Fantastic Events at Hampden Park Stadium
Situated in Glasgow, Hampden Park is Scotland’s National Stadium. Primarily used as a football stadium, Hampden is home to the Scottish national football team and the Queen’s Park Football Club. The stadium also serves as a venue for music concerts and other major sporting events.
The original concept for Hampden can be traced back to 9 July 1867, when a group of men got together to discuss the possibility of starting a football team. The result of this meeting was the establishment of the Queen’s Park F.C. which went on to become one of the founding members of the English Football Association and its Scottish equivalent. In 1903, spurred on by its success, the Queen’s Park Football Club’s general committee bought 33 acres of land on the southern side of Glasgow and constructed the world’s largest, most technically advanced stadium, Hampden Park.
Hampden was almost immediately adopted as the National Stadium of Scotland, and with its capacity to accommodate crowds of up to 150,000 became a popular venue for national and international football tournaments. To meet the exacting safety standards put into place for stadiums hosting large crowds of spectators, starting in 1990 Hampden underwent a major restructuring and renovation project. Currently, Hampden’s spectator capacity is 52,000 – a number which is considered to be more practical in terms of crowd control and safety – and has been awarded UEFA Five Star status.
Visitors to Hampdem can enjoy the more than 2,500 exhibits displayed in the 14 galleries of the Scottish Football Museum. The Scottish Football Hall of Fame pays tribute to legendary Scottish football players as well as the men and women behind the scenes, who have dedicated their lives to the promotion of this popular sport. A tour of Hampden allows visitors to see the stadium from the viewpoint of players on match day. The tour takes visitors along the underground roadway, into team changing rooms and the players’ warm up area, as well as down the tunnel leading to the field where many celebrated football games have been played.
In addition to national tournaments taking place on a regular basis, from late 2008 into 2009 Hampden will be the venue for some of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, kicking off with Scotland v Norway on Saturday 11 October 2008. Music lovers can look forward to a concert by Neil Diamond on 5 June, with Bon Jovi taking to the stage on 21 June 2008. The stadium will be hosting the athletics events for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Hampden Park plays an important role in Scotland’s social and sporting calendar and is well worth a visit when you are next in Glasgow.