Fir Park

Fir Park Stadium is a football stadium situated in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. The stadium plays host to the home matches of Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and was the temporary home of Gretna for the 2007–08 SPL season. Motherwell moved to the stadium in 1895, previously playing their football at Dalziel Park.

General information

Arena capacity: 13,677 spectators

Address: Fir Park Street, Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, ML1 2QN, Scotland

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 55°46′47.81″N 3°58′48.28″W

Year of construction: 1895

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 110 x 75 yards

Seating plan of Fir Park

Davie Cooper Stand

The Davie Cooper Stand is single-tiered with Club Offices housed up at the back.

The outer seating blocks in this stand are claret in colour, but the central seating block is amber in colour and has the letters THE WELL spelt out in claret across it. The letters THE are higher up than the letters WELL.

What is noticeable about this stand is that the front wall appears taller at one end than the other, and this is because the pitch is sloped at a slight angle.

Your view from anywhere inside the Davie Cooper is clear because of the cantilever on the underside of the roof.

Large windshields at either end provide full protection to every row inside.

John Hunter Stand

The John Hunter Stand is single-tiered, but its roof is noticeably lower down the adjacent Davie Cooper Stand’s.

Following the club record sale of midfielder David Turnbull to Celtic in 2020, Motherwell have been able to refurbish this side of the stadium. Work included replacing all the seats, installing a new PA system and LED lighting, painting the back wall and steelwork, as well as the addition of a fan mural of the timeline which tells the story of John Hunter. The new seating blocks are almost entirely claret, the only exception being the central seating block which is amber in colour.

Supporting pillars come down regularly towards the front of the stand and this means that those sat towards the back will likely have some form of restriction to your view. The pillars will not get in your way at all if you are sat in the front rows of the John Hunter Stand.

Large windshields at either end provide full protection to every row inside.

South Stand

The South Stand towers over the rest of Fir Park.

It is divided into two similarly-sized tiers with a row of executive boxes in between. The outer blocks of the lower tier are claret in colour, and the central seating block is amber in colour with the letters FIR PARK spelt out in claret across it. The letters FIR are higher up than the letters PARK. The claret block either side of this amber block additionally contain a fir tree inside of them that is made from amber seating. Down at the front of this tier, by the stadium’s southwest corner, is an enclosure for disabled supporters to use.

All of the blocks in the upper tier are claret are colour, although the central block also contains a fir tree made from amber seating inside of it. You can find an electronic scoreboard on the wall at the front of the upper tier, and this can best be seen by those at the opposite end of the stadium.

What is noticeable about this stand is that the front wall appears taller at one end than the other, and this is because the pitch is sloped at a slight angle.

Your view from anywhere inside the South Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever on the underside of the roof.

Large windshields at either end provide protection to every row inside.

Phil O’Donnell Stand

The Phil O’Donnell Stand only runs along two thirds of the length of the pitch. The reason for this came during construction, when a resident successfully objected to a full-length stand that would have restricted light to their garden and therefore reduced the value of their property. The amber-coloured steelwork frame which was supposed to support this part of the stand is still fixed in place today, but nothing has been built around it yet.

The stand itself is singled-tiered and has an elevated seating area, with claret staircases in place should supporters need to exit the stand and head down towards the edge of the pitch. The outer blocks in the seating area are amber in colour whilst the inner seating blocks are claret in colour. The front of one of the outer blocks is partly claret in colour however instead of amber. There is executive seating blocks up at the back, with a claret wall in place to segregate them from other seats nearby. Right up at the back is the area which holds the matchday camera.

The design of the seats in this stand is different from what you would typically find other professional football stadiums. Many of seats in the claret blocks are old-fashioned wooden seats, and the seats in the amber blocks are plastic, have holes in the bottom of them and very low backs.

Fir Park’s dugouts and tunnel are based down in front of the elevated seating area, with the changing rooms located inside the stand.

There are two yellow supporting pillars which come down towards the front of the stand. They will likely restrict your view somewhat if you are sat further back in any of the central seating blocks or seating blocks at the stand’s southern end. If you are sat in the seating blocks at the stand’s northern end or down in the front rows of the seating area, these pillars should not get in your way at all.

A large windshield by the stadium’s northwest corner provides protection to every row inside. There is a windshield in place at the other end of the Phil O’Donnell Stand, but it does provide protection to the front rows, with just a small wall in place here to offer protection instead. This windshield is also windowed in place so that those inside can see over to the far side of the pitch.

Away Fans

Away fans are housed behind the goal in the South Stand.

Crowds typically take up the claret and amber blocks in the just the lower tier of the stand. The upper tier is only opened when the largest of away crowds are expected.

Away fans are treated to a perfectly clear view of the action from either tier, with both ends well protected from the elements by large windshields.

What is noticeable about this stand is that the front wall appears taller at one end than the other, and this is because the pitch is sloped at a slight angle.

Getting round to the South Stand and its turnstiles requires to initially head away from the stadium.

If you are on Knowetop Avenue on the northern side of the ground, you need to head east past the nearby school and turn right on Dalzell Drive. Continue down here past a white housing block and there will be an opening between the trees on your right. Head through this opening and you will brought up to red gates that lead to the South Stand and its nearby car park. Turnstiles for this stand are based underneath the brick exterior.

