TheScottish Premier League (SPL) was the highest level of theScottish 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.[1] The league ceased after the2012–13 Scottish Premier League season, when the SPL andScottish Football League merged to form theScottish Professional Football League.
Following theHillsborough Disaster in 1989, theTaylor Report recommended the abolition of standing terraces by the start of the 1994–95 season, to be replaced byall-seater stadiums.[2] In addition to this, the SPL initially demanded that all its stadia should have a minimum capacity of 10,000 seats,[3][4] but later reduced that figure to 6,000.[5] WhenFalkirk finished in a potentialpromotion position in2000 and2003, the SPL refused admission to membership because theirBrockville Park did not have sufficient seating capacity.[3] The SPL subsequently allowedInverness Caledonian Thistle[5] andGretna[6] togroundshare with other clubs. Some clubs promoted from the First Division, such asHamilton Academical andRoss County, undertook ground improvements to meet the SPL criteria before entering the league.[7][8]
The home stadiums of theOld Firm clubs,Celtic andRangers, were amongst thelargest 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 clubQueen's Park, who have not been in the top flight of Scottish football since1958. 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 the2011–12 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.[9]
As recommended by the Taylor Report, standing room at clubs in the top two divisions should have been abolished by the start of the 1994-95 season.
The completion of the new East Stand at Hibs' ground has lifted capacity to 20,421
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{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)The current Tynecastle capacity is 17,420