St Mirren Park: St Mirren

Love Street, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, PA3 2EA
Thomas Nugent / Greenhill Road

St Mirren were actually formed as a gentleman’s club, allowing them to play the likes of rugby and cricket. When football began to be popularised in the latter half of the 19th century, it was decided that they would also play football, putting 1877 as the club’s official date of creation. In the years since, St Mirren have enjoyed bouts of success, including victory in the Scottish Cup in 1926, 1959 and 1987, with a Scottish League Cup victory coming in 2013.

Also known as The Simple Digital Arena and The SMISA Stadium because of sponsorship, St Mirren Park opened in 2009 after the club’s former stadium at Love Street was sold to Tesco for £15 million. It cost £7 million to build and Alex Salmond, the then-First Minister of Scotland, was present to watch the first match. For a time, a deal with Renfrewshire Council saw the stadium labelled as Paisley 2021 Stadium, supporting Paisley’s bid to become City Of Culture in 2021.

Stats

St Mirren Park Stats
Year Opened2009
Capacity8,023
Average Attendance5,381
Record Attendance7,732 (St Mirren v Dundee United (2019))
Pitch Size105 x 68 (7140)
Former NameThe Simple Digital Arena, The SMISA Stadium
OwnerSt Mirren Football Club
SponsorSimple Digital Solutions
Clubs HostedSt Mirren, Scotland Under-19s
First FixtureSt Mirren v Kilmarnock (2009)
St Mirren Stats
Year Founded1877
NicknameThe Buddies, The Saints
Club MascotPaisley Panda
RivalsGreenock Morton
Previous StadiumsLove Street
KitBlack & White Stripes (Home) / Red (Away)
Training GroundRalston Training Complex
Shirt SponsorDigby Brown Solicitors
Team OwnerSt Mirren Independent Supporters Association
Record GoalscorerDavid McCrae (251)
Record AppearancesHugh Murray (462)

St Mirren Park Photos

St Mirren Park Seating Plan & Where to Sit

Fragglerock52, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Even though St Mirren Park is quite new in football stadium terms, it has stuck with the traditional British look of football grounds by having a stand on each side of the pitch, separate from each other. The Tony Fitzpatrick Stand on the south of the stadium is the one for families, whilst visiting supporters find themselves in the North Stand.

St Mirren Ticket Prices

How much you’ll pay for tickets at St Mirren will depend entirely on where in the ground you want to sit. Generally speaking, though, you’re looking at £20+ if you’re an adult, £10+ for concessions and £5+ for children. Carers of disabled people are able to get their tickets for free.

How To Get St Mirren Tickets

Where to Buy

Getting To St Mirren Park

Train - If you’re hoping to get the train to St Mirren Park then it is relatively easy to do so. You need to travel from Paisley Gilmour Street to Paisley St James, at which point you’ll exit the station straight on to Greenhill Road and see the stadium right in front of you.

Bus - Most buses in the area stop at Paisley Cross and Mill Street, where you can see Paisley Town Hall from. Get off there, cross the High Street and walk towards the town centre until you get to Gilmour Street, at which point you can either get the train or walk.

Car - You’ll want to get on the M8 if you’re travelling by car, following signs for Paisley & Glasgow Airport before coming off at Junction 29. Make sure not to exit onto the A737, which is signposted for Irvine, instead heading to the St James’ Interchange. From there, you’ll want to get over to the left and keep an eye out for signs to the ground.

By Air - Glasgow Airport is the closest to the football ground, being a matter of mere miles from St Mirren Park. With that in mind, it is the one that you’ll want to fly into if you’re heading to watch a St Mirren match, though Edinburgh Airport isn’t too far away.

Taxi - A taxi from the centre of Paisley out to St Mirren Park shouldn’t cost you any more than £10, usually being closer to £5.

Parking Near St Mirren Park

There is some street parking around the stadium, though the usual restrictions are in place. There have also been examples of inconsiderate parking that has stopped busses being able to get down roads or residents unable to get out of their drives, so do bear this in mind when you’re looking to park in the area.

Useful Resources

St Mirren Park Hotels

Motel Air - Glasgow Airport - £70+

70 Inchinnan Road, Paisley, PA3 2RE
Cheap and cheerful are the words you’d most closely associate with this hotel. Its proximity to the airport could be a problem if you’re a light sleeper, but there is free parking for those that are driving and it is just half a mile to the ground. There is also free Wi-Fi if you need to get online, as well as a vending machine for those of you that like to get a bit to eat or a drink. More details.

Glynhill Hotel - £80+

169 Paisley Road, Renfrew, PA4 8XB
With a restaurant and two bars, Glynhill Hotel can act as something of a ‘one size fits all option’ for people that don’t want to stray too far from where they’re staying. On top of that, there is an indoor pool and spa, as well as a garden and terrace area if the weather is nice. A 24-hour business centre and free Wi-Fi means that you can get on with some work if you need to, whilst free parking is also convenient for those of you that are driving. More details.

