top of page
Tannadice Park
(Dundee United)
Address: Tannadice Park,
Tannadice Street,
Dundee,
Scotland,
DD3 7JW
Capacity: 14,223 (All-Seater)
The older and larger of the extremely near neighbours. A stadium well worth checking out.
Tannadice Park has not always been this stadium’s name, with the ground originally being known as Clepington Park when it was first used for football in the 1870s. Dundee East End Football Club secured the Clepington Park in July 1882, initially spending one season there before the ground became the home of Dundee Violet Football Club for the 1883-84 season.
East End would return in 1887 and stay at Clepington Park until 1891, when they moved to Carolina Park and would subsequently merge with Dundee Our Boys Football Club in 1893 to form Dundee Football Club.
Johnstone Wanderers, who later became Dundee Wanderers, were based at Clepington Park for the next 18 years. It was during this period that Wanderers successfully applied for Scottish Football League membership and the ground staged its first Scottish League fixture in August 1894.
In 1909, Dundee Hibernian Football Club were formed to present the city’s Irish community.
Despite belief that the club would set up their home in the Lochee district of Dundee, where much of the local Irish population was concentrated, club secretary Pat Reilly instead approached the Clepington Park landlord. Hibernian offered more than what Wanderers were paying for the ground at the time, and the deal was accepted. Wanderers in anger effectively dismantled Clepington Park when their lease came to an end, leaving Hibernian with what was essentially an open field rather than the ready-made ground that they had expected to inherit.
Dundee Hibernian therefore took the opportunity to emphasise a new era for the ground by changing its name from Clepington Park to Tannadice Park, taking inspiration from the street that passed by its southern side.
Dundee Hibernian became Dundee United Football Club in 1923, and have remained at Tannadice Park ever since.
The stadium has undergone many renovations in the last 100 years, including the conversion to an all-seater venue in the 1990s. All those redevelopments have formed the football ground that is in place today.
Location and Getting There
Tannadice Park is based in the space between Sandeman Street and Tannadice Street, around one mile north of Dundee City Centre. Caird Park is roughly 0.6 miles away to the north, and the University of Dundee Is roughly 1.2 miles away to the southwest.
Tannadice Park’s biggest claim to fame perhaps comes from its extremely close location to Dens Park, home of Dundee United’s rivals Dundee Football Club. The two stadiums are only 183 metres apart, making them the two closest professional football grounds in the whole of the United Kingdom.
Tannadice Park does not have any car parking spaces around its vicinity, but it should be possible to find street parking that is within relatively close distance.
Residential streets surround both Tannadice Park and Dens Park on all sides, though do ensure that you are legally allowed to park at where you find and do not block the drives of any residents.
Coming to Tannadice Park by rail can be trickier.
Dundee Station, served by LNER, ScotRail, CrossCountry and Caledonian Sleeper, is close to the City Centre and walking from here to the stadium can take around 35-40 minutes.
As an alternative to walking all the way, you can head north to Panmure Street outside the McManus Art Gallery and Museum, taking the Number 18 bus service which stops on Arklay Street a short while away from Tannadice Street and Tannadice Park. Taking the bus can half your journey time depending on how quickly you walk.
Taxi services from around Dundee Station are also available.
Outside the Stadium
Fans arriving from Dundee Station will likely approach Tannadice Park along Tannadice Street.
The stadium’s southern side runs alongside this road and is split into two stands that are named after two iconic Dundee United figures, Jerry Kerr and Jim McLean.
Born in Armadale on 1st June 1912, Jerry Kerr was a full-back who spent time at Dundee United during the Second World War. He is perhaps best known though for his time as manager of the Terrors, where between 1959 and 1971 he turned Dundee United into a full-time club and helped guide the team from the Second Division into the Scottish Top Flight, and even took them into European competition which included a 4-1 aggregate victory over Spanish giants FC Barcelona in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
Kerr passed away on 8th November 1999 at the age of 87. Part of the South Stand at Tannadice Park has been named in his honour since 2003.
Jim McLean was born in Larkhall on 2nd August 1937. As a player, he actually featured as an inside forward for United’s arch-rivals Dundee FC, but is best remembered for his long and successful spell as manager of the Terrors. McLean succeeded Jerry Kerr when he retired from management in 1971, and immediately looked to create a youth policy that saw many young players produced by the club. Success came within 10 years, as Dundee United won Scottish Cups in 1980 and 1981, followed by a Scottish League Title in 1983, making their debut in the European Cup the following season. McLean was also at the helm when Dundee United reached the final of the UEFA Cup, losing 2-1 on aggregate to Swedish club IFK Göteborg.
