Meadowbank Stadium
Encyclopedia
Meadowbank Stadium is a multi-purpose sports facility located at Meadowbank
, in Edinburgh
, Scotland
. It hosted the Commonwealth Games
of 1970 and 1986
.
The capacity of the stadium is 16,500. The grandstand has 7,500 seats, and uncovered benches stretch around the rest of the track. The sports complex and adjacent pitches to the east covers land formerly occupied by Old Meadowbank Stadium. The stadium itself contains an eight lane, 400 metre running track, with a grass pitch within this. There is also a velodrome
adjacent to the site. Underneath the stand is a covered 100 metre, eight-lane track.
The stadium contains indoor facilities, including squash and basketball courts. These are also used for antiques fairs, martial arts competitions, conferences, and church meetings. Other outdoor facilities include field hockey pitches.
Meadowbank Thistle played at the stadium until the club relocated to the new town
of Livingston
and were renamed Livingston F.C.
in 1995. Meadowbank is often cited as one of the worst stadiums used in the Scottish Football League
due to the lack of atmosphere in the ground. This was caused by the unused seating, with most fans located on one side of the ground, and the running track created a great distance between the fans and the pitch.
East of Scotland League
side Edinburgh City F.C.
now call the ground home.
Scottish Premier League side Hibernian
play some of their reserve team
matches at Meadowbank.
Two-time high school national championship winning side Holy Rood RC play their home matches at Meadowbank.
Meadowbank was used as a 25,000 capacity concert venue during T on the Fringe, an annual music festival. Muse
, My Chemical Romance
, Snow Patrol
, Radiohead
, Pixies, Foo Fighters
, Nine Inch Nails
, Kaiser Chiefs
and Razorlight
all played the venue between 2005 and 2007. In 2008, T on the Fringe was renamed The Edge Festival and the stadium was no longer used as one of the main venues.
Meadowbank stadium has basketball facilities in three of its large halls, however they are only rarely available to the public. They are usually occupied by clubs or individuals for badminton, judo, hockey and football.
The only basketball facility which is easily accessible and affordable for a small group of people (£2 per person, compared to £48 for booking a hall), is a small squash court with a basket mounted on the wall. The size of this court and the bad condition of its roof make it unsuitable for basketball.
Edinburgh Rocks basketball team used one of the large halls until they moved to the Braehead Arena
, and were renamed Scottish Rocks
.
Meadowbank velodrome is home to the East of Scotland regional track cycling academy. The wooden track is 250 metres long and built using West African timber. It was built by Schuermann Architects of Germany
. in 1985 for the 1986 Commonwealth Games
. It is where many of Scotland's greatest cyclists started out, including Chris Hoy
and Craig MacLean
.
club Edinburgh Gunners
used the venue until they moved to Murrayfield Stadium
.
American Football team have played their home matches at the stadium.
ground. It should not be confused with New Meadowbank, the running track and sports field upon which the present stadium is sited.
that ran from 1948 until 1967 and the stadium was located between what is the new Meadowbank Stadium and the Meadowbank Velodrome, roughly perpendicular to where the 5-aside football pitch at Meadowbank sits today. Old Meadowbank was home to speedway team the Edinburgh Monarchs
http://www.edinburghspeedway.co.uk/home.asp. The sport stopped in 1954, when the post-war entertainment tax started to make the sport unprofitable. Whilst the Monarchs of this era achieved little as a team, they did introduce Aussie Jack Young
to UK speedway. Young won the World Championship
in 1951
as a Monarchs rider.
Meadowbank was also the track where the 1955
and 1962
World Champion Peter Craven
of England
lost his life in a freak accident on September 20, 1963. While taking evasive action to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter who had suffered engine
failure, Craven hit the fence. Craven suffered serious head injuries in the crash and was rushed to hospital where his family remained at his bedside until he died later that night.
The entertainment tax was later scrapped, and the sport was reintroduced to Edinburgh in 1960. The track was used for training purposes for a spell in the late 1950s and 1959 an Edinburgh Students Charites meeting was staged at the track. The Monarchs of the 1960s were founder members of the Provincial League (1960 - 1964) and founder members of the British league in 1965. The Monarchs were forced to leave Old Meadowbank in 1967 to allow the stadium to be re-developed for the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Speedway was not incorporated in the new stadium as the Government of the day would not fund stadiums which would be used by professional sports.
The displaced Monarchs raced at Cliftonhill
in Coatbridge
for two seasons before they closed down when the promotion sold the licence to a consortium who re-opened Wembley Stadium
for speedway.
Speedway was revived in Edinburgh at Powderhall
which operated 1977 to 1995.
