History and description

The stadium has a capacity of 8,000 and is one of the most famous football grounds in Scotland. Dundee F.C. played its first game on the 18th of October, 1899 at Carolina Port in the city of Dundee against Albion Rovers. The new ground, called Dens Park after the area's dense forest, had been purchased by the club members and was situated on Clepington Road in east Dundee. The official opening ceremony took place on April 15th, 1900 with a 6-1 victory over Rangers F.C.. The stadium seated 4,500 for that occasion and although toilet facilities had been installed during construction, no permanent stands could be erected until 1910 due to financial constraints. A set of stairs from Clepington Road gave access to North bank terrace which could accommodate 1,500 spectators. In 1922 a wooden stand was erected along East Terrace increasing capacity to 7,500. This stand remained until 1938 when it was replaced by a steel grandstand which still exists today and can hold 10,000 spectators. There have been numerous renovations and additions to Dens Park throughout its history including: changing rooms in 1947; floodlights in 1955; Kop end terraces in 1977; an all-seater main stand in 1984; two new stands at the South end opened in 1990 and an all-weather pitch was installed at East End in 2007 which increased seating capacities to 8,000 The vast uncovered terraces were originally used for supporters to watch the game, but with the growth in seats and standing areas, they are now mostly unused. The Dens Park main stand was designed by Archibald Leitch on one side and vast uncovered terraces on the other sides. After World War 2 a roof was built over half of the other side, though this has not stopped supporters from using the vast uncovered terraces.

The stadium has recorded the highest attendance figure in 1953 when 43,024 spectators attended a Cup match between Dundee and Rangers.

In 1999, new stands were erected behind the goalposts in an attempt to improve the conditions of Dens Park. The rest of the stadium had been converted into an all-seater long before this.

How to get to Dens Park

Dens Park is located north of the city of Dundee, at roughly 1 mile from Dundee's city center, and a little more from Dundee's rail station. The stadium lies almost right next to Dundee United's Tannadice Park. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from the city centre to the stadium by either walking or catching one of the buses listed.

Trains between Dundee and Edinburgh and Glasgow are frequent and typically take between one and 1.5 hours from Edinburgh and 15 to 30 minutes more from Glasgow.

Address: Sandeman Street, Dundee DD3 7JY

Dundee Tickets

Tickets for Dundee matches can be bought online or at the ticket office at Dens Park. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office on the day of the match, with Dundee usually selling out save for the derby and occasionally Celtic or Rangers.

Call +44 (0) 1382 767039 for more information.

Useful websites

The Dundee official website, Dundee city council site and Dundee tourist information are all official sources of information about the city.