Caledonian Stadium (Inverness)

Caledonian Stadium is a football ground in the Longman area of Inverness, Scotland, near the banks of the Moray Firth. It hosts home matches of Scottish Professional Football League club Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

General information

Arena capacity: 7,512 spectators

Address: Stadium Road, Inverness, IV1 1FF, Scotland

GPS coordinates for the navigator: 57°29′41″N 4°13′03″W

Year of construction: 1996

Field: grass lawn with dimensions of 115 x 75 yards

Seating plan of Caledonian Stadium

The Tulloch Caledonian Stadium is a modern and tidy looking ground. It is dominated by the Main Stand, which runs along one side of the pitch. This all seated stand, is quite smart looking and is partly covered (to the rear), whilst opposite is a small open terrace, that is now unused. At one end is the North Stand or more commonly known as the ‘Bridge End’, which is an all seated covered stand which is the ‘home end’ of the ground. The other end, the South Stand, is a similar looking all seated stand, that is given to away supporters.

The Club was formed in 1994, following a merger of two Clubs; Inverness Thistle & Caledonian FC. The new Club were admitted to the Scottish League for the 1994-95 season.

Away supporters are housed in the new South Stand at one end of the ground, where up to 2,200 fans can be accommodated. The ground is very smart and there’s a great atmosphere when it’s a full house. The ground staff are also very welcoming and the location is pretty good, with some stunning views over the water. The only real let down is the lack of a supporters club at the ground or any nearby pubs. Otherwise, the catering almost makes up for the lack of beer, especially the brilliant steak sandwiches!

The ground is built right on the coast of the Moray Firth, which means there can be some biting cold winds coming off the sea. However, the ground has quite a picturesque setting and from the away end you get quite a view of the Kessock Bridge climbing up into the distance.

Where to buy tickets?

There are two things that will decide how much your ticket to see Inverness CT will cost – your age and where in the ground you would like to sit. The main stand is the more expensive area, with tickets for the North and South stand being a little cheaper.

It’s useful to know that under 12’s can get into the North stand for free with an accompanying adult.

Tickets are available through Inverness CT’s official website, over the phone or by calling into the stadium ticket office in person. For most of the games you’ll be able to pick up a ticket on the gate, too. Transaction charges apply at £1.50, and there’s a cheeky 70p charge if you want your tickets posted to you.

How to get there?

Inverness is in the Scottish Highlands, so it’s unlikely that you’ll happen to stumble across the place on your travels. That said, it isn’t exactly a faraway and distant land, so you’ll still be able to make it there using one of these routes.

From The South:

The ground is straightforward to find and depending on which approach you take into Inverness, the bright orange cantilevers of the Main Stand can be seen from quite some distance away. Continue on the A9 through Inverness and at the roundabout, just before the large Kessock Bridge that takes you across the Moray Firth, turn right for the road down to the ground. There are a couple of good sized car parks (£2) at each end of the ground.

Inverness Railway Station is about a mile away from the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, which is about a 20-25 minute walk away. On leaving Inverness station follow the signs for the car park and bus station (going along Railway Terrace). Cross through the car park, keeping the bus station on your left and on your right you can see a bridge crossing the railway line. Go across the bridge and then continue straight ahead along Longman Road. Eventually, you will reach the stadium on your left.

After the match there are a number of shuttle buses waiting outside the stadium to take fans back into the town centre.

Where to eat and sleep?

Inverness is a lovely part of Scotland, but not necessarily one of the most commonly visited. There are still plenty of hotels to look at, though, starting with these:

1. Kingsmills Hotel. The great thing about far away towns is you can get more for less. This 4 star hotel has got all the basics like free wifi, breakfast, a bar and restaurant, but also a spa, hot tub and swimming pool for a very modest price. Luxury at a reasonable price – brilliant.
2. Mercure Inverness Hotel. This member of the Mercure chain of hotels is about ten minutes away from the ground and offers a restaurant, a bar, a fitness centre, a business centre, meeting rooms, self-parking and there’s free Wi-Fi available too.
3. Best Western Inverness Palace Hotel & Spa. This riverfront hotel is the furthest from the stadium, but it’s still only a twenty minute walk away. It’s also worth the travel as it’s got a restaurant, a bar, a full-service spa including an indoor pool, a fitness centre, meeting rooms and free Wi-Fi.

Inverness is at the top end of Loch Ness, so expect many monster themed bars and apocryphal (google it) tales from the locals. Here are some of our favourite watering holes:

1. Blackfriars Highland Pub. Built in 1793, this traditional pub boasts a beautiful mahogany bar and plenty of hand-pulled ales. There’s also some tasty original Scottish food for your consideration. Haggis, anyone?
2. The Kings Highway. Some people really enjoy soaking up local traditions and atmospheres. Others prefer the tried and the tested, and that’s who The Kings Highway is for. It’s a Wetherspoon establishment, so you’ll get all of the cheap drinks, cheap food and eclectic clientele that you’d find in one of these anywhere else in the UK.
3. Johnny Foxes. This traditional style pub and restaurant has a nice outside area, a decent menu and plenty of real ales. It also has a sister wine bar and nightclub located not far away, should that be the sort of thing you enjoy.

Facilities

The ground is now over twenty years old, but it’s still reasonably modern compared to a lot of other stadiums. There are plenty of places to buy food and drink and the view is decent from pretty much everywhere, though The West Stand is not exactly flush with top-notch facilities. Or even a roof.

