Netherdale
Netherdale, with the football stadium in the foreground and the rugby stadium beyond
Netherdale is located in Scottish Borders
Netherdale
Netherdale
Location within the Scottish Borders
LocationNether Road, Galashiels, Scottish Borders
Coordinates55°36′27″N 2°46′57″W / 55.607445°N 2.782545°W / 55.607445; -2.782545
TypeStadium complex
Capacity4,000 (rugby ground)
2,000 (football ground)
SurfaceGrass (rugby ground)
Artificial (football ground)
Construction
Opened1912
Renovated1961–62, 1964
ArchitectPeter Womersley
(football stand)
Tenants
Gala RFC
Gala Fairydean F.C.
Gala Rovers F.C.
Border Reivers
Gala Fairydean Rovers F.C.
1912–
1929–2013
?–2013
1996–1998, 2002–2007
2013–

Netherdale is a sports complex in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, consisting of two adjacent stadiums used for rugby union and football. The rugby ground is the home of Gala RFC and was formerly used by the professional Border Reivers team. It hosted one match of the 1999 Rugby World Cup. It has also occasionally been used for rugby league matches. The football ground is home to Gala Fairydean Rovers and has a Category A listed grandstand.

Overview

The Netherdale complex is located on Nether Road towards the east end of Galashiels, near the River Tweed. The Gala rugby ground is in the north-west corner of the site, with the Gala Fairydean Rovers football ground in the south-west; the two grounds are joined end-to-end. The rest of the site is taken up by a number of undeveloped rugby and football fields known as the back pitches. Gala RFC moved to the area in 1912 from their previous ground at Mossilee, initially playing on what is now the football ground before the construction of their present ground – "New Netherdale" – in 1961–62.

Gala Fairydean F.C. arrived at Netherdale in 1929, initially playing on an undeveloped pitch called Raid Stane Park, before taking over the old rugby ground. Local amateur club Gala Rovers F.C. also played at the Netherdale complex before the two clubs merged to form Gala Fairydean Rovers in 2013. Since the installation of a 3G pitch in 2011, the Fairydean ground is officially known as the 3G Arena Netherdale and is also used as a community football and rugby facility.

Football ground

The main stand of Netherdale football stadium is a Category A listed building

Gala RFC had previously played at the Public Park and Mossilee before moving to Netherdale in 1912, where their new ground incorporating a pavilion and grandstand was built at a cost of £1,150.[1] The first rugby match took place in September 1912, against local rivals Hawick.[2] The rugby club continued to play on this part of the ground until the construction of the adjacent "New Netherdale" in 1961–62.

The football stadium has a capacity of around 2,000. The ground's most striking feature is the main stand, which was opened in 1964.[3] With a capacity of 500 it is the largest stand in the Scottish Borders.[3] Designed by the renowned British architect Peter Womersley in the brutalist style, the concrete structure is sometimes sarcastically dubbed as "the San Siro of the Borders". It was awarded a 'B' category listing by Historic Scotland in December 2006, which means the "character and setting" of the building must be preserved for "future generations".[3][4][5]

Historic Scotland upgraded its listing to 'A' category in December 2013, stating that the stand is "a significant work of late modernist architecture in Scotland".[6][7][5] The stand was closed during the 2018–19 season, pending works needed to repair water damage to the concrete.[8] Works to the stand were completed in October 2022.[9]

Rugby ground

Netherdale rugby stadium, home of Gala RFC

The rugby stadium has a large grandstand which overlooks the pitch and the nearby Eildon Hills. While the professional Border Reivers club played, a second fully seated stand was installed, increasing the capacity to around 4,000 from the previous 2,000. New pitch protection systems were installed, which the Scottish Rugby Union continued to pay the maintenance costs for even after the Border Reivers club was closed.[10]

The stadium hosted the 1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A match between Uruguay and Spain.[11][12]

Netherdale has also hosted rugby league international matches, firstly the match between Scotland and France on 31 October 2014 as part of the 2014 European Cup. France won that match 38–22.[13] As part of the 2015 European Cup, Netherdale hosted the match between Scotland and Ireland on 23 October.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History" (PDF). Gala Rugby Football Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Opening of the rugby season". The Southern Reporter. Selkirk. 26 September 1912. Retrieved 14 August 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. 1 2 3 "Anger over listing for 'Soviet' football stand". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. 7 December 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Fairburn, Rob (7 December 2006). "You lot must be away with the Fairydeans". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  5. 1 2 Historic Environment Scotland. "NETHER ROAD, GALA FAIRYDEAN FOOTBALL STADIUM (Category A Listed Building) (LB50711)". Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  6. ↑ "Gala Fairydean Rovers stand upgraded to A-listed". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Gala Fairydean Rovers grandstand achieves A-listed status". BBC News. BBC. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  8. ↑ Pattullo, Alan (18 January 2019). "Both loved and loathed, Gala's A-listed Brutalist stand is under threat". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  9. ↑ "Gala Fairydean Rovers' football stand ready to welcome back fans". Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Ferguson, David (29 June 2009). "SRU paying £51,000 a year for Netherdale as feud goes on". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  11. ↑ IRB World Cup 99 Stats Archived 2 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine, rugbyworldcup.com; accessed 10 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "The Grounds". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  13. ↑ "SCOTLAND 22 - 38 FRANCE". Scotland RL. 1 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
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