Time to save cash and ditch Hampden

AS MURRAYFIELD prepares to hum and sway to the Six Nations, thoughts inevitably turn to whether the home of Scottish rugby will — along with more traditional ‘soccer’ venues — inherit a host of national football team fixtures from Hampden. Maybe not the future equivalent of those big UEFA Nations League ties against Israel and Albania, obviously. But the prospect of 67,000 Tartan Army fans — give or take a few visiting supporters — cramming the place out for major World Cup qualifiers remains a viable option. Because, while Glasgow City Council’s recent attempt to ‘save’ Hampden for the nation may earn points for chutzpah, it is doomed to fail on grounds of practicality. Launching a delaying action last week, they let it be known that public money might be available to fix up a stadium already rebuilt (on the cheap) and given a makeover courtesy of our pounds and pence. Good luck getting the council tax payers to back that idea, folks. Even before we start looking at areas outside sport where the money might be better invested, simply consider the reaction among grassroots football clubs. All over Scotland, Glasgow included, we have a shortage of good pitches and even basic indoor facilities. And you want to throw a couple of million at a stadium that never felt right from the first refit, effectively putting more lipstick on a pig of a compromise, because it’s important for the Second City of the Empire to have a third 50,000-plus seat stadium? To be filled on high days and holidays only? Ah, so that’s what happened to the magic money tree. You’ve been sitting on it all along. While it won’t be top of the agenda at tomorrow’s SFA board meeting, the decision makers will — sooner or later — have to make a call on this issue. Another five-year delay on the inevitable seems like a waste of time. Oh, and money. Never forget about the money.