Could Tartan Army ride to the rescue of first Hampden?

ALLOWING the world’s first purposebuilt football stadium to be buried under a block of flats would be an act of unforgivable cultural vandalism. It can’t be allowed to happen. This afternoon 50,000 Scotland fans converge on the National Stadium for a World Cup qualifier against Israel. Some will walk from Glasgow city centre past Hampden Bowling Club on the way. And few will have any real idea of the site’s historic significance. In 1873 the concept of terraced slopes, a changing pavilion, baths for the players, turnstiles and season books for Queen’s Park fans was revolutionary. It set the template for every football ground built since. And maps uncovered in 2017 prove beyond doubt that the ground-breaking arena on the site of what’s now a struggling bowling club was the first Hampden Park. An impressive 100 foot wall mural commemorating Scotland’s 5-1 win over England in 1882 stands as a reminder of what once stood there. But the historic edifice on which Ashley Rawson’s mural is painted is now in grave danger. Padlocked and crumbling, the pavilion roof which provided shelter for the Scotch Professors is now leaking, ridden with asbestos and covered in a green tarpaulin. At an AGM in the nearby Queen’s Park Bowling Club tomorrow, the current committee will stand down. Unless a new committee agree to take on the onerous task of raising £150,000 for renovations, the old place is toast and could fall into the hands of opportunistic developers. By rights it should be a world heritage site or a listed building. It should be a museum telling the story of Andrew Watson, Charles Campbell and the men who invented the modern passing game as we know it. A sympathetic SFA should step in but have enough on their plate rebuilding the current Hampden. Lord Willie Haughey, meanwhile, is committed to over-seeing the rebirth of Queen’s Park. Sir Tom Hunter or James Anderson might feel inclined to lend a hand. Realistically, however, there is only one group of philanthropists who can club together to save the first Hampden — and they will troop in to the National Stadium in their thousands later today. Scottish football has a history like no other. If a tenner in a bucket is what it takes to save the first Hampden from the bulldozers, then I’m in. Let’s hope the Tartan Army feel the same.