Palmerston Park
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| Location | Dumfries, Scotland |
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| Opened | 1919 |
| Owner | Queen of the South Football Club |
| Surface | Grass |
| Capacity | 6,412 (3,509 seated) |
| Tenants | |
| Queen of the South Football Club | |
Coordinates: 55°04′11.16″N 3°37′29.80″W / 55.0697667°N 3.6249444°W
Palmerston Park is a multi-purpose stadium on Terregles Street in Dumfries, south west Scotland. The site of the ground was formerly a farm called Palmers Toun.[1] This is on the Maxwelltown side of the River Nith in Dumfries. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Queen of the South F.C. The stadium holds 6,412 people. It also holds the record of having the tallest free standing floodlights in Scottish football, standing at 85 feet.
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[edit] Ground purchase
Jimmy McKinnell, Tom Wylie and Willie McCall were all sold to Blackburn Rovers around the same time. This combined with the sale of Ian Dickson to Aston Villa helped to fund the purchase of Palmerston Park in 1921 for £1,500.[1]
[edit] Current stadium
Of the 6,412 capacity, there are 3,509 seats. There have been many changes in the ground since it was first opened in 1919, including the removal of the "coo shed" which was replaced by a new all seater stand, adjacent to the town's Ice Bowl. Queens' 75th anniversary was commemorated in April 1995 with a challenge match against Rangers. Guests for Queens in the 2 - 2 draw included Davie Irons, future managers Rowan Alexander and Ian McCall, Ted McMinn, Andy Thomson[1] and Budgie McGhie.
Across from this all seater stand is the traditional "old" stand. This is a small, classic looking covered seating stand, where the seating area is raised. There are standing terraces for fans to the left, right and in front of this stand. This stand was constructed after the original main stand burned down in 1964.
The Portland Drive Terrace (home end) is a traditional standing area, reminiscent of all UK football grounds prior to the Hillsborough disaster. At the other end of the ground stands the Terregles Street end. This was historically the away supporters end, but this has now sadly been closed and has fallen in to disrepair. This is the only blip on what is otherwise a nice little stadium.
[edit] Proposed development
There are plans afoot to make Palmerston Park in to a 6,000 all seater stadium which would allow Queen Of The South access to the Scottish Premier League (SPL), should they ever win the Scottish League First Division. The 6,000 seats is the minimum requirement to join this league. For this to happen, the Terregles Street end would be demolished and a new all seater stand erected. Similarly, the Portland Drive terrace would be made in to an all seater stand.[citation needed]
[edit] Attendance
Crowds for Queen of the South fixtures are normally around 3,000 people unless there is a major cup game against higher league opposition. The first league game against local rivals Gretna at the end of August 2006 attracted almost 5,500 spectators, which was Queen's highest league attendance since 2002. There was a full house at Queens' 2007 Scottish Cup Quarter Final clash with Hibs in 2007. Similarly, over 6,000 watched the victory over Dundee on 8 March 2008 for a place in the 2008 Scottish Cup Semi-finals.[1]
Modern attendances are small in comparison with Queens' heyday in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. For example 10,948 watched the team featuring Willie Savage, Willie Culbert and Willie Ferguson in Queens first ever game in the top flight of Scottish football in 1933, the 3-2 win against Celtic.[2] 13,000 watched Queens managed by George McLachlan and captained by Savage knock Rangers out of the Scottish Cup in January 1937.[2] However Jackie Oakes scored Queens’ goal in the game with the highest recorded attendance at Palmerston Park. On 23rd February 1952 a crowd of 26,552 squeezed very tightly in to see Queens play in a Scottish Cup 3rd round 3-1 win for Hearts.[3]
[edit] In popular culture
Scenes from the film A Shot at Glory, starring Robert Duvall, were shot at Palmerston Park during 1999.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Queen of the South official club history
- ^ a b Queen of the South v Celtic, 1933 Scottish League; Queen of the South v Rangers, 1937 Scottish Cup; in the profile on Willie Savage
- ^ Queen of the South v Heart of Midlothian , 1952 Scottish Cup; in the profile on Jackie Oakes
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