Mourneview Park
| Mourneview | |
 | |
| Location | Mourneview Ave, Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 54°27′14″N 6°20′11″W / 54.45389°N 6.33639°WCoordinates: 54°27′14″N 6°20′11″W / 54.45389°N 6.33639°W |
| Owner | Glenavon Football Club |
| Capacity | 4,160 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Opened | 1895 |
Mourneview Park is a football stadium in Lurgan, and is the home ground of NIFL Premiership club Glenavon. The stadium holds 4,160 and was originally built in 1895. The 2008–09 Irish League Cup and 2010–11 Irish League Cup finals were held at the stadium[1] in the first League Cup finals to be held outside Belfast.[2]
History
Between 1992 and 2005, Mourneview Park underwent a number of significant renovations, including the building of three new seated stands.[3] Mourneview Park has been used by the Irish Football Association to host neutral matches in the past. In 2003, the Irish Football Association removed Mourneview Park as a potential semi-final host for the Irish Cup because of rioting between fans of Glentoran and Portadown.[4] Mourneview Park has previously been attacked by arsonists, including in 2005 when a petrol bomb was thrown into a supporters club bar which destroyed it, leading to Glenavon considering closing Mourneview Park because of the continuous damage.[5] In 2009, it was selected to host the 2009 Irish League Cup final because neither of Belfast's Big Two made it to the final and it would have been harder for fans of finalists Newry City and Portadown to get to a Belfast venue. This was the same case for the 2011 Irish League Cup Final, with Mourneview Park being chosen because the finalists were Lisburn Distillery and Portadown, 2 of the closest Premiership clubs to Mourneview Park at that time.[2]
In 2014, Mourneview Park was nominated by Belfast club Linfield to be their designated home ground for their home matches in the UEFA Europa League after their normal home ground, Windsor Park was undergoing redevelopment.[6]
Mourneview Park was chosen as the venue for the 2015 Irish Cup semi-final between Glentoran and Crusaders due to the unavailability of Windsor Park ahead of a Northern Ireland international fixture.
International football
Mourneview Park has been used to host Northern Ireland national under-21 football team matches[7] as well as matches involving the Northern Ireland women's national football team.[8]
Other uses
Mourneview Park has also been used for purposes outside of football. in 2014 it hosted a Christian evangelical event hosted by former Northern Ireland national football team player turned minister, Stuart Elliott.[9]
References
- ↑ "Wright thinking back to senior glory days in bid for fans boost". 2014-04-09. Event occurs at Portadown Times. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- 1 2 "IFA Set to Take a 'View". Sunday Mirror. Archived at Highbeam. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ↑ "Football: The Venues". The Free Library. 2005-07-14. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ↑ "Glenavon Await Mourn-Ing Call.". The Free Library. 2003-04-13. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ↑ "Attack 'threatens club's future'". BBC News. 2005-05-02. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ↑ "Linfield select Mourneview Park to stage Europa League tie". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ↑ "Euro 2015 qualifier: Northern Ireland U21 0–2 Italy U21". BBC Sport. 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ↑ "NI women aim for qualification". BBC Sport. 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
- ↑ Beacom, Steven (2014-05-08). "God was always my goal in life, says Stuart Elliott". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-05-13.