Editing Easter Road (section)

===Early history (1893–1945)===
Hibernian played its first match on [[The Meadows (park)|the Meadows]], on 25 December 1875.<ref name = "Lugton26">{{harvnb|Lugton|1999|p=26}}</ref> The club first moved to the [[Easter Road, Edinburgh|Easter Road]] area in 1880,<ref name = "Inglis450"/> to a ground known as [[Hibernian Park]].<ref name = "Lugton46">{{harvnb|Lugton|1999|p=46}}</ref> This location had the advantage of being equidistant between their two main sources of support, the Irish immigrant communities in the port of [[Leith]] and the [[Old Town, Edinburgh|Old Town]] of Edinburgh.<ref name = "Lugton45">{{harvnb|Lugton|1999|p=45}}</ref> When Hibs suffered financial difficulties in the early 1890s, the lease on Hibernian Park expired and developers started building what would become Bothwell Street.<ref name = "Inglis450">{{harvnb|Inglis|1996|p=450}}</ref> The club was reformed in 1892 and a lease on a piece of land called Drum Park was secured.<ref name = "Lugton199">{{harvnb|Lugton|1999|p=199}}</ref> The site had restricted access from Easter Road, a pronounced slope and was in close proximity to Bank Park, the home of [[Leith Athletic F.C.|Leith Athletic]].<ref name = "Lugton199"/><ref name = "time up for slope">{{cite news |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/time-up-for-slope-graced-by-the-best-with-easter-road-pitch-due-to-be-levelled-lawrie-reilly-recalls-when-hibs-loved-playing-down-the-hill-1.238564 |title=Time up for slope graced by the best With Easter Road pitch due to be levelled, Lawrie Reilly recalls when Hibs loved playing down the hill |first=Rob |last=Robertson |newspaper=The Herald |publisher=Herald & Times Group |date=26 April 2000 |access-date=1 January 2014}}</ref> There was a sense of continuity from the previous ground, however, and the supporters were keen to get started again.<ref name = "Lugton199"/> The first match at Easter Road was played on 4 February 1893, a friendly against [[Clyde F.C.|Clyde]].<ref name = "Lugton205">{{harvnb|Lugton|1999|p=205}}</ref>

[[File:Easter Road old.jpg|thumb|right|Easter Road in the 1950s.]]
Easter Road staged its first [[Scottish Football League|Scottish League]] match when Hibs joined the league in [[1893–94 in Scottish football|1893]].<ref name = "Lugton218">{{harvnb|Lugton|1999|p=218}}</ref> Hibs were only renting Easter Road, which Edinburgh city planners had designated for future development.<ref name = "Inglis340">{{harvnb|Inglis|1987|p=340}}</ref> This meant the club were unwilling to develop the ground and looked for alternatives.<ref name = "Inglis340"/> Hibs considered relocating to [[Aberdeen]] in 1902,<ref name = "Inglis450"/> a year before [[Aberdeen F.C.|Aberdeen FC]] was formed by a merger of three local clubs.<ref name = "time up for slope"/> In 1909, work began on a potential new ground in the [[Piershill]] area of Edinburgh, but the [[North British Railway]] company won a court order allowing them to build a railway line over the ground.<ref name = "Inglis450"/><ref name = "time up for slope"/> No line was ever built, but Hibs' interest in moving to the site was thwarted.<ref name = "Inglis450"/> The long-term future of Easter Road was only secured in 1922, when the club agreed a 25-year lease on the ground.<ref name = "Inglis450"/><ref name = "Inglis340"/> Two years later, three banks of terraces were raised, while a main stand seating 4,480 people was built on the west side of the ground.<ref name = "Inglis450"/> The redeveloped stadium had a capacity of 45,000.<ref name = "Inglis340"/> The pitch was also moved 40 yards to the east, providing space for the main stand.<ref name = "time up for slope"/> The slope was reduced to approximately 6 feet as part of this work.<ref name = "time up for slope"/>