The Monarchs are now based at the Armadale Stadium
, on the eastern outskirts of Armadale
in West Lothian
.
In 2006 the City of Edinburgh Council decided to demolish Meadowbank Stadium and to replace it with a smaller community facility on the east side of the city. A smaller sports centre was to be built to the west of the city, probably in Sighthill
. This proposal was met with opposition from users of the facility.
Thousands of people have shown their opposition to the proposal to build hundreds of flats on the Meadowbank site, by signing petitions, sending objections, attending public meetings and marching to demand that Meadowbank is saved and refurbished. These demonstrations of public opposition have led the Council to look at ways to refurbish the training facility.
The proposal is also opposed by those who support retention of the stadium to be used for speedway and greyhound racing. The move has been further cast into doubt due to delays with the Sighthill project, uncertainty over the future of Edinburgh Rugby (who were to have been a major tenant), and possible moves to upgrade Scotstoun athletics stadium
in Glasgow as an alternative.
The draft Meadowbank Development Brief was approved by the Council on 7 December 2006 for consultation (Council's Development Brief). The consultation ran until 28 March 2007. The Development Brief states that "housing is the most appropriate alternative use of the site" and that "high density development is acceptable in principle".
On March 13th 2008, Edinburgh Council voted to sell the land that is occupied by Meadowbank stadium and build a smaller sports facility on east of the site. (Indicative diagrams).
(National and Regional Sports facilities progress report).
It was announced on 28 October 2008 that X-Factor
winner Leon Jackson
would be playing the stadium's annual fireworks
display on 5 November 2008. Jackson is one of many campaigning to save the stadium.
Meadowbank, Edinburgh
Meadowbank is a suburb of Edinburgh in Scotland. It is best known for Meadowbank Stadium. The A1 road and East Coast Main Line railway to England run through this way.-External links:*...
, in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It hosted the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
of 1970 and 1986
1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. The Games were held from 24 July-2 August 1986.-Organisation and Controversy:...
.
Layout
Velodrome
A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights...
adjacent to the site. Underneath the stand is a covered 100 metre, eight-lane track.
The stadium contains indoor facilities, including squash and basketball courts. These are also used for antiques fairs, martial arts competitions, conferences, and church meetings. Other outdoor facilities include field hockey pitches.
Football
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
of Livingston
Livingston, Scotland
Livingston is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It is the fourth post-WWII new town to be built in Scotland, designated in 1962. It is about 15 miles west of Edinburgh and 30 miles east of Glasgow, and is bordered by the towns of Broxburn to the northeast and Bathgate to the northwest.Livingston...
and were renamed Livingston F.C.
Livingston F.C.
Livingston Football Club is a Scottish association football club based in Livingston, West Lothian. The club currently plays in the Scottish Football League First Division.The club was founded in 1943 as Ferranti Thistle, a works team...
in 1995. Meadowbank is often cited as one of the worst stadiums used in the Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
due to the lack of atmosphere in the ground. This was caused by the unused seating, with most fans located on one side of the ground, and the running track created a great distance between the fans and the pitch.
East of Scotland League
East of Scotland Football League
The East of Scotland Football League is a league of football teams from south-east Scotland formed in 1923. It is one of Scotland's three "senior" non-leagues which sit below the Scottish Football League , the other two being the Highland Football League and the South of Scotland Football League...
side Edinburgh City F.C.
Edinburgh City F.C.
Edinburgh City Football Club is a semi-professional senior Scottish football club, which plays in the East of Scotland Football League. The club is based at Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh. Edinburgh City was first formed in 1928 as an amateur club. It participated in the Scottish Football League...
now call the ground home.
Scottish Premier League side Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
play some of their reserve team
Reserve team
Large professional sports clubs often have far more players under contract than could possibly play in a match. As a result, many of these clubs create second teams composed of players who need playing time, but have little hope of playing on the first team. The players on this second team are...
matches at Meadowbank.
Two-time high school national championship winning side Holy Rood RC play their home matches at Meadowbank.
Music
Muse (band)
Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy , Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard...
, My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance
My Chemical Romance is an American alternative rock band from New Jersey, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, guitarists Ray Toro and Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way and have a diverse sound incorporating elements of punk, emo, glam metal, and progressive rock...
, Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Pixies, Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
and Razorlight
Razorlight
Razorlight are a UK based indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in the UK, having topped the charts with the 2006 single "America" and its parent self-titled album, their second...
all played the venue between 2005 and 2007. In 2008, T on the Fringe was renamed The Edge Festival and the stadium was no longer used as one of the main venues.
