Cappielow

Cappielow is a district of Greenock in Inverclyde, west central Scotland. It is home to Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton. The name Cappielow, taken alone, usually refers to the Cappielow Park stadium, but it can also refer to a small area of housing or the adjoining industrial estate.

History

Cappielow's etymology is supposedly of Scandinavian origin, although details of this are sketchy. It has been home to Greenock Morton since 1879. Cappielow hosted a Scotland v Wales match in the 1902 British Home Championship and was used for other events, including public lectures, track cycling and athletics, in its early history. The record attendance of 23,500 was for a league-deciding match against Celtic in 1922. This match ended in a riot, however, which caused damage to Cappielow and the surrounding area. Floodlights were first used at Cappielow for a league match against Third Lanark in 1958.

Cappielow presently has a capacity of 11,589, with 5,741 of these being seated. The area behind the western goal is known as the Wee Dublin end, which contains non-backed bench seating. This was converted from the old terracing in 1978, when Morton were promoted to the Premier Division. It is known as the Wee Dublin end because the Irish immigrant population of Greenock was once housed behind that stand. The main stand, built in 1931, contains plastic bucket seating that replaced the wooden benches that were a fixture of the ground until the late 1990s. The Cowshed lies to the north of the pitch; formerly a fully terraced area for both home and away supporters (complete with segregation fence down the middle), it is now for home supporters only, with much of the frontal terracing removed, and plastic bucket seats occupying its place. Behind the eastern goal is the "Sinclair Street" end, with uncovered terracing.