He would become a director, chairman and managing director of the club whilst still manager of the team, and remained in all those positions until 1993 when he brought to an end his 22-year spell as Dundee United manager. He continued to be chairman until 2000, and in total was associated with Tannadice for more than 30 years.
Jim McLean passed away on 26th December 2020, following a long battle with dementia. Part of the South Stand at Tannadice Park has been named in his honour since 2011.
The Jerry Kerr Stand and Jim McLean Fair Play Stand are joined together to form a South Stand that covers the whole southern side of the pitch. Before the construction of the Jim McLean Fair Play Stand in 1997, not all of the pitch was covered by a stand.
The two exteriors are similar in design, both using an orange brickwork base and grey corrugated iron higher up. The Jerry Kerr Stand has corrugated iron that is duller in colour however because of its age.
This stand also swoops round to include the stadium’s southeast corner, and its here that you can find the entrance to the Main Reception and Club Offices through gates off Tannadice Street.
Turnstiles for both the Jerry Kerr Stand and the Jim McLean Fair Play Stand are spread along the brickwork base.
It’s worth mentioning also that Tannadice Street is on a slight hill, meaning that the turnstiles up near the stadium’s southwest corner are on higher ground than the turnstiles down by the Main Reception and southeast corner.
The West Stand at Tannadice Park is affectionately known as the Shed.
One of the older parts of the stadium, its exterior consists mostly of concrete and corrugated iron, with a worn brickwork wall out in front of it. There is a sloped pathway immediately in front of this wall that fans can walk along to get from the southern side of the ground to the northern side and vice versa.
There are no turnstiles along the wall outside the Shed; they can instead be found on Tannadice Street by the stadium’s southwest corner and on Sandeman Street by the stadium’s northwest corner.
The North Stand at Tannadice Park runs alongside Sandeman Street and is named after long-serving club director George Fox.
Its exterior consists of an orange brickwork base with white corrugated iron and yellow-rimmed windows higher up. The stand’s overall shape is not a perfect rectangle because of the way Sandeman Street curves round part of it.
Turnstiles are spread along the longer edge of the George Fox Stand’s exterior, including the two sections which protrude outwards and have an angled roof coming down from the top.
The East Stand at Tannadice Park is named after Eddie Thompson.
Born in Glasgow on 16th July 1940, Thompson became an avid Dundee United supporter when he moved to the city. He would go on to have a lengthy association with the club, becoming chairman in 2002.
Thompson passed away on 15th October 2008 at the age of 68, and the East Stand at Tannadice Park has been named in his honour since March of that year.
Accessibility to the Eddie Thompson Stand is limited because of the large set of allotments that are based right outside of it. It is directly connected to the Jerry Kerr Stand and southeast corner, with an exterior made mostly of white corrugated iron.
Access to the Eddie Thompson Stand comes via Tannadice Street on the southern side of the stadium. There is a set of gates that lead through to a path up to the stand, and this can be found next to the gates that lead to the Main Reception Entrance.
Turnstiles for the Eddie Thompson Stand are along the base of the stand at the end of this path.
Inside the Stadium
The Jerry Kerr Stand includes the stadium’s southeast corner.
It is a single tier of orange seating that is elevated above ground, with yellow staircases at the front which lead down to the ground below. There are executive boxes down underneath this elevated seating area, whilst the matchday camera is located up at the very back of the Jerry Kerr Stand. You can also find Tannadice’s dugouts, tunnel and changing rooms within this side of the stadium.
Your view from anywhere inside the seating area of the Jerry Kerr Stand is perfectly clear, and every row is also well protected by the stand being connected to both the adjacent Eddie Thompson Stand and Jim McLean Fair Play Stand.
The Jim McLean Fair Play Stand is essentially an extension of the Jerry Kerr Stand, though its layout is different.
The stand consists of two tiers of alternating black and orange seating, with the upper tier larger than the lower tier. There are a few executive boxes below two of the upper tier blocks, underneath an electronic scoreboard which can best be seen by those on the opposite side of the stadium.
