Christie Park is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

ground in the town of

Huntly Huntly ( or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlements include Keith ...

in the north-east of Scotland. It is the home ground of

Highland Football League The Scottish Highland Football League (SHFL, commonly known as the Highland League) is a senior football league based in the north of Scotland. The league sits at level 5 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Scott ...

side Huntly F.C. It is located on East Park Street in the north-east of the town and has a capacity of 2,200 with 270 seated.

History

The ground was previously known as Strathbogie Park from 1921 when it opened, until 1926 when it was renamed Christie Park. The ground takes its name from former Provost Christie who acquired the ground and donated it to the football club on the condition that they remained amateur. This was agreed by the club, who subsequently renamed the ground in Christie's honour. In 1975, an incident at the end of a match where fans crossing the pitch to exit the stadium allegedly pushed the match

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

to the ground. As a result, it was ordered by the Referee's Committee on 18 December that the ground be closed for the first two months of 1976. The club was fined £100 and it was ordered that police officers be present at every

home game In sports, home is the place and venue identified with a sports team. Most professional teams are named for, and marketed to, particular metropolitan areas; amateur teams may be drawn from a particular region, or from institutions such as sc ...

in the future. This type of punishment was unprecedented in Scottish football as it was the first time a club's stadium had been closed down.Club History – A Look Back – HFL History made for the wrong reasons
, Huntly Football Club. Retrieved 29 May 2012. Huntly's record attendance at Christie Park came in February 1995 when 4,500 spectators watched the club take on

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish professional association football, football club based in the city of Dundee. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1923. United are nickname ...

in the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

of the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Club Info – Contact & General Details
Huntly FC Online. Retrieved 29 May 2012. The home side lost 3–1.Scottish FA Cup 1994-1995 : Results
''statto.com''. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

Transport

The nearest railway station to the ground is Huntly railway station which is located half a mile south-east of Christie Park, roughly a 10-minute walk.Highland Premier – Huntly – Christie Park
''fanzine.co.uk''. Retrieved 29 May 2012. The station is located on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line. Access by road is served by the A96 between

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

and

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, which passes to the south and west of the town.

References

External links

Christie Park at footballgroundmap.comChristie Park at soccerway.comHuntly FC Official Website
{{Football venues in Scotland Highland Football League venues Sports venues in Aberdeenshire Huntly F.C. Sports venues completed in 1921 1921 establishments in Scotland