WE’LL BRING IN AN EXTRA £40M
SRU pledge to SFA if they quit Hampden
SRU chief Dominic McKay insists moving to Murrayfield could see the SFA make up to £40million in extra cash to be pumped back into Scottish football.
That’s how much he reckons could be made with just five sellout games a season over the period of the proposed 20-year deal to move the home of football
DOMINIC McKAY knows Murrayfield can never replace Hampden’s history and tradition after more than a century as the home of Scottish football.
But the SRU chief says it can provide an unrivalled matchday experience for future generations and ensure Scottish football fans aren’t taken for granted.
For too long McKay believes punters have been expected to roll up at major sporting events regardless of what is being served up on the pitch.
And while he knows the action on the park is paramount he insists there is so much more involved in the day out, especially for youngsters.
At the SRU they have looked across the Atlantic at how American sports market their major events and it has helped sell out Murrayfield.
And McKay is convinced the team at Murrayfield could market Scottish football in a way that will sell out the Edinburgh ground if they win the battle with Hampden to stage national team fixtures and domestic cup games.
The 67,000-seater stadium in the capital is seen as a huge advantage as the SFA prepare to announce their decision a week today but with the national team struggling many wonder if the extra 17,000 seats are needed.
McKay though is sure the SFA can benefit from the kind of marketing that sees the SRU continually sell out Six Nations and Autumn Test fixtures.
As the race reaches its final stage, he said: “Of course we can’t replicate 100 years of history but we can make sure the experience going forward is the best it can be for fans.
“We are respectful to the heritage and it has to feel like home. It can’t feel simply like a tenancy arrangement. We have to make sure BT Murrayfield feels like a home for football.
“There are so many different distractions for young people, and it’s very expensive, that you need to offer them something special and it needs to be broader than the 90 minutes.
“I love my football but for a long time, and the same with rugby, we are guilty of assuming you put games on and people turn up.
“We are a northern hemisphere nation and it rains a lot and we sometimes expect people to turn up and watch a football match and don’t look after them too well.
“Perhaps for a long time as sport in Scotland we haven’t focused enough on the event. We’ve changed our philosophy in rugby over the last few years and it’s had a really positive effect.
“We look to North American sport to pinch ideas from because
they respect the fact they must go out their way to look after fans. I was told the story that, if you don’t have a successful team on the pitch, people won’t turn out. But it’s simply not true.
“If you market successfully and give people a good reason to come to the event, they will come. We’re selling out games we would never have sold out in the past.
“We would bring our marketing and commercial muscle, sharing of partners and investment. A number of our debenture holders, season-ticket holders or casual fans are football fans as well.
“A lot of people come from Aberdeen, Glasgow, the Borders or Oban to watch Scotland games. A lot of Scotland football fans are also Scotland rugby supporters and for a Scotland international football game it would be an unbelievable backdrop that would create an atmosphere second to none.
“It’s an enormous decision and we respect how big a decision it is for everyone but I believe we’ve put together an outstanding bid and not from a rugby perspective but from a football perspective.”
McKay is confident they could find a solution to any fixture clashes but admitted rugby, which works to a 20-year calendar, would take priority.
He insists Police Scotland are also comfortable with the prospect of Old Firm fans making the journey from west to east for cup games. And McKay says the feedback from football fans and clubs has been positive with Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen among the clubs to have played at Murrayfield in recent years.
He has also vowed the SRU will invest in the stadium regardless of the outcome of next week’s decision as they look to keep improving.
McKay said: “We have committed as part of the bid process to significantly invest in the stadium which we would be doing anyway.
“We’ve got big ambitions for that stadium. When we go to Cardiff, London or Ireland we can see how stadiums are developed and we want to do the same whether it’s for media, broadcasters, fans or hospitality.
“We’ll invest every year in Murrayfield and football would be the beneficiary of that in many respects. We’ve been blown away by the warmth and there’s no doubt it’s helped having Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibs in town to play games.
“We’ve hosted major football matches before and the feedback from players and coaches about our surface has been great.
“We had Celtic play their Champions League qualifiers when the Commonwealth Games took over Celtic Park in 2014. We had the biggest travelling Rangers support – 15 or 16,000 – for the Hearts game.
“We will learn from Celtic and Rangers about how they want to set it up. But the Rangers board were very positive about their experience and the way we looked after their support.
“They were kidding me on that we looked after their support better than they got looked after at football grounds.
“Police Scotland confirmed, regardless of what decision is taken, they will comfortably manage the situation.”