The Lynnhurst Hotel - £120+

Park Road, Johnstone, PA5 8LS
A little further afield from the football ground than the other places that we’ve mentioned, The Lynnhust Hotel is nevertheless one that you’ll want to consider visiting. There is a restaurant and bar as well as a lounge area, plus a terrace and a garden with a picnic area. You can pick up free newspapers in the reception, whilst those of you flying in to Glasgow will be able to get a free airport transfer. If you’re driving then you can park for free and those of you that need to get online will appreciate the free Wi-Fi. More details.

Pubs & Bars Near St Mirren Park

Wee Howff

53 High Street, Paisley, PA1 2AN (0141 887 8299)
If you’re the sort of person that fancies a real ale when you watch your sport then the Wee Howff might just be the place to head to. It is also something of a traditional pub with a crowd of regulars, so don’t be surprised if people wonder who you are when you go there. Head to the pub on the right night, though, and you might be in for a treat with quiz nights and open mic sessions regular occurrences.

St Mirren 1877 Supporters Club

St Mirren Park, 75 Greenhill Road, Paisley (0141 889 2558 )
The positive thing about St Mirren 1877 Supporters Club is that it is actually located at St Mirren Park and is therefore absolutely the best place to head to if you’re watching the match. The negative thing is that it is only open for members and their guests, so you’ll need to befriend someone who can get you in if you fancy a pre-match pint here.

Lumins Cocktails & Sports Bar

51 Causeyside Street, Paisley, PA1 1YN (0141 261 8297)
The name of this place tells you all of the important information, insomuch as it is a sports bar that serves cocktails. That gives you a good sense of what you can expect, with alcoholic drinks at the top of the list of things that they’re going to be good at. The fact that you can also watch the sport instead of the barman that thinks he’s Tom Cruise is obviously an added bonus, though non-alcoholic drinks are also available.

Facilities

Given the fact that the ground only opened in 2009, it is fair to say that the facilities at St Mirren Park are amongst the best in Scotland. All of the usual things like bars and places to get a bite to eat are available, in addition to toilets and disabled facilities.

Prices

  • Programme: 3.00
  • Pie: 2.30
  • Cup of tea: 2.00
  • Beer: 4.50

Hospitality

Stephenh-9287, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

There are numerous different hospitality packages available at St Mirren Park, whether you’re there with business associates or just for a celebration with friends and family. As long as there are two or more people in your group, you’ll be able to find a package that suits, including the likes of a meal, champagne reception and drinks. The cost will depend on the match that you want to go and see.

Private Hire

Obviously the club hopes that there is always a reason to party at St Mirren Park, but sometimes you need to bring your own party to the table. If that’s what you’re looking to do then there are numerous different private hire options, which is also the case if you’re hoping for a more formal setting for something like a business meeting.

Stadium Tours & Museum

A tour of St Mirren Park is reasonably priced, costing £5 at the time of writing. For that, you get to head to all sorts of different places, including the board room and pitch side. The traditional visit to the dressing rooms that you get on stadium tours is also included, so it is well worth the money.

About St Mirren

Ian Ferguson At St Mirren Park the day after St Mirren won the 1987 Scottish Cup - Jgmccabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In football’s more formative years, the sport was played mainly during the winter in order to give members of cricket clubs something to do. That is how St Mirren was formed, coming out of a gentleman’s club that originally played cricket and rugby. The club is named after Saint Mirin, the Patron Saint of Paisley who founded a church at Paisley Abbey. Having worn scarlet and blue kits originally, the club switched to wearing black and white stripes that have been used ever since.

The club’s first match was a victory over Johnstone Britannia on the sixth of October 1877. Over the years that followed, it is fair to say that St Mirren have enjoyed their share of ups and downs. Though they have never won the Scottish top-flight, they have won the second tier several times and have enjoyed success in the Scottish Cup on three occasions to date. Added to that, they club won the Scottish League Cup in 2013 and placed in Europe a number of times. Though there is little competition, they have won the Renfrewshire Cup 55 times at the time of writing.

St Mirren Park History

Thomas Nugent / St Mirren's new stadium
p>St Mirren Park opened its doors on the 31st of January 2009, with working having began a year before. It cost £8 million, with Barr Construction being the ones responsible for it. Talks about St Mirren building a new home ground had begun in 2003 when Lidl and Aldi representatives met with the club and discussed buying the old stadium in order to build retail developments. In the end, it was sold to Tesco for £15, giving the club £7 profit from it.

There have been numerous sponsors of the ground over the years, with St Mirren doing well to make money from companies wanting to get their name out there. In 2018, for example, a four-year deal was signed with a Glasgow-based IT company called Simple Digital Solutions, seeing the stadium renamed as The Simple Digital Arena. It became the SMISA Stadium in 2020, referencing the St. Mirren Independent Supporters Association.

Future Developments
Thomas Nugent / St Mirren's new stadium

In 2019, the club confirmed that a number of improvements were being carried out the stadium. The likes of new sound equipment was put in, as were some new LED lights. Branded seats were put in in the director’s box, whilst pitch lights were installed in order to minimise damage to the pitch. With this in mind, it is unlikely that any major changes will be carried out to the stadium in the near future.

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