Caledonian Thistle started 1994–95 with a game against Arbroath on 13 August 1994, which ended in a 5–2 win at Telford Street Park, the former home ground of Caledonian. Alan Hercher scored Caledonian Thistle's first league goal, and went on to complete a hat-trick. The club eventually finished sixth in the Third Division, and followed this up with a third-place finish in 1995–96. Before the start of the 1996–97 season the club changed its name to Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. Part of the application to join the Scottish League was a commitment to move to a new stadium and, a year later than originally planned, Caley moved to the newly built Caledonian Park in November 1996. With a new name and new stadium, the club finished 1996–97 as Third Division champions, earning promotion to the Second Division. The club spent two seasons in the Second Division. After a closely fought campaign, they finished runners-up to Livingston in Season 1998–99, securing promotion to the First Division.