City Park (Edinburgh)

City Park in its prime

City Park was a football ground located on Ferry Road in the Crewe Toll area in north Edinburgh, which had a very rich history. Originally, the land was used for farming and an orchard, before it was made into a football ground for amateur and youth matches.

Edinburgh City, a Scottish League club of the time, moved into City Park in 1935, arriving from their previous Marine Gardens home in Portobello, building up banking around the pitch and constructing a Main Stand. The capacity was said to be around 30,000 at the time. 

The original City club eventually folded in 1955, when the Edinburgh Corporation refused to renew their lease at the ground. Whether the current incarnation of Edinburgh City is connected to this club is open to debate. The ground reverted to staging amateur and youth football. 

In 1969, Ferranti Thistle, a works side, was told by the Corporation that a new college was to be constructed on their Crewe Toll ground,  but they could move into City Park. A new changing room block was built, leading to Hibernian Reserves playing their home matches there.

In 1974, Ferranti were elected into the Scottish League, changing their name to Meadowbank Thistle and moving into Meadowbank Stadium, as City Park was deemed not up to the required standards. They would later relocate to Livingston and adopt the name of the new town. In 1976, The Spartans moved into the ground.

They were joined by Craigroyston, later to become Edinburgh Community FC, who remained at City Park until 1998, when they moved to their new St Mark's Park venue. In 2004, the grandstand was closed while in a decaying state. A crowd of 3,346 attended the Scottish Cup fourth round tie between Spartans and St Mirren in February 2006.

The reformed Edinburgh City played in the last match at City Park as Spartans' visitors in May 2009 for a game in the East of Scotland League. By then, Spartans had opened their nearby home, Ainslee Park, while City Park lay empty as the Link Housing Association and Smart builders looked to build flats on the disused site.

A group of local residents formed a Save City Park group to try and keep it as a recreational area, which was said to be home to wildlife, youngsters playing sport, as well as people picnicking. Their efforts were forlorn, as the development went ahead. Apartments now occupy the land, with the road serving them being named City Park Way.

Later midfield action at City Park

My visit

Tuesday 29th January 2013

After reading the situation regarding City Park online, the hopes of trying to salvage it, and realising its history and the chances that it could be swallowed up, I put it on my must-do list while visiting several clubs on a day out in Edinburgh. 

I'd had a good walk between Meadowbank, Hibernian and Craigroyston, going past where the famous Powderhall Stadium once stood, before taking a bus a bit of the way along Ferry Road. A hundred yards over the other side of the road from City Park was the home of Stewart's Melville Former Pupils Rugby Club with its fine stand.

The iron gates to the park were locked, but I could see along the side where the stand once stood, which was replaced by portable buildings as a substitute. I walked round and managed to see through the wooden hoardings on Picton Drive, looking down to the pitch from the top of the banking, which continued behind the goal. 

The railings around the overgrown but not unrepairable pitch remained. City Park certainly looked like a fine venue and oozed character, even in its dilapidated state. Reports said that the pitch was very rarely flooded. 

It seemed such a shame that it was no longer in use and that the council seemed intent on allowing housing to replace it, especially when clubs that played in the city could have really done with a compact, specially designated football ground to call home. Alas, money won out in the end.