Windsor Park - History

History

Named after the district in south Belfast in which it is located, Windsor Park was first opened in 1905, with a match between Linfield and Glentoran. Most of the current stadium was designed and built in the 1930s, to a design made by the Scottish architect Archibald Leitch. It had one main seated stand - the Grandstand, now known as the South Stand - with "reserved" terracing in front, and a large open terrace behind the goal to the west called the Spion Kop. To the north, there was a long covered terrace - the "unreserved" terracing - and behind the eastern goal at the Railway End another covered terrace. Windsor Park's peak capacity in this format was 60,000. In the early 1960s, the seated Railway Stand was built at the Railway End, and in the early 1970s a social club and viewing lounge was constructed in the corner between the Railway Stand and the Grandstand. In the 1980s, the 'unreserved terrace' was demolished and replaced by a two-tier, 7000-seat North Stand. In the late 1990s, the Kop terrace was demolished and replaced with the 5000-seater West Stand, but still referred to as the Kop Stand. The Kop Stand was known as the Alex Russell Stand from 2004-2008 in honour of Linfield's former goalkeeper and coach and one-time Northern Ireland international.

The stadium holds 24,734, but is currently restricted to 12,342 under safety legislation, with an increase to 12,950 permitted for international matches utilising temporary seating. At present the ground has only three sides. For most Linfield home games only the South Stand and Kop stand are opened. The North Stand is usually given to away supporters, and was re-roofed for the 2010–11 season.