City Park was a football ground in

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

, Scotland. The ground was used by several clubs, including Edinburgh City, Ferranti Thistle, Hibernian reserves,

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 referr ...

and Craigroyston.

History

Edinburgh City moved to City Park in 1935 from their

Marine Gardens The Marine Gardens was an entertainment complex located in the Portobello area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1909 as a pleasure garden and amusement park on the shores of the Firth of Forth, most of its original attractions apart from the ...

ground.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p163 The ground was initially an open field, but embankments were built around the pitch, with a grandstand erected on the eastern side. Edinburgh played their first league match at the ground on 12 August 1935, a 3–1 defeat by Falkirk in front of 1,000 spectators. The record attendance of 5,740 was set for a

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath (; sco, Coudenbeith) is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 189 ...

later in the season on 25 January 1936, with the away team winning 3–2. The Scottish Football League (SFL) was suspended due to World War II in 1939, and at the end of the war City did not return to the league. The final SFL match at the ground was played on 26 August 1939, a 3–0 win over

Morton Morton may refer to: People * Morton (surname) * Morton (given name) Fictional * Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3'' * A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise * A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...

. After City folded in 1955 due to Edinburgh Corporation refusing to extend their lease, the ground was used by several other clubs. Ferranti Thistle moved to City Park in 1969 after Edinburgh Corporation announced that a new college would be built on their Crewe Toll ground. Ferranti built a new changing room block, and were joined at City Park by Hibernian reserves the following year. However, Ferranti left in 1974 to move to the

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 or ...

after being elected to the SFL, as the ground was no longer deemed fit for the league. In 1976

moved to City Park. Their record attendance at the ground was 3,346, set for a Scottish Cup fourth round match against St Mirren on 5 February 2006. Three years later the club left to move to nearby

Ainslie Park Ainslie Park is a football stadium located in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is the home ground of Lowland Football League club Spartans and the club's women's team in the Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL). In addition, Scottish Professional ...

. Their final match at the ground was played on 16 May 2009, an East of Scotland Football League match against the reformed Edinburgh City. During Spartans' tenure, the ground was also shared with Craigroyston until 1998, before they moved to St Mark's Park. After Spartans left the ground, the site was used for housing despite opposition from local residents who had formed a "Save City Park" group.Green light for City Park development
North Edinburgh News, 26 June 2013

References

{{Football venues in Scotland Defunct football venues in Scotland Edinburgh City F.C. (1928) Livingston F.C. Hibernian F.C. Spartans F.C. Scottish Football League venues Sports venues in Edinburgh Football venues in Edinburgh