The Falkirk Stadium is an all-seater
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
stadium in
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
, central Scotland, which is the home ground of
Scottish Premiership
The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...
club
Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow.
Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
and
Lowland Football League
The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) and the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League for sponsorship reasons is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits a ...
club
East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins can b ...
since 2018. The stadium has a capacity of
and currently consists of three fully completed stands.
The stadium was opened in 2004 with the main stand completed. It became the home of Falkirk in the same year after the club ground shared
Ochilview Park
Ochilview Park is a association football, football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Stenhousemuir F.C., Stenhousemuir. The stadium has a c ...
for the 2003–04 season whilst the stadium was being constructed. The north and south stands were built and opened in 2005 and 2009 respectively. East Stirlingshire have shared the ground since 2018, when they ended their own groundshare at Ochilview to return to Falkirk.
History
Work began on building the stadium in 2003
[Falkirk Stadium approved ... now work begins](_blank)
''Falkirk Herald
''The Falkirk Herald'' is a weekly newspaper and daily news website published by JPIMedia, National World. It provides reportage, opinion and analysis of news, current affairs and sport in the towns of Falkirk, Camelon, Grangemouth, Larbert, Ste ...
''. 20 March 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2012. after
Brockville Park
Brockville Park was a football stadium located on Hope Street in Falkirk, Scotland, north-west of the town centre. It was the home of Falkirk F.C. from 1885 until the end of 2002–03 Scottish football season. , the club's town centre home since 1885, was sold and demolished.
[£9 million deal agreed for Brockville](_blank)
''Falkirk Herald
''The Falkirk Herald'' is a weekly newspaper and daily news website published by JPIMedia, National World. It provides reportage, opinion and analysis of news, current affairs and sport in the towns of Falkirk, Camelon, Grangemouth, Larbert, Ste ...
''. 19 July 2002. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
The project of building the stadium was a partnership between Falkirk Football Club and
Falkirk Council
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central ...
who set up the Falkirk Community Stadium Ltd which provided the funds to construct and run the stadium.
Falkirk Council estimated £6.1 million would be required for the first stage of the Community Stadium build and would contribute £3.1 million initially. The sale of Brockville Park amounted to £9 million
pounds for the club, of which £2.8 million went towards the build, whilst £200,000 came from
sportscotland
Sportscotland (officially styled sport) (), formerly the Scottish Sports Council, is the national agency for sport in Scotland.
The Scottish Sports Council was established in 1972 by royal charter. The body works in partnership with public, ...
.
The first stage of the stadium was completed in time for the
2004–05 football season and Falkirk moved in after spending the previous year
ground-sharing with local rivals,
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...
at their
Ochilview Park
Ochilview Park is a association football, football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Stenhousemuir F.C., Stenhousemuir. The stadium has a c ...
home.

Falkirk's first ever game at the stadium was a friendly in July 2004 against
Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
resulting in a 2–1 defeat.
A month later the first league game was hosted in the stadium with visitors
Hamilton Academical
Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...
drawing 1–1.
[News](_blank)
, The Falkirk Stadium. 25 July 2004. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
In October 2004 construction work commenced for the building of a second stand to the north of the pitch.
The stand has a capacity of 2,000. After completion, the £1.58m
[Work to start on new stand](_blank)
''Falkirk Herald
''The Falkirk Herald'' is a weekly newspaper and daily news website published by JPIMedia, National World. It provides reportage, opinion and analysis of news, current affairs and sport in the towns of Falkirk, Camelon, Grangemouth, Larbert, Ste ...
''. 29 April 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2012. facility would bring the stadium's capacity to over the
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...
's 6,000 seating criteria meaning Falkirk would be allowed automatic promotion
[Falkirk stadium gets green light](_blank)
BBC Sport. 31 March 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2012. from the
First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to:
Military
Airborne divisions
*1st Parachute Division (Germany)
*1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)
* 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine)
* 1st Guards Airborne Division
Armoured divisions
*1st Armoure ...
. The stand received its safety certificate in late March 2005, shortly before the SPL's deadline for a stadium which met the seating criteria.
By May of the same year the north stand was fully completed.
[Falkirk Stadium building design](_blank)
, Falkirk Council. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Construction of the south stand began in December 2008 by contractors Ogilvie.
[Work on third stand gets underway](_blank)
BBC News. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2012. A £2m pledge from Sandy Alexander, founder of
Schuh
schuh ( ) is a Scottish footwear retailer based in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland. It has 132 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company is predominantly a branded shoe stockist, selling over 80 brands, including: Converse, Van ...
and Falkirk supporter, helped fund the project.
