The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
How Bradford tragedy led to Saints making a move to Mcdiarmid
It was a disaster that started in the midst of sporting cheers and celebrations and ended with hundreds of people being killed or injured.
Bradford City fans had been in positive voice when the club received the Third Division trophy, prior to their meeting with Lincoln City on May 11 1985.
But the sense of triumph among the supporters turned to panic, shortly before 3.45pm, when a fire rapidly swept through the rickety old wooden seats inside Valley Parade.
The ensuing conflagration claimed the lives of 56 spectators and injured more than 250 other fans.
The appalling events were the catalyst for the transformation of many clubs across Britain, whose custodians recognised that their grounds were no longer fit for purpose – and St Johnstone led the way with the construction of Mcdiarmid Park.
The process started 35 years ago this month when the Perth club – languishing in the doldrums at the time with dwindling crowds – took the initial steps to plot a path away from their old home at Muirton Park to a new state-of-the-art stadium.
There wasn’t any opposition to the plans. The Bradford carnage exposed the reality that too many clubs were stuck with Victorian amenities.
Mcdiarmid Park was to set the trend that everybody across the UK would follow.
The venue would consist of four fully-covered stands, with parking for up to 1,000 cars and 100 coaches, in addition to a synthetic surface designated as a training ground – facilities which might be taken for granted at leading clubs today but which were genuinely revolutionary 30 years ago.
The move was partly
born of necessity and driven by the vision and business acumen of St Johnstone’s then-chairman, Geoff Brown, who recognised that dramatic changes had to be implemented.
Muirton had existed since 1924 and been the setting for a string of memorable performances by generations of Saints.
Yet, by the ’80s, it wasn’t so much dilapidated as decrepit and some of the wooden seats were taped off on match days.
Therefore, it was with a sense of relief that the site was sold in a deal that would not only guarantee survival but offer the club a fresh start.
After lengthy negotiations, an agreement was eventually struck that would see Asda foot the bill of just over £4 million to create a new stadium for Saints and, in return, they would use Muirton Park as the site of their major new retail outlet.
Shortly afterwards, a prescient local farmer named Bruce Mcdiarmid donated 16 acres of his land, not to the club, but to the people of Perth.
The construction costs rose to £4.9 million, a massive sum for a team languishing in Scotland’s second tier.
Muirton Park, meanwhile, staged its final match on April 29 1989, a 1-0 defeat to Ayr United with former St Johnstone player John Sludden becoming the last-ever scorer at the venue.
Almost four months later a bumper crowd packed into Mcdiarmid on August 19 to watch the hosts defeat Clydebank 2-1 in the first game in the sparkling new stadium.
But that was nothing compared to the excitement two months later when former Saint Alex Ferguson brought a star-studded Man Utd line-up, including the likes of Jim Leighton, Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes,
Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and Brian Mcclair to Mcdiarmid.
The attendance was almost 10,000 for a midweek fixture and although the occasion was slightly tarnished by a 21-minute stoppage due to floodlight failure, the hosts acquitted themselves well against their illustrious rivals.
As worried police officers broadcast appeals to the crowd to remain seated, an electrician from the Hydro
Board attended the stadium and, within minutes of his arrival, full lighting had been restored.
Nothing was going to take the gloss off the occasion. And, ever since, Mcdiarmid Park has hosted football and rugby matches and also been the setting for pop concerts by such superstars as Sir Elton John and Lionel Richie.
Not bad for an idea that was conceived in the aftermath of terrible tragedy.