Troon play their home games at Portland Park in Troon, a ground they have called home since their formation ahead of the 1946–47 season. The stadium has a capacity of 2,000 (200 covered), and is largely terracing.
Portland Park has always been known for having a magnificent playing surface, and as a result has often been used by some of the biggest teams in the world in training camps and friendly matches.
Thanks to this, Portland Park is famous for one big claim to fame – it is the only park in Scotland which both Pelé and Eusébio have graced.
Ground history
Before moving into the new modernised facility beside the seafront, Troon Academicals F.C. had spent most of their existence (from 1889 until 1923) playing at Station Park before Portland Park was constructed. Up until its closure, the old park was basic at best and had one of the poorer playing surfaces in Junior Football. In 1923, it was demolished and replaced with the clubhouse and car park for Troon Links Golf Course.
When Portland Park was first opened, players changing areas and toilets were located within the old wooden clubhouse which was destroyed by an accidental fire in the late 1970s. The current clubhouse was built in 1980, along with new turnstiles and a toilet block, although the dressing room area of the pavilion was extended in the mid-2000s.
Floodlights were installed at Portland Park during February 1997 but were removed after storm damage during 2007.
The clubhouse faced a dramatic re-vamp in 2010 after the involvement in Troon F.C. by the Kirkwood family. A renovated and expanded social club became a real asset to the club, and investment on the playing surface itself (overseen by new groundsman Gus Hollas) allowed an immediate improvement in the style of play encouraged by the new coaching staff.
Facilities
The stadium consists of four sides, and can accommodate up to 2,000 spectators for a match.
The clubhouse side is host to the majority of the crowd and has a covered, terraced enclosure which can hold up to 300 spectators. There is also a wide terraced area in front of the clubhouse and behind the “Home” dug-out, which has a viewing area with a clear view of the pitch.
The “Cop End” (as it was christened by former Manager John Redmond, due to it’s proximity to Troon Police Station) is located behind one of the goals and has the other main spectator’s terrace in Portland Park.
The area behind the far away goal is home to the floodlit training park, which is typically used on matchday for pre-match warm-ups to preserve the pitch, but the area immediately behind the goalposts has been earmarked for a new terracing area.
As with most non-league grounds there is no segregation, however away supporters typically watch from behind the “Away” dugout on the railway side of the park facing the clubhouse where two steps of new terracing was created in early 2013.
The ground has four turnstiles, all of which are located off Portland Street.
There is a snack bar to the side of the pavilion offering a wide range of hot and cold food, and the social club (with a licensed bar) is located inside the pavilion welcoming both home and away support. A new hospitality room, the Legend’s Lounge, was opened in the summer of 2018 for matchday hospitality.
Portland Park is perhaps best known for the magnificent condition of its pitch. Due to this asset, Portland Park has played host to many prestigious local Cup finals as well as visiting professional teams for training purposes.
Transport and accessibility
Troon railway station is approximately 5 minutes walk from Portland Park, boasting 3 trains per hour north to Glasgow Central & south towards Ayr and Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
By road, it is located near to the A79 leading onto the A77, M77 and M8. The A77 road is the main route between Ayrshire & Glasgow, from which Troon is well sign posted.
There is a small car park next to Portland Park and nearby street parking is also available.
Tenants
The very first tenants of Portland Park were Troon Athletic who opened the ground in 1923 and played here until the outbreak of Second World War saw their closure in 1940.
Troon Football Club have called Portland Park home since their formation ahead of the 1946–47 season right up to present day, but other teams have utilised Portland Park on a regular basis.
Since their founding in 2013, the Troon Under-19 side have used Portland Park for the majority of their home matches and between 2004-12 Troon Ladies were also based at Portland, playing their matches on a Sunday afternoon. An amateur side called Troon Academicals F.C., consisting mainly of Troon F.C. supporters, played their matches on a Saturday morning at Portland Park between 2009 and 2012 before significant investment in the playing surface saw non-Troon F.C. participation on the park reduced as a preventative measure.
The first non-football activity seen at Portland Park was when American Football side West Coast Trojans took up residence in 2011. With games taking place on a Sunday, the Trojans enjoyed their time at Portland Park and they stayed for two seasons, moving to Glasgow after funding for an American Football training & development academy failed to materialise.