The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the highest level of the Scottish football league system between 1998 and 2013. During this period matches were played at 19 football stadiums. The inaugural round of SPL matches took place on the weekend of 1–2 August 1998, with five clubs hosting the opening fixtures. The league ceased after the 2012–13 Scottish Premier League season, when the SPL and Scottish Football League merged to form the Scottish Professional Football League.
Following the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989, the Taylor Report recommended the abolition of standing terraces by the start of the 1994–95 season, to be replaced by all-seater stadiums. In addition to this, the SPL initially demanded that all its stadia should have a minimum capacity of 10,000 seats, but later reduced that figure to 6,000. When Falkirk finished in a potential promotion position in 2000 and 2003, the SPL refused admission to membership because their Brockville Park did not have sufficient seating capacity. The SPL subsequently allowed Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Gretna to groundshare with other clubs. Some clubs promoted from the First Division, such as Hamilton Academical and Ross County, undertook ground improvements to meet the SPL criteria before entering the league.
The home stadiums of the Old Firm clubs, Celtic and Rangers, were amongst the largest stadiums in the United Kingdom. The other large stadium in Glasgow, Hampden Park, was never used for an SPL match because it is the home ground of amateur club Queen's Park, who have not been in the top flight of Scottish football since 1958. None of the other stadiums used for SPL matches had a capacity greater than 22,199 (Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen). This reflected the gap in attendances between the Old Firm and other Scottish football clubs. In the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League season, Celtic and Rangers both had average attendances of over 45,000, while no other club had an average attendance of greater than 14,000.
Stadiums Stadium Image Club(s) Location Opened Closed Period(s) used for SPL matches Coordinates Refs Almondvale Stadium Livingston &Gretna Livingston 1995 — 2001–2006 2008 Caledonian Stadium Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness 1996 — 2005–2009 2010–2013 Celtic Park Celtic Glasgow 1892 — 1998–2013 Dens Park Dundee Dundee 1899 — 1998–2005 2012–2013 East End Park Dunfermline Athletic Dunfermline 1885 — 1998–19992000–20072011–2012 Easter Road Hibernian Edinburgh 1893 — 1999–2013 Falkirk Stadium Falkirk Falkirk 2004 — 2005–2010 Fir Park Motherwell &Gretna Motherwell 1895 — 1998–2013 Firhill Stadium Partick Thistle Glasgow 1909 — 2002–2004 Ibrox Stadium Rangers Glasgow 1899 — 1998–2012 Love Street St Mirren Paisley 1894 2009 2000–20012006–2009 McDiarmid Park St Johnstone Perth 1989 — 1998–20022009–2013 New Douglas Park Hamilton Academical Hamilton 2001 — 2008–2011 Pittodrie Stadium Aberdeen &Inverness Caledonian Thistle Aberdeen 1899 — 1998–2013 Rugby Park Kilmarnock Kilmarnock 1899 — 1998–2013 St Mirren Park St Mirren Paisley 2009 — 2009–2013 Tannadice Park Dundee United Dundee 1883 — 1998–2013 Tynecastle Stadium Heart of Midlothian Edinburgh 1886 — 1998–2013 Victoria Park Ross County Dingwall 1929 — 2012–2013
See also List of football stadiums in Scotland List of Scottish Football League stadiums List of Scottish Professional Football League stadiums Scottish football attendance records Scottish stadium moves
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