The south stand has a capacity of around 2,000 and is similar in appearance to the north stand of the stadium.
[What's The Ground Like?](_blank)
Scottish Football Grounds Guide. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013. It was officially opened in August 2009 in a friendly game against
Royal Antwerp FC
Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...
of
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
.
[Club debut for new stadium stand](_blank)
BBC News. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2012 This brought the capacity of the stadium to around 8,000 people without the inclusion of the temporary east stand.
The
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
that was set up between Falkirk F.C. and
Falkirk Council
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central ...
, ended in 2009, just a few months before the opening of the south stand. The football club took full control of the facilities such as the
pitch, seats,
under-soil heating
Under-soil heating is a method used in various sports stadia (with a grass surface) which heats the underside of the pitch to avoid any elements from bad weather, such as snow and ice, from building up and ultimately helps the club avoid having ...
and
floodlights
A floodlight is a broad-beamed, gas discharge lamp#High-intensity discharge lamps, high-intensity artificial light. It can provide functional area lighting for travel-ways, parking, entrances, work areas, and sporting venues to enable visibil ...
,
whilst the council retained most of the development rights for the site and manages and receives rent from businesses set up the stadium's main west stand.
An artificial playing surface was installed at the stadium in June 2013. In 2016
Lowland Football League
The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) and the Park’s Motor Group Scottish Lowland League for sponsorship reasons is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits a ...
side
Stirling University F.C. started playing their home matches at the ground, having moved from
Stirling Albion
Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in as a member of the Scottish Profession ...
's
Forthbank Stadium
Forthbank Stadium is a football stadium in Stirling, Scotland. Opened in 1993, it has been the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Stirling Albion since then. Since 2013 it has also hosted the first team matches of Lowland ...
.
Falkirk Stadium is situated opposite the fire station
In April 2018 it was announced that
East Stirlingshire
East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins can b ...
would begin playing their home matches at the Falkirk Stadium from the start of the 2018–19 season. The club had previously played in the centre of Falkirk at
Firs Park
Firs Park was a football stadium in Falkirk, Scotland, which was the home of East Stirlingshire F.C. between 1921 and 2008. It was located on Firs Street, 0.3 miles north-east of the town centre. At the time of closing the ground had a capacit ...
until 2008, before spending a decade ground-sharing with
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...
at
Ochilview Park
Ochilview Park is a association football, football stadium in Stenhousemuir in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish League One club Stenhousemuir F.C., Stenhousemuir. The stadium has a c ...
.
Queen's Park also moved in during the latter part of the 2020–21 season, after their lease on
Hampden Park
Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...
expired.
Structure and facilities

The Falkirk Stadium is an
all-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Amer ...
which currently consists of three completed stands in the form of the main west stand and smaller north and south stands. Upon the stadium's construction the west stand was the first to be built, and subsequently completed in 2004. The north and south stands were completed in 2005 and 2009 respectively. The west stand has a capacity of roughly 4,200
[New Home, New Standards](_blank)
TalkFootball. Retrieved 11 January 2012. and hosts several facilities which have ranged from a nursery to a restaurant. The south stand features a bar called the Brockville Bar. A temporary east stand has been present on several occasions.
In June 2022, the South Stand was renamed to the Kevin McAllister Stand after the
football player
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
that played for the club.
Summer concerts
Since 2012, Falkirk Stadium has been hosting summer concerts, achieving up to 21,000 attendees per event.
^
The Killers
The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
were originally due to play at Falkirk Stadium on 28 May 2020 but this was postponed
to 8 June 2021 then again to 6 June 2022 because of COVID-19.
Westlife
Westlife are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...
were supposed to perform at the stadium on 27 June 2020 for their "
Stadiums in the Summer Tour
The Wild Dreams Tour or The Hits Tour, originally known as the Stadiums in the Summer Tour, is a concert tour by Irish pop vocal group, Westlife. It was first scheduled to begin on 17 June 2020 in Scarborough, England a ...
" but this was cancelled due to
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
.
Rugby
As well as hosting Falkirk F.C., the stadium has also staged several youth level international
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
matches.
