McDiarmid Park – stadium description

Since 1924 St. Johnstone had been playing at Muirton Park, but in 1986 the ground was bought by retail giant Asda. On one condition though – that the club would relocate to a new ground without paying for it. This was possible thanks to a humble farmland owner Bruce McDiarmid who donated land. He treated this as a gift to the community of Perth and wanted nothing in return. He was nearly forced to accept honorary presidency in the club and stadium now bears his name.

The ground was ready in August 1989 as the first stadium nationwide to be a purpose-built all-seater, even before the Taylor Report. Although first game was played in August, the anticipated “opening” took place in October, when Manchester United came to town with Alex Ferguson who used to play for St. Johnstone. The game isn’t historical only because of MU’s appearance, it was also scene of a major blackout that left the ground without lighting for 23 minutes.