Celtic Park
Glasgow, City of Glasgow, Scotland
Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland — opened 20 August 1892, at the current Parkhead site; an earlier, separate ground also called Celtic Park had been used from 1888 nearby, vacated after a large rent increase, 1 rugby league games hosted, home of Not a rugby league venue: Celtic Park is the home of Celtic Football Club (association football), continuously since 1892. The 1909 rugby league fixture was a one-off touring match, not a regular rugby league tenancy..
Ground facts
| Opened | 20 August 1892, at the current Parkhead site; an earlier, separate ground also called Celtic Park had been used from 1888 nearby, vacated after a large rent increase |
| Home club | Not a rugby league venue: Celtic Park is the home of Celtic Football Club (association football), continuously since 1892. The 1909 rugby league fixture was a one-off touring match, not a regular rugby league tenancy. |
| Games hosted (rugby league, on record) | 1 |
| Top recorded crowd | 3,000 |
| Capacity | Around 40,000 at the time the current ground opened in 1892, rising to a peak of around 83,500 in the 1930s; today an all-seated 60,411. Capacity specifically at the time of the 1909 match is not confirmed. |
| Floodlights installed | No; floodlights were not installed until 1959, first used in a friendly on 12 October that year, decades after the 1909 rugby league match |
| Surface | Grass at the time of the 1909 match (a hybrid Desso GrassMaster surface has been used since 2017) |
| Years used | 1909 |
| Location | Glasgow, City of Glasgow |
Name history
- Celtic Park (original site) — 1888-1892, a different, nearby ground
- Celtic Park (current site) — 1892-present
Rugby league history
On 3 February 1909, during the first-ever Kangaroos tour of Great Britain, England (a Northern Rugby Football Union representative side) drew 17-17 with the touring Australia team at Celtic Park in front of 3,000 fans, the only rugby league match Rugby League Project records at the venue. Wikipedia's own article on Celtic Park confirms this was the first rugby league match played in Scotland, an exhibition-style fixture staged at a major football stadium decades before Scotland developed its own rugby league scene.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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