FOR a generation of modern day football fans, Douglas Park is a Rangers director and former chairman.
A wealthy motor trade businessman with a fleet of luxury coaches used by clubs around the country, and various car dealerships selling the latest models on four wheels.
But some of those very cars now park up on the Scottish football site that once shared the same name – right in the middle of Hamilton.
New Douglas Park is home to Hamilton Accies, and has been since 2001.
Before then, ‘old’ Douglas Park – the original – was where the Accies played, but it’s now a car park serving shoppers, right next door.
Meet the new ground, same as the old ground? Just about in geography terms, but very different in reality. It was called Ballast Park in its’ infancy and only has two stands for a start.
In 1994 the club sold off their ground for £6m to a retail park after 108 years there. Developers built Sainsbury’s, McDonalds and a bingo hall on the site.
Via ground sharing agreements at Firhill in Glasgow and Cliftonhill, Coatbridge throughout the 90s, Hamilton eventually moved back to where it all began and made a VERY short move north.
Their new ground – now named just like so – borders their old one at the back of the supermarket – and from the former pitch turned car park you can see the floodlights of the current stadium quite clearly from the penalty box of old one.
You can hear the cheers, moans and groans of fans on a busy matchday too – although not legendary fan ‘Fergie‘.
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Real name Ian Russell, he honed an infamous reputation for his barracking from the stands – and everyone was a target.
He became a figure of Scottish football folklore for his loud heckles and language known throughout the country amongst fans and players alike.
Accies tried to silence him by banning him during their travelling time and Russell ended up in court on a breach of the peace charge and fined £100.
He said: “When the team is doing badly I can’t control my mouth. If the Accies were doing better, I wouldn’t have to swear.”
The notorious Accies fan died in 2009, aged 71, with his beloved team in the top flight.
A huge council car park nearby used to serve the old ground and is still used by buses and supporters’ cars now, but with John Rankin’s team in League One packed Premiership-style attendances have been few and far between recently.
But fans truly made a noise during the nomadic days with Hamilton re-located for seven years while the new base was built.
It even became a political campaign in 1999 when an independent by-election candidate Stephen Mungall stood on the promise to bring the club back to town – and picked up more than 1,000 votes.
The primary school teacher picked up more votes than the club had ‘home’ supporters at the time.
But now chasing promotion back to the Championship – though 11 points off League One leaders Falkirk, those bigger away crowds could soon be back in south Lanarkshire.
But only if plastic pitches are allowed in at that stage. There is talk synthetic surfaces must be replaced by grass in the top division in future and Accies have used TigerTurf and various other plastic alternatives for the last 10 years at the 23-year-old ground.
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To a generation of supporters its’ where Accies have always been, tucked behind Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, but the ghosts of the past are just a mishit shot at goal and a few parking bays away.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