Where to buy tickets?

Ticket prices for Motherwell games are dictated by three things: Your age, who the club are playing against and where in the ground you’d like to sit. The two different ticket categories are referred to as Category A and Category B, with the latter being used for matches against the biggest teams in the league, such as Celtic and Rangers.

The John Hunter Stand is the cheapest place to sit, with The Phil O’Donnell Stand, The Maxim Office Park Stand and The Davie Cooper Stand all being charged at the same rate as each other.

You can get tickets over the phone, in person from the club’s ticket office or on the turnstiles on the say of Standard Entry matches.

How to get there?

Fir Park is located within close proximity of two schools, and within a quarter of a mile of Motherwell Town Centre. The River Clyde at its closest point is 0.7 miles away to the west, Strathclyde Loch is roughly 0.8 miles further away from there, and the Duchess of Hamilton Park is 0.7 miles away to the northwest.

There is a very small car park outside the stadium’s western side but this is not available for supporter use.

You will instead need to find street parking, and this should certainly be possible with residential streets on all four sides. Ensure though that you are legally allowed to park where you find and do not block the drives of any residents.

The nearest train station to Fir Park is Airbles to the west. It is served by ScotRail lines that run from Glasgow and walking from here to the ground takes around 20-25 minutes.

Most coming by rail are more likely to end up at Motherwell Station, served by Avanti West Coast, Caledonian Sleeper, CrossCountry, LNER, ScotRail and Transpennine Express. It is located further north of Airbles Station but the walk from here also takes around 20-25 minutes.

You can alternatively head to the bus stop on Merry Street, taking either the 241, 266 or 240 Lanarkshire Connect bus service to the stop on Windmill Street (A721), and then heading slightly back on yourself down to Knowetop Avenue and Fir Park.

Where to eat and sleep?

There are a number of excellent hotels to choose from in Motherwell, with these being the pick of the bunch as far as we’re concerned.

1. Days Inn Hamilton. This hotel is at a service rest area around three miles from Fir Park Stadium. It’s got an arcade and game room, the usual gift shops and newsagents you’d expect from a service station, free parking and free Wi-Fi.
2. The Commercial Hotel. The Commercial Hotel is roughly two and a half miles from Fir Park and has just eleven guest rooms. It’s next to a nightclub, so might not be ideal for those that prefer an early night. There’s also a restaurant, a bar, free Wi-Fi and free parking.
• Take a look at the freebets offered by the bookmaker.
3. Best Western Moorings Hotel. This picturesque hotel is about fifteen minutes walk from the ground. It offers a restaurant, a bar, a terrace area and a garden. There’s also a meeting room, free Wi-Fi and free parking. More details.

Each Scottish town has its own charm and Motherwell is no exception. Here are some of our recommendations for a pre-match pint:

1. The Windmill Tavern. The Windmill Tavern has recently been refurbished and welcomes visitors of all ages. There’s a nice bright lounge area, a decent drinks selection, more than a couple of large TV screens to watch sport on and a friendly atmosphere.
2. The Railway Tavern. Located, as the name suggests, near to the railway station, The Railway Tavern promises a welcoming atmosphere, a good laugh and a decent range of both food and drink. There’s also enough TVs dotted around to watch the match on.
• No questions? Place a bet now.
3. The Brandon Works. Can you guess what sort of pub The Brandon Works is just from the name? If you said, ‘A Wetherspoons’ then well done! Your prize is a selection of cheap drinks, decent value meals and a carpet that will give you the sensation of vertigo.

Facilities

There are all of the usual places to buy food and drink inside the ground, as well as decent concourses in most stands. The views from The East Stand and The Phil O’Donnell Stand can be obscured in places by the presence of support beams.

There are several different hospitality packages available at Fir Park, with the suite you sign up to entertain in dictating what you receive. The top package comes in the form of the executive boxes in The Maxim Office Park Stand, given that there you’ll enjoy both dinner and a drinks-inclusive package. In The Centenary Suite you’ll get dinner and access to a pay bar, whilst The Millennium Suite offers snacks and drinks. There are different packages within some of the suites too so there should be something to suit your budget.

Fir Park can be used to host any number of different events or occasions. The suites and boxes are available for hire for conferences with break out rooms, private parties, dinner dances, family celebrations or even a wedding. They have spaces suitable for 50 to 225 guests.

History

For most of the stadium’s existence it only had one stand – the two-tier Main Stand, with the other sections of the stadium being made up of terraces. The club built a roof over the Eastern terrace in 1954 and added floodlights in 1956. In 1962 Motherwell began to build a new main stand that was financed by the sale of Pat Quinn to Blackpool and Ian St. John to Liverpool. Supporters were incensed by the sale of the players for what appeared to be the greed of the club and they boycotted the use of it. This stand is now known as The Pat O’Donnell Stand and supporters still don’t sit in it if it can be avoided.

From 1991 until 1995 different sections of the stadium were developed in order to comply with the Taylor Report, written in the aftermath of The Hillsborough Disaster. It said that all top-flight stadiums in Britain needed to be all-seater. It came at a time when the club were under some financial constraints and money was spent on the alteration of the ground at the expense of other areas that needed work. Many visiting clubs have been critical of the pitch, which floods easily and is not always in a good state.