in the same match.[7] The opening match set the record attendance of 7,542,[7] and was only surpassed in the Scottish Premiership play-off match against Dundee United, when 7,732 fans attended on 26 May 2019.[8] St Mirren Park has also become the regular home of the Scotland national under-21 football team.[9] [10]

In November 2015, St Mirren agreed a two-year sponsorship deal with Renfrewshire Council to rename the stadium as the Paisley 2021 Stadium. This was to promote Paisley's bid to become a UK City of Culture in 2021.[11] In June 2018, the stadium was renamed as The Simple Digital Arena as part of a four-year deal with Glasgow-based IT firm Simple Digital Solutions.[12]

In November 2020, the stadium was renamed The SMISA Stadium in reference to the St. Mirren Independent Supporters Association. The gesture is designed to mark what will be the last season before the club becomes majority fan owned in 2021.[12]

Construction

St Mirren Park is built on a 12.5-acre site on Greenhill Road in the Ferguslie Park area of the town. The previously unused site is less than a mile from the club's former ground.[13] [14] Barr Construction were responsible for the design and construction of the stadium.[15] Their design consisted of four grandstands with a total capacity of 8,023.[16] The East Stand is the Main Stand. The North Stand is used by away fans. Larger away supports can also be seated in a section of the West Stand. The West Stand has the largest capacity of all the stands. Whilst the South Stand is the Family Stand.[17] [18]

Since the stadium's construction, the capacity has been reduced to .[19]

Facilities

On the outside of the stadium, promotional plaques have been constructed on the wall including fans names and loved ones. In the undercroft areas under each of the home support sections, large plaques dedicated to the members of the club's 'Hall of fame' have been erected by members of the supporters association and the website team, detailing player profiles and stats. Also, a 7-a-side pitch behind the North Stand is covered by the Airdome and can be hired by the public.

Transport

Paisley St James Railway Station, which is served by trains on the Inverclyde Line from Glasgow Central, is adjacent to St Mirren Park.[20] Since the stadium opened, some supporters campaigned for the local transport authorities to rename the station to Paisley St Mirren.[20] Following station improvements, the signage of the station was updated to read as "Paisley St James, alight here for St Mirren Park", as a compromise between supporter groups and the local transport regulators SPT. Paisley Gilmour Street is a 15-minute walk from St Mirren Park, but has a much more frequent service from Glasgow Central.[20] The ground is very near to the M8 Motorway and is accessed via junction 29. Fans travelling from North Ayrshire can also access the ground via the A737 road.[20] There is a car park at the stadium for permit holders, and street parking is also available.[20]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: St Mirren Park . Stmirren.info . 2009-01-31 . 2014-04-15.
  2. Web site: St Mirren Football Club | Stadium History . Saintmirren.net . 2014-04-14.
  3. Web site: From St Mirren Park to St Mirren Park . Stmirren.info . 2005-05-24 . 2014-04-14.
  4. News: Alex Salmond to unveil plaque at St Mirren's new ground . The Daily Telegraph . 2008-12-15 . 2014-04-15.
  5. Web site: Scottish Football Ground Guide: New St Mirren Park, St Mirren Football Club . Footballgroundguide.com . 2014-03-03.
  6. Web site: St Mirren fans' final march from Love Street | Football . STV . 2009-02-03 . 2014-04-14.
  7. News: Andy . Campbell . BBC Sport . BBC . 31 January 2009 . 22 October 2012 . St Mirren 1-1 Kilmarnock.
  8. News: St Mirren 1-1 Dundee United. BBC Sport. BBC. 26 May 2019. 29 May 2019.
  9. News: St Mirren Park becomes home to Scotland's Under-21 side. BBC Sport. BBC. 9 August 2011. 9 August 2011.
  10. Web site: Scottish Football Association . Scottishfa.co.uk . 2013-01-31 . 2014-04-15.
  11. Web site: St Mirren Park in line for temporary name change in culture city bid . BBC Sport . BBC . 16 November 2015 . 17 November 2015.
  12. News: St Mirren rename stadium ahead of Premiership return . STV Sport . 2018-06-13 . 2018-06-13.
  13. Web site: St Mirren Park . The Stadium Guide . 2014-04-18.
  14. Web site: ROMA Publications Ltd, UK - Publishing, Advertising, Graphic Design . Romauk.net . 2014-04-15.
  15. Web site: Scottish Football Ground Guide: New St Mirren Park, St Mirren Football Club . Footballgroundguide.com . 2014-04-15.
  16. Web site: St Mirren Park – . Stadiumdb.com . 2014-04-15.
  17. Web site: St Mirren Football Club | Match Day Info – St Mirren v Partick Thistle . Saintmirren.net . 2014-01-24 . 2014-04-14.
  18. Web site: St Mirren Park – . Stadiumdb.com . 2014-04-18.
  19. Web site: St Mirren Football Club. Scottish Professional Football League . 22 April 2023.
  20. Web site: St Mirren. 22 October 2012 . Scottish Football Ground Guide. Duncan Adams. 1 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120118092001/http://www.scottishgrounds.co.uk/st_mirren.htm . 18 January 2012.