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10
www.irishfa.comFROM A MEADOW TO
A WORLD CLASS
STADIUM
The site where the National Football Stadium at
Windsor Park now stands was a bog meadow
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After playing at various pitches following its
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decided it was time for the club to have a
permanent home and Rev RJ Clarke agreed to sell
them the land which would be transformed into the
home of Northern Ireland football.
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match was played at the pitch on 2 September
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that day and won the game 1-0 in front of an
estimated 4,000 spectators.
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ground was named after the district in south
Belfast in which it is located – had been fenced and
a dressing pavilion erected at the Railway End. The
following year a seated grandstand took shape on
the south side of the ground.
Another grandstand, created by Scottish designer
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portion of shelter was added to the south stand.
The unreserved stand on the Olympia side was
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at the ground. The next recorded addition was a
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members.
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was bought from the Royal Ulster Agricultural
Society and added on to the South Stand.
A few years later the old reserved stand roof on the
south side was re-erected at the Railway End of
the ground to make way for a new grandstand and
dressing rooms on the southern side of the ground.
The new extension stood alongside the Balmoral
stand, bringing the total number of seats on that
side of the ground to 4,200.
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with a match between Glasgow Rangers and
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15,000 spectators.
The basic shape of Windsor Park, which can still
be seen today in the new-look National Football
Stadium, was formed through the opening of the
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Terracing was added at various stages throughout
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capacity of the ground was around 60,000 by the
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at football grounds across the United Kingdom
boomed and Windsor Park regularly hosted crowds
of 50,000-plus at Home International games.
Not surprisingly, work on the ground was limited
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and gates were added and a press box with
accommodation for 100 reporters built.
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the ground – amounting to six 1,500 watt lamps
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was put up.
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Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, switched on the
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was played under them when Northern Ireland
took on Romania. According to the archives, some
rather cautious souls actually donned dark glasses
to counter the “incredible brightness” of the lights
that night!
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included installing around 600 seats under the roof
at the Railway End. The move reduced the potential