The main hospitality option at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium will see you enjoy fine dining through a hot buffet, seating in The Jock McDonald Main Stand, a complimentary bar, half-time refreshments, a talk from the manager and an opportunity to meet the Man Of The Match after the game. This is available on a match by match basis so is a good option for birthdays and celebrations – only if you are a fan obviously, otherwise it would be a bit of an odd choice.

Private hire

There are a range of function suites at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium that are available for hire depending on your event. Whether you’re hoping to host a banquet, a dinner, a conference, a party or a business meeting, there are plenty of different options at the home of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. There are three rooms available, with the biggest able to host up to 180 people.

Accessibility

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club (“The Club”) is committed to the principle of equal opportunities and opposes all forms of unlawful or unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability. The Club is committed to ensuring that all visitors to the Stadium have, as far as practicable, unrestricted access to the services and facilities provided.

The Club will ensure that all persons falling within the scope of the Equality Act 2010, are treated equally and fairly. The Club, its employees and stewards will not discriminate between people with differing impairments and this policy applies equally to all staff, contractors, spectators, and guests of the Club.

The staff, stewards and all matchday personnel are trained to treat all customers with due patience, politeness, and courtesy and to offer practical assistance where necessary.

Spectator Seating

• 26 wheelchair places with adjacent carer seats in both the North & South Stands.
• 14 wheelchair places with adjacent carer seats in the Main Stand.
• Wheelchair shelters in the North Stand and beside the Main Stand.
• 3 wheelchair places with adjacent carer seats in the West Stand.
• Accessible seats available in all stands for ambulant disabled.

Parking

Reserved car parking bays in Directors, North and South Car parks. The car parking bays are situated in close proximity to the various points of entry to the stadium.

Accessibility

All entrances to the Stadium are step-free and direct wheelchair access is available to most public areas of the premises.

Admission Charges

Disabled customers who are accompanied by a carer will pay no more in total for  admission than an unaccompanied disabled customer.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club is aware that any incidents of discrimination under the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 are serious matters, which could lead to appropriate disciplinary action being initiated. Any complaint relating to the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 or treatment of disabled persons will be dealt with expediently by the Stadium management team.

Audio Commentary

Inverness Caledonian Thistle offers Live Audio Commentary to supporters with visual impairments. Handsets are available, subject to availability, from reception.

Exterior

Heading to the Caledonian Stadium from Inverness Station will eventually bring the ground into view on your left.

What will immediately stand out is the Main Stand to the east, which is named after Jock McDonald.

John ‘Jock’ McDonald was a former chairman who navigated through the merger of Caledonian and Inverness Thistle to form the club that is in place today.

A life president of Caley Thistle, he passed away in December 2008.

The Jock McDonald Stand’s exterior primarily use a brickwork base with blue and white corrugated iron higher and cantilever coming down from the top. This stand also has a large brick building protruding out of its centre however, inside of which you can find the Main Entrance. To the left of this entrance is an Information Point, the Inverness Caledonian Thistle Club Shop, and the Main Ticket Office, with a brown brick tower at one end of the building housing the Kingsmills Club Entrance. The I.C.T. Family Sports Bar is based near the ground’s southeast corner, whilst the Players Entrance can be towards at the opposite end of the exterior.

Turnstiles for the Jock McDonald Stand itself are housed along the brickwork base in red boxes.

Many of the car parking spaces immediately outside the stand are for executive use, though there is a single row along the edge of Stadium Road that can be available for supporters.

Moray Firth is out beyond here on the other side of Stadium Road.

Heading round in a clockwise direction from the Jock McDonald Stand brings you to the South Stand.

Noticeably smaller than its adjacent neighbour, it has a blue corrugated iron exterior which has nothing of real note housed along it.

The turnstiles for this side of the Caledonian Stadium can be found next to the exterior in the ground’s southeast corner.

Immediately outside the South Stand is one of the Caledonian Stadium’s main car parks.

The West Stand at the Caledonian Stadium looks much more exposed when compared to the other three sides.

Essentially containing a small, open stand with facilities in the centre, you are able to walk along the outside of it if you wish, but there are no club offices in place here.

Walking along the outside of it can help with access however, as the West Stand has two sets of turnstiles available for use. One set is located in the ground’s southwest corner, and the other is located in the ground’s northwest corner.

Vegetation separates the outside of the West Stand from the A9. The Kessock Suspension Bridge is located north along this road.

The exterior of the North Stand is essentially a carbon-copy of the South Stand opposite. This North Stand is sometimes also known as the Bridge End however because of Kessock Suspension Bridge out beyond it.

The exterior here is made from blue corrugated iron and has nothing of real note housed along it.

The turnstiles for this side of the Caledonian Stadium can be found next to the exterior in the ground’s northeast corner.

The other of the Caledonian Stadium’s two main car parks is located immediately outside the Bridge End and is larger in size than the other one.

History

When the two clubs formed to create Caledonian Thistle they originally played their games at Telford Street Park, the home of Caledonian. Part of the agreement to allow them into the Football League, however, entailed the building of a new stadium by 1995. This took longer than expected, not opening until Albion Rovers arrived to play Inverness Caledonian Thistle in November of 1996. Celebrations when the club won the Scottish First Division in 2004 were muted when it was realised that the stadium didn’t meet the requirements necessary to allow the club to play in the Scottish Premier League. The club played their games at the home of Aberdeen while changes were made to the ground, bringing it up to scratch and allowing Inverness CT to compete in the Scottish top-flight from a home of their own.