In 2008 the stadium was the venue chosen by the
Scottish Rugby Union
The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Now marketed as Scottish Rugby, it is the second-oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league sys ...
to host
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
's home matches at the
Six Nations Under 20s Championship
The Six Nations Under 20s Championship is an international rugby union tournament. It is the under-20s equivalent of the Six Nations Championship. Originally the tournament was in an under-21 format but changed to under-20s in 2008. England
...
which were played against
England under-20s and
France under-20s.
[U20's Six Nations Fixtures and Results](_blank)
Retrieved 16 March 2012. Former Falkirk manager
John Hughes John Hughes may refer to:
Arts and Entertainment Literature
*John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet
*John Hughes (1790–1857), English author
*John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet
*John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...
had commented on the condition of the pitch which was previously damaged during rugby matches.
Other uses
The stadium is also used on occasion by the
Scotland women's national football team
The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...
in World and Euro qualifying championships as well as in friendly matches.
Also in relation to football, the stadium has hosted the home matches of the
Scotland national under-21 football team
The Scotland national under-21 football team, controlled by the Scottish Football Association, is Scotland's national under 21 football team and is considered to be a feeder team for the Scotland national football team.
As a European under-21 t ...
, the first happening in November 2004 in a game against
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
.
Transport
The Falkirk Stadium is within a 30-minute walk of
Falkirk Grahamston railway station
Falkirk Grahamston railway station is one of two railway stations serving the town of Falkirk in Scotland. It is located on the Edinburgh to Dunblane Line and also the Cumbernauld Line. Train services are provided by ScotRail. The "Highland Ch ...
which is on the main
Edinburgh to Dunblane Line
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
and
Cumbernauld Line
The Cumbernauld Line is a suburban railway line linking Glasgow to Falkirk via Cumbernauld in Scotland. Since May 2014, the newly electrified track between Springburn and Cumbernauld has become an extension of the North Clyde network.
Service ...
from
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. During weekdays and Saturdays alternate trains between Glasgow and Cumbernauld call at Falkirk Grahamston.
Special match day bus services provided by
McGill's Scotland East
McGill's Bus Services is a bus operator based in Greenock, Scotland. The company has grown to operate a network of routes covering much of the council areas of Inverclyde, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Glasgow City, North ...
allow direct transport to the stadium from around the
Falkirk area.
[Falkirk FC - Parking and Travel](_blank)
''falkirkfc.co.uk''. Retrieved 16 March 2012. The number 98 service from
Brightons
Brightons is a village in the east of the Falkirk council area of Scotland. It is south-east of Falkirk, south of Grangemouth and east of Linlithgow. It is surrounded by the villages of Polmont, Wallacestone and Rumford. It is central with ...
passes through
Shieldhill,
Hallglen and
Laurieston before terminating at the stadium. Access from
Larbert
Larbert (, ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron (Forth), River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is from the shoreline of the Firth of Fo ...
on match days is provided by the number 99 bus, which is destined for the stadium via
Stenhousemuir
Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...
,
Carronshore
Carronshore is a village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village lies in the Forth Valley, north of the town of Falkirk
Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirling ...
and
Bainsford
Bainsford is a small village within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is situated in the Forth Valley, north of the town of Falkirk. It is positioned between the River Carron and the Forth and Clyde Canal to the north and south ...
.
[South East and Central Scotland - Timetables for Service Number: 99](_blank)
First Scotland East Retrieved 16 March 2012. As well as the special match day routes, regular services are also provided by McGill's Scotland East from Falkirk bus station to
Grangemouth
Grangemouth (; , ) is a town in the Falkirk (council area), Falkirk council area in the central belt of Scotland. Historically part of the Counties of Scotland, county of Stirlingshire, the town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firt ...
(routes 3 and 4) and
Bo'ness
Borrowstounness, commonly known as Bo'ness ( ), is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically part of the county of West Lothian (historic), ...
(route 2) which stop outside the stadium.
[South East and Central Scotland - Timetables](_blank)
First Scotland East Retrieved 16 March 2012.
See also
*
Stadium relocations in Scottish football
Over the 150-year history of football in Scotland, most teams have occupied several grounds as their home; this has occasionally involved a relocation to another community altogether. Grounds which have been in continuous use for several decades ha ...
References
External links
Falkirk Stadium official site
{{Football venues in Scotland
Falkirk F.C.
Football venues in Scotland
Sports venues in Falkirk (council area)
Rugby union stadiums in Scotland
Scottish Premier League venues
Scottish Football League venues
Scottish Professional Football League venues
Sports venues completed in 2004
Buildings and structures in Falkirk
East Stirlingshire F.C.
Queen's Park F.C.