Basketball
The only basketball facility which is easily accessible and affordable for a small group of people (£2 per person, compared to £48 for booking a hall), is a small squash court with a basket mounted on the wall. The size of this court and the bad condition of its roof make it unsuitable for basketball.
Edinburgh Rocks basketball team used one of the large halls until they moved to the Braehead Arena
Braehead Arena
The Braehead Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Renfrewshire, Scotland, in the western part of the Glasgow conurbation. The arena was built in 1999, and is located within the Braehead Complex....
, and were renamed Scottish Rocks
Scottish Rocks
The Glasgow Rocks is a basketball team which competes in the British Basketball League. Formerly known as Scottish Rocks and also Edinburgh Rocks, they are one of the leading franchises in the top-tier league, and the only team to be based outside of England, playing at the Kelvin Hall...
.
Track Cycling
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. in 1985 for the 1986 Commonwealth Games
1986 Commonwealth Games
The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second time. The Games were held from 24 July-2 August 1986.-Organisation and Controversy:...
. It is where many of Scotland's greatest cyclists started out, including Chris Hoy
Chris Hoy
Sir Christopher Andrew "Chris" Hoy, MBE is a Scottish track cyclist representing Great Britain and Scotland. He is a multiple world champion and Olympic Games gold medal winner...
and Craig MacLean
Craig MacLean
Craig MacLean is a Scottish track cyclist who has represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a Silver Medal in the Team Sprint at the 2000 Olympics....
.
Rugby
Professional rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club Edinburgh Gunners
Edinburgh Gunners
Edinburgh Rugby is one of two professional rugby union teams in Scotland competing in the RaboDirect Pro12 League along with Glasgow Warriors, their oldest rivals...
used the venue until they moved to Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
.
American Football
From the 2007 season, the Edinburgh WolvesEdinburgh Wolves
The Edinburgh Wolves are a Scottish American football team based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Their home ground is Meadowbank Stadium. They play in Division Two North of the BAFA Community Leagues .-History:...
American Football team have played their home matches at the stadium.
Old Meadowbank
The Old Meadowbank was previously known as the Leith AthleticLeith Athletic F.C.
Leith Athletic Football Club is a football club based in the Leith area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is a member of the East of Scotland Football League. It plays most of its home games at Leith Links. The club was originally formed in 1887 and played in the Scottish Football League in four different...
ground. It should not be confused with New Meadowbank, the running track and sports field upon which the present stadium is sited.
Speedway
Old Meadowbank was a Motorcycle speedwayMotorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...
that ran from 1948 until 1967 and the stadium was located between what is the new Meadowbank Stadium and the Meadowbank Velodrome, roughly perpendicular to where the 5-aside football pitch at Meadowbank sits today. Old Meadowbank was home to speedway team the Edinburgh Monarchs
Edinburgh Monarchs
The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish Speedway team, currently based in Armadale. They compete in the Speedway Premier League, racing on Friday nights during the Speedway season. The club is run by a Board of Directors, chaired by Alex Harkess. The team manager is Alan "Doc" Bridgett...
http://www.edinburghspeedway.co.uk/home.asp. The sport stopped in 1954, when the post-war entertainment tax started to make the sport unprofitable. Whilst the Monarchs of this era achieved little as a team, they did introduce Aussie Jack Young
Jack Young (speedway rider)
Jack Ellis Young was a Motorcycle speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship in 1951 and 1952...
to UK speedway. Young won the World Championship
Speedway World Championship
The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world. Today, it is organised as a series of Speedway Grand Prix events, where points are awarded according to performance in the event and tallied up at the end of each...
in 1951
1951 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship.Speedway riders from Sweden, Scotland and Republic of South Africa was started in World Championship first time...
as a Monarchs rider.
Meadowbank was also the track where the 1955
1955 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1955 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 15, 1955 London, Wembley Stadium...
and 1962
1962 Individual Speedway World Championship
The 1962 Individual Speedway World Championship.-World final:*September 8, 1962 London, Wembley Stadium*Referee: C. H. King-Classification:...
World Champion Peter Craven
Peter Craven
Peter Theodore Craven was an English motorcycle racer. He was a finalist in each FIM Speedway World Championship from 1954 to 1963 and he won the title twice . He was British Champion in 1962-63....
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
lost his life in a freak accident on September 20, 1963. While taking evasive action to avoid hitting fallen race leader George Hunter who had suffered engine
Motorcycle engine
A motorcycle engine is an engine that powers a motorcycle.Motorcycle engines may be two-stroke or four-stroke, reciprocating or Wankel, single-cylinder or multicylinder , or single-rotor or twin-rotor . The engine typically drives the rear wheel, but some small bikes such as the Velosolex have a...
failure, Craven hit the fence. Craven suffered serious head injuries in the crash and was rushed to hospital where his family remained at his bedside until he died later that night.
