SRU eye Old Firm cup ties at Murrayfield
THE SRU want Old Firm cup games staged at Murrayfield if they win a slice of the SFA lease — promising ‘a very special atmosphere’ at the home of Scottish rugby. And chief operating officer Dominic McKay says the recent Hearts-Rangers game at Scotland’s biggest stadium demonstrated an ability to cope with segregation and a huge visiting support. The SFA are currently weighing up the prospect of leaving Hampden when the current rental agreement
expires in 2020. Having been invited to pitch for games, much of the SRU focus had been on Scotland football internationals.
But Scottish Cup and League Cup semi-finals and finals could also be staged at Murrayfield, according to McKay, who welcomed the idea of Celtic and Rangers playing in front of over 67,000 fans — a record since the introduction of all-seater stadia.
‘It would create a very special atmosphere — and an atmosphere I think, which, in a neutral city could be quite interesting, quite positive,’ said McKay.
‘We had the largest travelling Rangers support since Manchester (the 2008 UEFA Cup Final) just a couple of weeks ago when Hearts played. There were 15,000 Rangers supporters in here.
‘We’ve got an outstanding relationship with Edinburgh City Council and with the police in Scotland but, of course, we’d learn from the experience at Hampden.
‘We’d learn from the experience at Celtic Park or Ibrox and make sure we put on the world-class event we always do.’
Explaining that the large space around the stadium could be used to create separate fan zones, McKay said segregation — a foreign concept in rugby — wouldn’t be a problem.
‘We’ve spent a lot of time, as part of our big preparation, highlighting how we would manage those big football internationals — but also those big football cup finals that might or might not come out of Hampden,’ he said.
‘It’s an outstanding stadium that lends itself, in many respects, to managing large volumes of crowds that require to be segregated.
‘We’re unique in some respects in world rugby to have this space for us to play with.
‘I’m not sure about all the football grounds but we’ve got a lot of space at the back here.’
McKay said Saturday’s near sell-out of Scotland v Samoa, which had only a handful of single tickets left at kick-off, should also persuade football folk to drop their objection to any SFA money going to rugby.
Insisting the SRU ‘marketing muscle’ can grow crowds for even ‘smaller games’, he said that would mean ‘more money’ reinvested back into grass roots sport.
‘No doubt with football coming here, the largest stadium in Scotland, selling it out, you’re going to drive a lot of value that can go back into football clubs all across the length and breadth of Scotland,’ added McKay.
‘That’s something we’re proud about from rugby but, if we can offer that for football, that’s fantastic for sport in this country.’