Your view from anywhere inside the Jim McLean Fair Play Stand is perfectly clear.
One end of this stand is well protected by having the Jerry Kerr Stand attached to it. There is a windshield in place at the end next to the stadium’s southwest corner, but this only provides protection to the upper tier rows. The lower tier rows are left more exposed from this side.
The Shed consists of a single tier of orange seating with the letters DUFC spelt out in black across the blocks.
Two supporting pillars come down towards the front of the stand and will likely restrict the view of those sat in the rows behind. They will not get in your way at all if you are sat in the front rows of the Shed.
The end next to the stadium’s southwest corner has a windshield in place that offers a good level of protection, whereas the end next to the stadium’s northwest corner is open.
The George Fox Stand is divided into two tiers, with the lower tier much larger than the upper tier that hangs slightly over the level below.
Seats in the lower tier are predominantly coloured orange, though the letters DUFC are spelt out with black seating across the four central blocks. Seating blocks in the upper tier alternate in colour between orange and black.
Your view from anywhere inside the George Fox Stand is perfectly clear.
Windshields at either end provide full protection to every upper tier row, but only the back rows of the upper tier. A wall by the stadium’s northeast corner protects the front rows of the lower tier on this side, but the same wall isn’t in place at the opposite end.
The Eddie Thompson Stand is directly connected to the southeast corner, though its roof is slightly taller and different in shape.
The stand consists of two tiers, with the lower tier larger than the upper tier that hangs slightly over the level below.
Seats in the lower tier are predominantly orange, though the letters DUFC are spelt out with black seating across the blocks. Seating blocks in the upper tier alternate in colour between orange and black.
The other notable thing here is that because of the stand’s shape, the two blocks nearest to the stadium’s northeast corner are not quadrilateral, instead having back rows that curve downwards in line with the back wall.
Your view from anywhere inside the Eddie Thompson Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever that is in place on the underside of the roof.
One end of the stand is well protected by the adjacent southeast corner being directly connected to it, whilst the end by the northeast corner has a large windshield in place that protects every row inside.
Away Fans
Away fans are typically housed in the Jim McLean Fair Play Stand on the southern side of the pitch. This is a two tiered extension of the adjacent Jerry Kerr Stand, and the smallest of crowds are usually kept in just one of the tiers.
On occasions when large away followings are expected, blocks in the neighbouring Jerry Kerr Stand and adjacent Shed can also be made available for use. Rows of stewards and large sheets are typically used to segregate the away section from any home supporters based nearby.
Views from anywhere inside the Jim McLean Fair Play Stand and Jerry Kerr Stand on the southern side of the pitch are perfectly clear, with a windshield providing good protection for those in the upper tier.
The Shed on the western side of the pitch however has supporting pillars inside it and they will restrict the view of those sat towards the back. Views will be clear if you are sat down at the front of the stand though, with a windshield providing a decent level of protection to those inside.
Regardless of the size of the away section, the turnstiles for it can be found along Tannadice Street near the stadium’s southwest corner.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include:
-The 4 J's (10 Dundonald Street, DD3 7PW) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located southeast of Tannadice Park)
-The Ambassador (233-237 Clepington Road, DD3 7UE) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located northwest of Tannadice Park)
-The Clep Bar (96-98 Clepington Road, DD3 7SW) (Home and Away Supporters) (Located south of Tannadice Park)
-The Counting House (67 Reform Street, DD1 1SP (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Dundee City Centre)
-The Nether Inn (134 Nethergate, DD1 4ED) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Dundee City Centre and Dundee Station)
-The Old Bank Bar (34 Reform Street, DD1 1RJ) (Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Dundee City Centre)
-Tickety Boo's (51 Commercial Street, DD1 2AA) (Home and Away Supporters) (Located near Dundee City Centre)
-The Troll Inn (17 Arklay Street, DD3 7NJ) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located very close to Tannadice Park)
Overview
Tannadice Park is a very uniquely-shaped stadium, particularly on its southern side. Views are very good from four of its four sides, with its East Stand being a popular place for home supporters to be based in on a matchday.
When its name is brought up in conversation, people often mention its very close proximity to Dundee United’s city rivals, but that isn’t the main reason why you should come here. This is a good football ground that carries a lot of history in its stand’s names.
Should be very popular with people who like the colour orange as well.
bottom of page