The entertainment tax was later scrapped, and the sport was reintroduced to Edinburgh in 1960. The track was used for training purposes for a spell in the late 1950s and 1959 an Edinburgh Students Charites meeting was staged at the track. The Monarchs of the 1960s were founder members of the Provincial League (1960 - 1964) and founder members of the British league in 1965. The Monarchs were forced to leave Old Meadowbank in 1967 to allow the stadium to be re-developed for the 1970 Commonwealth Games. Speedway was not incorporated in the new stadium as the Government of the day would not fund stadiums which would be used by professional sports.
The displaced Monarchs raced at Cliftonhill
Cliftonhill
Cliftonhill Stadium is the home ground of the Scottish Football League team Albion Rovers. The ground is situated in the town of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire.-History:...
in Coatbridge
Coatbridge
Coatbridge is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. The town, with neighbouring Airdrie, is part of the Greater Glasgow urban area. The first settlement of the area stretches back to the Stone Age era...
for two seasons before they closed down when the promotion sold the licence to a consortium who re-opened Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
for speedway.
Speedway was revived in Edinburgh at Powderhall
Powderhall
Powderhall is an area in the north of Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. It is mainly centred around Broughton Road. Until recently it was best known for its greyhound racing track, which has now closed. The site has been redeveloped for housing and business purposes...
which operated 1977 to 1995.
The Monarchs are now based at the Armadale Stadium
Armadale Stadium
Armadale Stadium is a greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway stadium situated in the town of Armadale, West Lothian in Scotland. Stock car racing has also been held at the venue. It has been home to the Edinburgh Monarchs speedway team since 1997. Armadale is mainly handicap six dog races and...
, on the eastern outskirts of Armadale
Armadale
-Places in Australia:*Armadale, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne*Armadale, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth*City of Armadale*Electoral district of Armadale*Armidale, New South Wales -Rail in Australia:...
in West Lothian
West Lothian
West Lothian is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire....
.
Future
Sighthill, Edinburgh
Sighthill is a suburb in the west of Edinburgh, Scotland.For nearly 50 years, the West Edinburgh skyline was dominated by 4 high rise residential tower blocks the first of which was demolished on 21st September 2008 with the other three blocks following the same fate just over 3 years later...
. This proposal was met with opposition from users of the facility.
Thousands of people have shown their opposition to the proposal to build hundreds of flats on the Meadowbank site, by signing petitions, sending objections, attending public meetings and marching to demand that Meadowbank is saved and refurbished. These demonstrations of public opposition have led the Council to look at ways to refurbish the training facility.
The proposal is also opposed by those who support retention of the stadium to be used for speedway and greyhound racing. The move has been further cast into doubt due to delays with the Sighthill project, uncertainty over the future of Edinburgh Rugby (who were to have been a major tenant), and possible moves to upgrade Scotstoun athletics stadium
Scotstoun Stadium
Scotstoun Stadium is an athletics and Rugby union venue located in the West End of Glasgow. It first opened it doors to the public in 1915 and in 2008 underwent a huge renovation before reopening on 14 January 2010 by the Princess Royal. Glasgow Warriors have trained at the stadium since 2009 and...
in Glasgow as an alternative.
The draft Meadowbank Development Brief was approved by the Council on 7 December 2006 for consultation (Council's Development Brief). The consultation ran until 28 March 2007. The Development Brief states that "housing is the most appropriate alternative use of the site" and that "high density development is acceptable in principle".
On March 13th 2008, Edinburgh Council voted to sell the land that is occupied by Meadowbank stadium and build a smaller sports facility on east of the site. (Indicative diagrams).
(National and Regional Sports facilities progress report).
It was announced on 28 October 2008 that X-Factor
The X Factor (TV series)
The X Factor is a television talent show franchise originating in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol. It is a singing competition, now held in various countries, which pits contestants against each other. These contestants are aspiring pop singers drawn from...
winner Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson
Leon Jackson is a Scottish singer-songwriter. He won the fourth series of British talent show The X Factor in 2007. Following his win, Jackson was the main star of his on-web series entitled Leon's Life, which ran from 2007 until 2008...
would be playing the stadium's annual fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
display on 5 November 2008. Jackson is one of many campaigning to save the stadium.
External links
- Old Meadowbank @ SpeedwayPlus
- Save Meadowbank
- Meadowbank Stadium Edinburgh City