Hampden Park has been a pretty happy hunting ground for Celtic in the past few years, picking up several trophies, the latest being the 2019/20 Scottish Cup last December.

Despite the many memories held within the Scotland National Team Stadium in previous years for Hoops fans, one complaint that most Scottish football fans have had is the experience in the stand at Hampden.

However, as reported by Sun Sport, that experience could be set to change. SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell has confirmed that revamping the stadium is being looked to as the UK bids for the 2030 World Cup.

With the idea currently being discussed with architects and designers, Maxwell confirmed that nothing is off the table at this stage as to what might be done to revamp the arena.

He said: “Nothing is off the table, genuinely.

“I think Hampden gets a bit of a bad reputation.

“I think it’s a narrative that people continue, and I don’t believe anyone really thinks that.

“Anyone who’s been here for a full cup final or a Scotland-England game will tell you how good it is when the stadium is full.

“That’s not to say we don’t need to do work to it. Stadiums of an age need a bit of TLC, and it may be that Hampden needs a bit more than that.

“But that’s part of the stadium strategy — working out what we’re doing, how much it’s going to cost, as well as how we’re going to fund it.

“We’re going through the process. There are always options and, if you speak to any architect, they will blow you away with what can be done.

“But they don’t really care about costs.

“We’ll need to decide on it fairly soon because it will be a significant investment.

“Does it need to be done in time for the 2030 bid? That would be the link, yes.

“It makes sense that if we’re going to do anything, to do it when we’re showcasing the stadium on the world stage.”

To many supporters, Hampden has needed this work for a long time, despite being a fairly modern stadium in terms of when it was rebuilt.

During the Euros, it was also pretty clear that the ground was far behind many others seen on the international stage.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Crazy that the SFA decided in the late 90s that a 54000 capacity for our National Stadium was enough.

    Lost millions in revenue as a result

    Not nearly enough for a Cup Final involving either Celtic or Sevco and could prob sell out twice that amount if both make the final.

    Incompetence reigns at the SFA

  2. Have never ever liked being at Hampden for cup games internationals or even gigs. For football, there is something about the shape of the stands and the roof that (to my mind anyway) deadens the acoustics. Plus, it was designed as a multi-purpose venue. That’s crucial for bringing in the £££s but for fans, you want to be closer. Will they make it a football only venue? Would love that but I doubt it.
    Finally, maybe controversially, I think it needs a retractable roof. Its 2021, amd we’ve seen some very, very wet events here. A roof would make sense, even if not for football, then for anything else.

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