Victoria Park, Dingwall
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| Location | Jubilee Road, Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland |
| Coordinates | 57°35′45.41″N 4°25′08.09″W / 57.5959472°N 4.4189139°W |
| Opened | 1929 |
| Owner | Ross County F.C. |
| Surface | construction_cost = |
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Victoria Park is a football stadium situated in the town of Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland. It is the home stadium of Ross County F.C., who currently play in the Scottish Football League First Division. It is the most northerly ground in the senior section of the Scottish football league system.[1]
There are two stands; the West (Main Stand) and the East, which have covered seats, that run either side of the pitch. There are also two standing-only terraces – North Terrace and South Terrace – situated behind each goal, known as the Academy End (North Terrace) and The Jail End (South Terrace). The Jail End is known as this because of the old County Jail and Sheriff Court that was positioned behind that end of the ground.[1] The jails have since been converted to housing,[1] although the Sheriff Court is still used.
Away fans are housed in the North end of the West Stand and, depending on the size of support anticipated, can also have access to the Academy Terrace. Home fans occupy all other sections of the stadium. There is corporate hospitality facilities and executive boxes in both the East and West Stands. It has a total capacity of 6,310 (2,590 seated) so currently has less than 50 per cent of the Scottish Premier League (SPL) criterion of 6,000 seats. To date, the board have spent more than £3.5 million on renovating the stadium and plans are being made to create an all-seater stadium, should the team win promotion to the SPL.[2][3]
In terms of capacity, the stadium holds more people than the town of Dingwall, which had a population of 5,521 at the last census in 2001. However the County of Ross and Cromarty in which the club takes much of its support has a population of over 60,000. The largest crowd ever to witness a match at Victoria Park was reported as 8,000 for the Scottish Cup match between Ross County and Rangers in February 1966.[1] The revenue from this match helped to fund construction of the Jail End terrace.[1]
The Dingwall campus of the Highland Football Academy is situated behind the Academy End. It has a three-quarter size 3G astroturf pitch under cover and a full size astroturf pitch adjacent to the East Stand, which has markings for football, 5-a-side football and hockey.[4] The Academy also has three full size grass pitches, plus additional grassed training and warm-up areas.
[edit] Gallery
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West Stand
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Gaol End
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Inglis 1996, p. 472
- ^ "Ross County plan for debut in Scotland's top flight". BBC Sport (BBC). 15 November 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15744488.stm. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
- ^ McLean, Euan (16 February 2012). "First division leaders Ross County to invest £1m in bringing Victoria Park up to SPL standard". Daily Record (Trinity Mirror). http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/sfl/2012/02/16/first-division-leaders-ross-county-to-invest-1m-in-bringing-victoria-park-up-to-spl-standard-86908-23753490/. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ "Highland Football Academy launched". Scottish Government. 10 April 2002. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2002/04/1436. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
- Sources
- Inglis, Simon (1996). Football Grounds of Britain. Collins Willow. ISBN 0002184265.
