- Netherdale
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Netherdale, is an area of Galashiels, a town in the Scottish Borders. It is perhaps best known as being the home of Gala Rugby Club, Gala Fairydean Football Club and more recently the professional Border Reivers rugby union team. Gretna F.C. was mooted as groundsharing with the promotion to the SPL, however instead chose to play at Motherwell F.C.'s ground as it is bigger.
While both stadiums are referred to as ‘Netherdale’, the clubs actually play in two separate grounds, located beside each other.
The rugby stadium has a capacity of 6,000. A large grandstand overlooks the pitch and the nearby Eildon Hills. Recently the success of the Border Reivers has meant that average crowds have increased and in the past year a second fully seated stand was installed, increasing the capacity to around 4,000 from the previous 2,000.
The stadium hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Uruguay and Spain.[1]
Gala Fairydean’s stadium has a capacity of around 2,000. The ground’s most striking feature is the main stand. With a capacity of 500 it is the largest stand in the Borders. Designed by the renowned British architect Peter Wormsley, the concrete structure is sometimes sarcastically dubbed as “the San Siro of the Borders.” In December 2006, it was controversially awarded a 'B listing' by Historic Scotland, which means the "character and setting" of the building must be preserved for "future generations".[2][3] Amateur club, Gala Rovers, who play in the Border Amateur Football League also play their home games at Netherdale.
Netherdale is also home to the 'Raid Stane' (Raid Stone). This stone marks the site of skirmish between the residents of Galashiels and English raiders during the Scottish wars of independence. The stone is marked by a small sign, located on the lawn next to Netherdale car park.
References
Venues of the 1999 Rugby World Cup Millennium Stadium (Cardiff) • Stade de France (Saint-Denis) • Twickenham Stadium (London) • Murrayfield Stadium (Edinburgh) • Hampden Park (Glasgow) • Lansdowne Road (Dublin) • Stade Félix Bollaert (Lens) • Parc Lescure (Bordeaux) • McAlpine Stadium (Huddersfield) • Stade de Toulouse (Toulouse) • Stade de la Méditerranée (Béziers) • Ashton Gate (Bristol) • Welford Road Stadium (Leicester) • Racecourse Ground (Wrexham) • Thomond Park (Limerick) • Ravenhill Stadium (Belfast) • Stradey Park (Llanelli) • Netherdale (Galashiels) •
Coordinates: 55°36′27″N 2°46′57″W / 55.6074448°N 2.7825451°W
Categories:- Rugby union stadiums in Scotland
- Rugby World Cup stadiums
- Sports venues in the Scottish Borders
- Category B listed buildings in Scotland
- Listed buildings in the Scottish Borders
- Listed sports venues in Scotland
- Football venues in Scotland
- Scottish sports venue stubs
- Scottish Borders geography stubs
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