- The Oval (Belfast)
Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = The Oval
nickname = Oval
location = East Belfast
opened = 1892
owner =Girona
operator =Glentoran
pitch_size = 110 m x 75m yards
tenants =
Glentoran (Irish Premier League ) (1892-present)
seating_capacity =
30,000 "limited to 15,250"
highest attendance = 45,000(vs Rangers,UEFA Cup )The Oval is a football stadium in
Belfast ,Northern Ireland .The stadium has been home to Glentoran since
1892 . Before that the team usedOrmeau Park from 1882 to 1886. Then the team shifted to King's Field in Ballymacarrett for four years until 1890. The team's next destination was Musgrave Park. It was only used for two seasons until 1892 when the Glens moved to the Oval in Dee Street, east Belfast. A new Oval was built in 1903 with the pitch being turned around ninety degrees.In 1941 the Oval was bombed and Grosvenor Park was used until August 1949, whilst the Oval was being rebuilt with the help of Cliftonville and Distillery. In 1953 the current stands were built. The main stand holds 2,720 and the Railway stand holds 2,070. The Oval has had 55,000 through the turnstiles for a European Cup match versus Rangers, ["
Simon Inglis : The Football Grounds of Europe", pp 158. ISBN 0-00-218305-6] but can only take 14,000 now due to modern laws. This is set to decrease with other new laws soon to arrive.Glentoran have plans to move to a new ground after the Oval was sold to developers in March 2003, although no definite site has been fixed. However, mostSpecify|date=April 2008 guess it will be around the Abercorn Basin where the Odyssey Arena is, or along the Holywood Road.Fact|date=April 2008
References
External links
* [http://www.glentoran.net/ Glentoran FC Website]
* [http://home.online.no/~smogols/ifcp/clubs/glentoran/galleryglentoran.htm IFCP photos from The Oval Grounds]
* [http://hometown.aol.com/captainbeecher/GLENTORAN.html Ground Hopper's tour of The Oval]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=54.602964,-5.891319&spn=0.002,0.002&t=k&q=54.602964,-5.891319 Aerial view of the Oval]
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