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Stark's Park
(Raith Rovers)
Address: Pratt Street,
Kirkcaldy,
Fife,
Scotland,
KY1 1SA
Capacity: 8,867 (All-Seater)
Image Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gordon2208/2747202114/
An L-shaped Main Stand to the east and a partly-unused stand to the west, Stark’s Park is unlike anywhere else you will visit.
First opened in 1891, it has been the home of Raith Rovers Football Club ever since.
Renowned Scottish architect Archibald Leitch designed the Main Stand in the 1920s, and plenty of further developments have taken place in the decades since.
Covering was provided to stands at either end by a roof and floodlights were added in the 1950s, with the sale of several players to clubs elsewhere in Scotland and England helping to finance this major work.
When Andy Harrow was sold to Luton Town in 1981, it allowed the board to demolish the railway enclosure that was in place at the time and build a new stand to the south and terraced steps to the north.
Further major work in the mid-1990s would convert Stark’s Park into an all-seater venue.
Location and Getting There
Stark’s Park is located off Pratt Street (B9157), around one mile south of Kirkcaldy Town Centre. Beveridge Park is within 0.3 miles to the northwest, and Kirkcaldy Bay is within 0.4 miles to the east.
Coming to Stark’s Park by car is certainly possible.
Raith Rovers recommend making use of the car park at Kirkcaldy Train Station to the north, and there is also limited parking available at Beveridge Park.
Most people will make use of street parking in the surrounding area as an alternative. Ensure that you are legally allowed to park where you find and do not block the drives of any residents.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Depending on the expected crowd at the stadium, Pratt Street (B9157) to the east may be closed to traffic at least 30 minutes before kick-off.
Around 0.5 miles to the north of Stark’s Park is Kirkcaldy Station, served by ScotRail, LNER, Caledonian Sleeper and CrossCountry.
Walking from here to the football ground takes around 20 minutes along a simple route that goes south on Whyte Melville Road, right on Abbotshall Road, fully across a roundabout, under the railway bridge and onto Pratt Street (B9157), and then south till the stadium appears on your right.
Outside the Stadium
Pratt Street (B9157) runs alongside the Main Stand. It is named after Turnbull Hutton, the former Raith Rovers chairman who passed away in 2015 at the age of 68.
The stand interestingly is L-shaped and runs along less than half the length of the pitch. A lot of its white concrete and blue brick exterior is also restricted from view by a brick perimeter wall that runs alongside the road. This means that to access the Turnbull Hutton Stand, you need to head towards the stand’s southern end. Ramps and staircases are in place which enable you to get up the exterior. You can find the Players and Officials Entrance along this blue and white outer wall, and the Main Ticket Office is right on the southeast corner.
Turnstiles for the Turnbull Hutton Stand itself (R, S and T) are in a brick block just in front of the exterior.
Continuing round in a clockwise direction past the Main Ticket Office brings you to the South Stand.
Otherwise known as the Penman Family Stand, its exterior uses a brickwork base with corrugated iron higher up and blue cantilever coming down from the top. The underside of the seating area is also visible from outside. Because of houses and gardens being located right up behind it, you can only reach the Penman Family Stand by heading up the ramp or staircase off Pratt Street (B9157) and walking round past the Main Ticket Office.
The stand has a Raith Rovers Club Shop within it and has three sets of turnstiles along its base (A and B, C and D, E and F). There is also a disabled entrance at the far end of the exterior which is near to some private car parking spaces.
The West Stand at Stark’s Park is known as the Railway End as the tracks are out beyond it. Once fully in use, it is only its northern end that is open on matchdays now, and this northern end is otherwise known as the SM Lighting Stand through sponsorship.
Because the railway tracks are in such close proximity to it, there is no accessibility for fans along its white outer wall. Supporters instead need to use the stadium’s northern entrance, and that requires you to head north up Pratt Street (B9157), walk around the whole of the ground’s northern side, and head down a small passage to the turnstiles (J and K).
You will have to walk around the entire stadium’s vicinity if you are in front of the Penman Family Stand and want to get to the SM Lighting Stand’s turnstiles.
The North Stand is known as the McDermid Stand as it is sponsored by crime fiction writer Val McDermid, a lifelong fan of the club.
The McDermid Stand follows a similar exterior design to the Penman Family Stand opposite, using a brickwork base with corrugated iron higher up and blue cantilever coming down from the top. The underside of the seating area is also visible from outside.
The stand has three set of turnstiles along its base (L and M, N and O, P and Q) along with a disabled entrance by the ground’s northeast corner.
You can find a Ticket Office next to the exterior that can be used for those buying tickets in either the McDermid Park or the adjacent SM Lighting Stand.
Stark’s Park’s official car park is triangular and located out beyond the McDermid Stand.
