The History of Dunterlie Park

Arthurlie moved to the original Dunterlie Park in 1882 from their Cross Arthurlie ground. The club was elected to Division Two of the Scottish Football League in 1901, and the first SFL match was played at the ground on 24 August 1901 when Port Glasgow Athletic were beaten 3–1.

Although the ground had no spectator facilities (the sole structure being a pavilion behind the southern end of the pitch), its probable record attendance was 6,000, set for a Scottish Cup first round against Rangers on 27 January 1906, a game which Arthurlie lost 7–1. Arthurlie left the ground later in the year to move to a new stadium, also named Dunterlie Park. Their final league match at the first Dunterlie Park was played on 7 April 1906, a 3–1 defeat to Hamilton Academical. The site was later used for housing, with Ruffles Avenue built through the middle of where the pitch had been.

Arthurlie moved to the second Dunterlie Park in 1906. Located next to the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway line, the only spectator facility was a small open stand in front of the pavilion located in the southern corner of the pitch. The first league match was played at the new ground on 25 August 1906, a 5–4 win over Vale of Leven.

Their final league match at the ground was played early in World War I prior to the suspension of the Scottish Football League, a 5–3 win over Lochgelly United on 3 April 1915. The site was later used for industrial purposes, and is now part of Shanks Industrial Park.

Arthurlie moved to the third, and current, Dunterlie Park in 1919. Located on the south-eastern side of Barrhead railway station line, the ground originally had a pavilion in the northern corner of the pitch and banking behind the southern goal and on the western side of the pitch. As the club was excluded from the restart of the Scottish Football League following World War I, they were unable to rejoin until 1923, and the first SFL match was not played at the new Dunterlie Park until 25 August 1923, a 3–2 defeat to East Stirlingshire.

Following crowd trouble during the 2–1 defeat by Third Lanark on 22 August, the ground was closed for a month, with Arthurlie having to play home matches at Beith’s Bellsdale Park. On 1 October 1927 Arthurlie’s Owen McNally set a SFL record at the ground by scoring eight goals in a 10–1 win over Armadale.

Towards the end of the 1928–29 season the club dropped out of the SFL due to financial difficulties. The last SFL game was played at Dunterlie Park on 30 March 1929, a 1–1 draw with St Bernard’s. The club folded later in the year, reforming as Arthurlie Amateurs, and again as Arthurlie in 1930, with the new club continuing to play at Dunterlie Park in Junior football. The ground’s record attendance of 10,500 was set on 18 March 1939 for a Scottish Junior Cup sixth round match with Cambuslang Rangers, which Arthurlie lost 2–1.

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