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www.irishfa.comcapacity of the ground from around 60,000 to
48,600, and that was the attendance quoted for
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the installation of the seats – Northern Ireland v
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A Members Lounge was added to the ground
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renovated dressing rooms two years later.
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the Railway End – it was extended 10 years later –
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was upgraded.
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Moscow Dynamo to celebrate the opening of
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switched on by Roy Mason, then Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland.
The Russian visitors won the game 4-0 in front of
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because there was torrential rain on the night of the
game.
Part of the Railway Stand at Windsor Park was
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decade later the unreserved stand backing on to
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defeated Glentoran 1-0 in a Co Antrim Shield tie.
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Irish Football Association had commissioned
a feasibility study looking at the potential
replacement of the terracing there with a new all-
seater stand.
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structure, which would be known as the North
Stand, and it opened a year or so later. Its 6,800
seats took the seating capacity in the stadium to
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The stand was formally opened in September
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World Cup qualifying game. The opening ceremony
was carried out jointly by FIFA President Dr Joao
Havelange and Nicholas Scott, Northern Ireland
Minister responsible for Sport.
The total cost of the North Stand scheme, including
professional fees, VAT, site investigation costs and
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The government via the Department of Education
contributed 50% of the total cost up to a limit of
£1m. The Football Trust advanced £500,000 and
the Football Grounds Improvement Trust £200,000
leaving a balance of around £250,000 to be funded
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dugouts, which each accommodated 11 people on
individual seats, replaced covered structures which
only had bench seats.
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in which 58 people died, local authorities across
the UK acted to prevent any repetition. Following
an intervention by the Department of Economic
Development’s health and safety experts, the South
Stand had to be revamped.
The old Balmoral section of the stand was removed
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to comply with safety requirements. The stand’s
wooden bench seats were removed and replaced
with plastic tip-up seats. And its capacity was
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season.
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spectators would be permitted at World Cup
qualifying matches.
This saw the closing of the Spion Kop terracing
for internationals staged at Windsor Park from
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last hurrah re: international games. It was used for
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