Fix Hampden - don’t ditch it
How to solve a problem like Hampden Park.
D-day for Scotland’s national football stadium is set for one week today, when the SFA will view presentations from Hampden Park Limited and the Scottish Rugby Union as the two tussle to for the nation’s glamour cup ties and international matches.
The debate has been rumbling on for years now. Hampden has been the spiritual home of Scottish football for more than a century, but fans constantly berate the lack of atmosphere when the stadium is half empty - as it often is for international friendlies and the majority of cup ties.
They also chastise the lack of additional transport to Mount Florida which leaves them queuing for hours to get in and back to the city.
While Hampden is often held up as an example of a stadium with awful views, a poor atmosphere and woeful transport links, fans of another sport with a slightly differently shaped ball hold their national stadium up to the light and beam with pride.
Murrayfield is without doubt the better stadium in its provision for fans. Trains, trams and buses all make it easily accessible from the city centre.
Not to mention it’s walkable for those who don’t mind a reasonable stroll.
The stands are closer to the pitch and the fan zones surrounding the stadium aren’t just a token burger van and a picture opportunity with the mascot.the fan zones add to the experience itself, and the SRU understand that and play to it brilliantly.
As the lights go out at night-time kick-offs and flamethrowers and fireworks set pulses racing during daytime affairs, the experience makes the atmosphere electric.
Contrast that to Hampden and it’s chalk and cheese.the build-up before a Scotland international match normally involves a mad scramble of squeezing onto a jam-packed train, queuing outside worrying about getting in before kick-off before missing the anthem being crooned by an over the hill celebrity singer.
I honestly believe Scottish football belongs at Hampden Park.when you look at the history of the games that have been played there, and the atmosphere that can be created when the stands are full, nowhere does sport better in Scotland than there.
The SFA should stand by Hampden, rather than sell it off to another sport’s paradise.
What the SFA needs to do is learn the lessons from Murrayfield – what is done there and why it works – and replicate it.
And while Glasgow Council champion the introduction of safe standing in the stands behind the goals, whether you are sitting or standing in thewest and East stands – the main problem remains that you are a country mile from the action on the pitch.
Redevelop and bring those stands in, just as Stuttgart did in Germany, and the fans will finally be able to see what’s happening in the far corner of the pitch.
Learn from the SRU and improve the matchday experience. Make coming to Hampden more than just about the 90 minutes of action on the pitch.
The choice is simple. Stay at Hampden – but improve Hampden.