Cathkin Park


Cathkin Park is a municipal park in Glasgow, Scotland. The park is maintained by the city's parks department, and it is a public place where football is still played. The park contains the site of the second Hampden Park, previously home to the football clubs Queen's Park and Third Lanark. The original Hampden Park is just to the west, as the course of the original Cathcart Road is now in Queen's Park Rec.

Football ground

The park formerly contained a football stadium, which had played host to organised football since 1884. It was originally known as Hampden Park and was rented by Queen's Park between 1884 and 1903. When Queen's Park moved to the third Hampden Park, Third Lanark took over the lease. They renamed it New Cathkin Park. This is also where the first major Anglo-Scottish club competition, the British League Cup final, took place in 1902, which Celtic won against Rangers 3–2 after extra time.
Third Lanark's last match at Cathkin took place on 25 April 1967, when they played out a 3-3 draw against Queen of the South. Jimmy Davidson scored one goal for Queens and Brian McMurdo two, including the last ever senior football goal at the Park.
A Glasgow Challenge Cup Final was played at Cathkin on 13 May 1967 between two Junior sides, Cambuslang Rangers and Rutherglen Glencairn ; this was the final football match played at Cathkin before Third Lanark folded later that year. The final goal to be scored at Cathkin came from Cambuslang Rangers forward Peter Coleman after 17 minutes.
The stadium subsequently fell into disrepair and most of the fabric was gradually removed. The remains of the terraces from 3 sides of the ground can be seen in the park. However, a reformed Third Lanark team, which plays in the Greater Glasgow Amateur League, currently plays in the park, as do Hampden AFC and boys team the Jimmy Johnstone Academy.
In 2017, Third Lanark A.F.C. announced a £5 million plan to return to Cathkin and redevelop the ground, with an all-weather pitch, a 2000-seat stand, floodlights and community facilities for football and cricket.