Inside the Stadium
The Turnbull Hutton Stand has an interesting L-shape that swings around to cover the whole of the ground’s southeast corner.
It is single tiered with its seating area elevated above ground and accessible by small staircases down at the front. The blocks nearest to the half-way line contain blue seating and include a press box and Raith TV box down at the front. There are also small walled-off blocks dedicated to executive use. The remaining blocks in the Turnbull Hutton Stand contain blue backless benches, with the Main Control Centre down in front of the seating area and a gable on the roof that has the letters RRFC inside of it.
Stark’s Park’s dugouts are based on this side of the stadium, in line with the half-way line, and the stadium’s tunnel is housed below the elevated seating area, leading to the changing rooms inside.
Supporting pillars come down regularly along the front of the seating area, and these will likely restrict your view from inside as a result. Your best view is likely to come from being sat on the very front row in the space between each pillar.
A transparent windshield is in place at the northern end of the Turnbull Hutton Stand, with the other end around the southeast corner left open.
The remaining space along the eastern side of the pitch is unused by supporters on a matchday, with just a small building in place here that acts as a Media Centre. It can make the stadium seem quite exposed as a result though.
The Penman Family Stand is noticeably taller than the Turnbull Hutton Stand, housing floodlights on top of either end.
It consists of a single tier of dark blue seating that has the letters RRFC spelt out in white towards the back. A sliver of red seating is also used to give each letter a 3D effect.
Your view from anywhere inside the Penman Family Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above.
Large windshields at either end provide protection to most of the rows, though the rows further forward only have small walls in place to provide protection. It is also worth noting that a section of one windshield is left open so that fans can see the southeast corner of the pitch.
The southern section of the Railway Stand once housed supporters but is not just empty, covered space that is not in use on a matchday.
The SM Lighting Stand is attached to its northern end however and consists of a single tier of blue backless benches. You can also find the gantry holding the matchday camera up at the back.
Your view from anywhere inside the SM Lighting Stand is perfectly clear as there are no supporting pillars coming down from the roof above.
A small windshield at the northern end of the stand provides protection to the rows further back, but not the rows further forward.
The McDermid Stand is a near carbon-copy of the Penman Family Stand opposite, housing floodlights on top of either end.
It consists of a single tier of dark blue seating that has the letters RRFC spelt out in white towards the back. A sliver of red seating is also used to give each letter a 3D effect.
Your view from anywhere inside the McDermid Stand is perfectly clear because of the cantilever roof above.
Large windshields at either end provide protection to most of the rows, though the rows further forward only have small walls in place to provide protection.
Away Fans
Away supporters are usually housed behind the goal in the large McDermid Stand.
This is a single tiered, all-seater stand that offers perfectly clear views from anywhere inside and windshields at either end that protect all but the rows further forwards.
There are three sets of turnstiles for this side of Stark’s Park (L and M, N and O, P and Q) and these can be found along the brickwork base of the stand’s exterior.
A Ticket Office is also in place for those needing to purchase a ticket for this side of the stadium.
On occasions when even larger crowds are expected, then the SM Lighting Stand on the western side of the pitch can be made available to away supporters.
This is a single tier of blue backless benches that also offers clear views from anywhere inside, albeit the windshield at the northern end is much smaller.
Turnstiles for this side of Stark’s Park (J and K) can be found at the northern end of the SM Lighting Stand, and you can to them by walking all the way around the McDermid Stand and past the ground’s northwest corner.
Matchday Pubs
Pubs available to supporters on a matchday include*:
-The Duchess of Kirkcaldy (Nicol Street, KY1 1RP (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located towards the Seafront)
-The Estuary (157 Links Street, KY1 1QR) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located towards the Seafront)
-The Exchequer (60 High Street, KY1 1NB) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-Novar (17 Nicol Street, KY1 1NY) (Typically Home and Away Supporters)
-The Penny Farthing (33-35 High Street, KY1 1LL) (Typically Home and Away Supporters) (Located towards the Seafront)
-The Robert Nairn (6 Kirk Wynd, KY1 1EH) (A JD Wetherspoon Pub, Typically Home and Away Supporters)
*There are no pubs within close vicinity of Stark's Park itself. You will need to head into more central Kirkcaldy in order to find a drink pre-game.
Overview
Home to Raith Rovers for well over a hundred years, Stark’s Park offers two very similar stands behind either goal, with an intriguing Main Stand to the east and an only partly used Railway Stand to the west.
Views from all but its Main Stand are clear, with away fans given an excellent view and experience from behind the north goal.
Its location within housing, roads and railway tracks has created a unique shape that you won’t find elsewhere in Scottish football, and that’s what can help to make a game at Stark’s Park memorable.
Well worth checking out first-hand.
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