Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent ‘big screen’ in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one of the largest in the United Kingdom overall. The stadium is the home of the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), and is primarily used as a venue for rugby union and hosts most of Scotland’s home test matches, as well as the Edinburgh Sevens, the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup final, as well as Magners League and Heineken Cup matches. The stadium is considered an icon of Scottish rugby.
Although mainly a rugby union stadium, Murrayfield has in the past hosted American football, rugby league and association football matches. In addition, it has in the past been a venue for music concerts, the most notable of these being the Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push concert as part of Live 8.
It once held the record for the largest ever attendance for a rugby union match, with 104,000 watching Scotland play Wales in 1975.
Location
Murrayfield is located in the west-end of Edinburgh, just off Corstorphine Road, right next door to the Murrayfield Ice Rink, and close to the Edinburgh Zoo. It is named after the area of Edinburgh it is located in, Murrayfield.
It has good public transport links, being particularly well-served by bus links along the Corstorphine Road. Despite the line running adjacent to the stadium, its nearest railway station is Haymarket, which is a 1 mile walk from the stadium.
History
The SFU bought some land and built the first Murrayfield which was opened on 21 March 1925. Previously internationals had been played at Inverleith. The first visitors were England, whom Scotland beat to win their first Five Nations Championship Grand Slam.
During the Second World War the ground at Murrayfield was offered to the nation and was taken over by the Royal Army Service Corps and used as a supply depot. During the war years the armed forces sports authorities managed to arrange two Scotland v. England services internationals each year, on a home-and-away basis. Scotland’s home matches were played at Inverleith for the first two years with a return to Murrayfield in 1944 after that ground’s derequisition. In 1994 Murrayfield completed a 50 million pound renovation where floodlights were installed for the first time in its history.
