NEW BALL GAME
SRU chiefs hope ‘mini-Murrayfield’ stadium project will boost ambitious bid to replace Hampden as the home of Scottish football
SCOTTISH Rugby have unveiled ambitious plans for a new stadium in the shadow of BT Murrayfield that they hope will boost their bid to make Edinburgh the new home of Scottish football.
Built primarily as the permanent venue for club side Edinburgh Rugby, the SRU’s chief operating officer Dominic McKay believes it would also enhance the matchday experience for supporters if Murrayfield was to replace Hampden as the host ground for international football matches.
He hopes the 7,800-capacity facility could host Under-21s games, women’s football, youth cup finals and festival-of-football events immediately before full Scotland A-squad games are held in the main 67,144-capacity stadium.
It is also being proposed that the ‘mini-Murrayfield’ — which is set to open in time for the 2019-20 season — could become home to capital football teams Edinburgh City or Spartans.
A long-awaited decision on the future of Hampden is due by August or September, with the SFA torn between remaining at the spiritual home of Scottish football in Glasgow or taking the national team and cup finals along the M8 to Murrayfield.
‘We’ve said consistently that we have a pretty special venue here at BT Murrayfield,’ said the SRU’s McKay at yesterday’s announcement.
‘We often talk about the venue as being world class from a size and spectator-engagement point of view, but we have ambition for the whole site.
‘One element of that is building a purpose-built venue for Edinburgh Rugby which has the potential benefit of being used by other sports — mainly football — on many days of the year because it will have a FIFA-standard 4G surface.
‘So whether it’s hosting youth internationals, women’s games, or youth cup finals, we’d like to make sure the new venue complements the main BT Murrayfield venue in any way that can help Scottish football — and also football clubs in the city that want access to another venue.
‘The new venue could also do other things on an international football matchday.
‘Whether that’s adding to the current fanzone here, which we’ve had a great experience with, or an opportunity for curtain-raiser games featuring footballing legends — it’s for the marketing men to dream up those ideas.
‘But having a facility that is flexible and can be used by football is something we were keen to have factored into our plans.
‘We’ve established with the SFA we want to be good supporters of sport.
‘As much as it’s about the Scotland national football team — and we’d be very proud to host the Scotland national team here — we want to have a big conversation about sports like football and rugby collaborating for the betterment of Scotland as a whole.’
An offer has already been made by the SFA to buy Hampden from owners Queen’s Park.
If the amateur club accept, hopes that the SFA remain at the national stadium will increase.
Queen’s regard the current bid as ‘derisory’ but, if they refuse, they will be left to repay £16m in loans from debenture holders and central government funding which could force the club into administration.
New SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell — a former Queen’s Park player — insisted at his unveiling last month that sentiment can’t be allowed to cloud harsh business realities.
That stance left McKay optimistic about Scottish Rugby’s chances of hosting international football from 2020.
‘We recognise there’s a formal process to follow but we were pleased to hear those comments from Ian Maxwell,’ he said.
‘The SFA have been great at running a very professional process. We would not be engaged if we did not feel there was a genuine process taking place and Ian’s comments reiterate that.’
McKay has not spoken with Maxwell since he succeeded Stewart Regan but believes the new SFA chief executive was already impressed by what BT Murrayfield has to offer.
Further talks will take place between both parties to flesh out the details of yesterday’s stadium announcement.
‘We hosted Ian along with some of his SFA colleagues for our rugby international against France (in February),’ said McKay.
‘He got to see the national team playing in a full stadium with all the fans around the stadium, during the Six Nations.
‘I get the impression he and his colleagues were really pleased and pleasantly surprised.
‘I think they were taken aback by the number of supporters that we have in and around the ground well before the match.
‘We regularly have around 25,000 supporters in and around our facilities an hour and a half before kick-off, having a good time.
‘We want to give the fans what they want, which is a great day out, a great experience.
‘People are shelling out a lot of hard cash to come and watch sport, so if you can create extra content and experiences before kick-off you can add value to the event.
‘We have a responsibility as stadium owners and operators to make sure we look after the fans as best we possibly can.
‘And we think this new stadium plan at the BT Murrayfield campus adds a lot of value to our bid to host football.’
Venue could even be used for Under-21s internationals