Forthbank Park was a sports venue in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

until 1940. Forthbank park was home to King's Park F.C. until the beginning of World War II. During the war Forthbank was destroyed by the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

. The ground was victim to the only German bomb strike on the town during the conflict. The majority of the stadium was damaged beyond financial repair by King's Park and was demolished. Shortly after the war King's Park closed down permanently.

History

King's Park F.C.

Forthbank was the home ground of King's Park F.C. since the late 19th century until 1940 when the ground was destroyed. King's Park also hosted other sporting events at the ground, mostly animal racing. Crowd trouble at a home match against St Johnstone in October 1921 led to King's Park playing a home match against

Vale of Leven The Vale of Leven (Scottish Gaelic: ''Magh Leamhna'') is an area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, in the valley of the River Leven. Historically, it was part of The Lennox, the name of which derives from the Gaelic term ''Leamhnach'', meaning ' ...

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

's Duckburn Park.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p169

Animal racing

Forthbank was one of a number of stadiums at the time to host animal racing. Greyhound racing started at Forthbank Park on 11 March 1932 and the track was independent (unlicensed). It was the only track in Scotland that also attempted Cheetah racing. The

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility f ...

at the time was keen to put an end to this practice as, although the racing provided a financial lifeline to many smaller clubs including King's Park, they feared that it would lead to football becoming too reliant on gambling just like the races. An SFA inspection team deemed that the greyhound track at Forthbank encroached on to the pitch and as such it was removed, along with the source of income.

World War II end of an era

On 20 July 1940, the

dropped a bomb on the town of Stirling. The bomb fell on Forthbank partially destroying the stadium. King's Park made temporary repairs to the stadium and played two more games at the ground before the club was closed down. The club was finally given compensation from the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

in 1953.

Stirling's future stadiums

This was not the end to football in Stirling as local business man Thomas Ferguson started up

Stirling Albion F.C. Stirling Albion Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the city of Stirling. The club was founded in 1945 following the demise of King's Park after World War II. The club currently competes in Scottish League Two as a member of the ...

in 1945 and shortly after purchased the Annfield estate to construct Annfield. Annfield remained the main football stadium in Stirling until 1993 when

Stirling Council Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, ...

constructed

Forthbank Stadium Forthbank Stadium is a football stadium in Stirling, Scotland. Opened in 1993, it has been the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Stirling Albion since then. Since 2013 it has also hosted the first team matches of Lowland ...

, on the outskirts of the town but situated about two-thirds of a mile (1 km) from the location of the original King's Park's old ground Forthbank Park.

References

{{Scottish greyhound tracks Defunct football venues in Scotland Sports venues in Stirling (council area) King's Park F.C. Scottish Football League venues Sports venues completed in 1940 Defunct greyhound racing venues in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing in Scotland