The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
New Hampden roar might still not be in with a shout
A revamped Hampden might still struggle to match the noise levels at Celtic Park and Ibrox, former Celtic defender Andreas Hinkel has warned.
Hinkel is now working with the reserve side at Stuttgart, whose Mercedes-Benz Arena is set to be used as a template by the Scottish Football Association as they look to bring the national stadium up to scratch.
The Bundesliga giants and their local administration partners splashed out £56.5 million in 2011 as they removed the ground’s athletics track and brought the stands behind the goals closer to the pitch.
SFA bosses now face a major fundraising project as they look to carry out a similar overhaul, but Hinkel says the costly rebuild could yet leave Hampden as Glasgow’s third nosiest stadium.
While he has been impressed by the work carried out on Stuttgart’s home patch, he admits it still does not rival Celtic’s Parkhead base or Old Firm rivals Rangers’ Ibrox in the sound stakes.
He said: “A lot of money was invested in the Stuttgart ground before the World Cup in 2006 – but they still had the track. Then five years after the World Cup they finally decided to rebuild the stands behind the goals and transform it into a football-only stadium.
“Since then, everyone is happy. The supporters love it and every game is nearly full. The average is something like 55,000 and that is more than before the work was carried out.
“The fans are closer to the pitch, especially behind the goals. The pitch was also lowered a few metres and the two stands along the sidelines had extra rows added at the front.
“The atmosphere is now much better – although it’s not comparable to stadiums like Celtic Park or Ibrox because it’s still a little bit far away from the pitch. But behind the goals the view is definitely much better.”
Hinkel has sweet memories of Hampden but he can understand why the Tartan Army feels it is time for it to be renovated.
“I have good recollections of Hampden,” he said. “My first visit was with the Germany team for a qualifier with Scotland in 2003. I was just a young player, maybe only 20, so I didn’t get off the bench. But my next one was in 2007 with Seville when we won the Uefa Cup against Espanyol, which was a great night.
“Then I joined Celtic and played for the first time with them against Dundee United in the League Cup semi-final. We went on to beat Rangers in the final after extra time.
“There was also the Scottish Cup game with Ross County where we lost in the semi-final. But that was only one bad game. The positive memories outweigh it.
“But I always enjoyed the atmosphere there. It depends on the supporters of course but my last trip to Hampden was as a visitor in 2015 when Germany played Scotland for the Euro qualifiers and it was a great atmosphere. But of course if the supporters are closer to the game the atmosphere will always be more intense.”
Hibs manager Neil Lennon, meanwhile, has welcomed the decision to keep Hampden, but insists the “soulless” ground is in desperate need of a revamp to rediscover its roar.
Lennon has himself enjoyed many memorable days out at Hampden as both a Celtic player and manager, having won cups there a total of eight times. But he says the ground must be upgraded.
He said: “The acoustics and the logistics of the stadium are not great for football. We had the Champions League final there in 2002 and that was a great occasion but that was basically a one-off.
“The supporters are too far away from the pitch. They’re talking about revamping it and it badly needs it because sometimes it can be a bit soulless. It’s great that the SFA have done their bit and it’s going to be there as the traditional home but it definitely needs rejigged just to get the roar back.”