Ainslie Park is a football stadium located in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, which is the home ground of

Lowland Football League The Scottish Lowland Football League (SLFL, commonly known as the Lowland League) is a senior football league based in central and southern Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the ...

club

Spartans Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred t ...

and the club's women's team in the

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL 1 and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of the Scottish Women's Football Leag ...

(SWPL). In addition, Scottish Professional Football League club Edinburgh City have shared the ground since 2017 during the redevelopment of

Meadowbank Stadium Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank sports venues, it was ori ...

, and East of Scotland Football League club Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale also played there during the 2021–22 season. Another SWPL team, Hibernian, also previously played there from 2016 to 2021.

History

Spartans F.C. The Spartans Football Club are a Scottish football club based in Edinburgh. They were formed in 1951 by ex-players of Edinburgh University and the original intention was to field a team of graduates of the university. However, the club is no ...

had previously played at

City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

, in the

Crewe Toll Crewe Toll is an area in Edinburgh, the Scottish capital. The area takes its name from the Toll house which once stood at the junction of Ferry Road and Crewe Road North and South. The name Crewe, or a variation thereof (Creue, Crew or Crou), can ...

area of Edinburgh, until moving to Ainslie Park in November 2008. In March 2017, Edinburgh City reached an agreement with Spartans to use Ainslie Park for three seasons while

is being redeveloped. Edinburgh City announced they would return to Meadowbank in 2021, but this was delayed by ongoing works and they stayed at Ainslie Park for the 2021–22 season. Hibernian Women played at the stadium for several seasons until 2021, when they relocated to

Almondvale Stadium Almondvale Stadium, also known as the Tony Macaroni Arena for sponsorship purposes, but most commonly referred to as ‘The Spaghettihad’ (alluding to the Etihad Stadium), is a football stadium, located in the Almondvale area of Livingston, We ...

Livingston, West Lothian Livingston ( sco, Leivinstoun, gd, Baile Dhunlèibhe) is the largest town in West Lothian, Scotland. Designated in 1962, it is the fourth post-war new town to be built in Scotland. Taking its name from a village of the same name incorporated ...

. East of Scotland Football League club Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale moved all their men's first team matches to Ainslie Park for the 2021–22 season, do to problems with the pitch at their Saughton Enclosure ground.

Facilities

Ainslie Park on Pilton Drive in north Edinburgh is the home ground of Spartans, part of their Community Football Academy. The new facility incorporates a fully enclosed stadium which meets SFA and SFL criteria, with an artificial pitch, floodlights, seating for 504 spectators and an overall capacity of 3,000. Another full size, floodlit artificial pitch sits adjacent to the main playing area and the accommodation incorporates six changing rooms, a club room, committee room and a physio room. The Club ground holds a PA system and a bar for spectators.

Transport

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

and

Haymarket Haymarket may refer to: Places Australia * Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia Germany * Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market) Russia * Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...

, the main railway stations in Edinburgh, are both approximately from the stadium. The nearby

Ferry Road Ferry Road is one of the major roads of Edinburgh, Scotland, deriving its name from being the road from Queensferry to Leith. It runs from the eastern end of Davidson's Mains village in the west, to Leith in the east, passing through Drylaw, ...

is served by

Lothian Buses Lothian Buses is a major bus operator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the largest municipal bus company in the United Kingdom: the City of Edinburgh Council (through Transport for Edinburgh) owns 91%, Midlothian Council 5%, East Lothian ...

route numbers 21 and 27. Services 19, 29, 37 & 47 also run within of the stadium.

References

{{Football in Edinburgh Football venues in Edinburgh Spartans F.C. F.C. Edinburgh Sports venues in Edinburgh Lowland Football League venues Scottish Professional Football League venues Hibernian W.F.C. Scottish Women's Premier League venues Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale F.C.