Hampden Park
Hampden Park is the Scottish national stadium, venue of the Scottish Cup final, and home to the oldest club in Scotland, Queens Park FC. The stadium has a capacity of 52,000 seats.
In the 1880s and 1890s Queens Park regularly drew home crowds of 10,000, and plans were made for the construction of a new stadium. This new stadium, Hampden Park, opened on the 31st of October 1903. The first match played at the stadium ended in Queens Park beating Celtic 1-0.
In its early days the stadium counted as the largest in the world and several attendance records were broken. The vast bowl-shaped stadium, consisting mainly of terraces, recorded its highest attendance in 1937 when 149,415 fans visited the international between Scotland and England. A week later the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Aberdeen drew an almost similar crowd.
The official capacity of the stadium at that time amounted to 183,724, however this was limited to about 150,000 during actual matches.
In 1960 the stadium hosted the European Cup final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt (7-3), which 130,000 people attended. Two years later the stadium hosted the first ever Cup Winners’ Cup final between Atlético Madrid and Fiorentina (1-1), which it repeated in 1966 (Borussia Dortmund vs Liverpool).
In 1976 the stadium would host another European Cup final, between FC Bayern and Saint-Étienne (1-0), however by then the stadium had already severely aged and lacked the facilities of the modern arenas of that time.
By the 1980s the capacity of the stadium had fallen to below 80,000, and serious questions were raised whether Hampden Park had a viable future. In the end was decided in favour of a grand renovation of the stadium, which started in 1991 and was completed in 1999. The Scottish Cup Final of that year was the first match played at the new 52,000-all-seater stadium.
In 2002 the stadium hosted once more the Champions League final, this time Real Madrid beating Bayer Leverkusen (2-1). In 2007 the stadium furthermore hosted the UEFA Cup final between Sevilla and Espanyol (2-2).
Getting there
Hampden Park lies in the south of Glasgow, almost 3 miles from Glasgow’s city centre.
The stadium can be reached by car from the M74 motorway which comes in from the east and connects with the M8 further west. Take exit 1A Polmadie/Rutherglen and turn south onto Polmadie Road. After a few hundred yards turn right following Polmadie Road until the crossing with Aikenhead Road (A728). Turn left onto Aikenhead Road and follow south until the stadium appears on your right hand side.
The stadium lies a 10-minute walk away from Mount Florida and King’s Park rail stations. Take the train from Glasgow Central for the 10-minute journey (5 minutes more to King’s Park).
Alternatively one can take bus 31 from Trongate, or 75 from Ingram Street, both in Glasgow’s city centre. The journey takes 15 to 20 minutes. From other locations other bus services are available.
Address: Hampden Park, Glasgow, G44 4QG
Tickets
Tickets for Queens Park FC matches can be bought at the gate and cost £12.00.
Ticket sales for Scotland matches go via the Scottish FA.
Stadium tours
Hampden Park offers the Hampden Experience, which is a combination of the Scottish Football Museum, a stadium tour, and the Hall of Fame.
Stadium tours run seven days a week at 11:00 am, 12:30 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:30 pm. Between November and March the last tour leaves half an hour earlier. The Football Museum is opened from 10:00 am (11:00 am on Sundays) until 5:00 pm. Opening times can change subject to events.
The museum costs £6.00 as does the tour. A combined ticket costs £9.00. Tickets can be booked online.
For more information call +44 (0)141 616 6139 or email info@scottishfootballmuseum.org.uk.
Relevant Internet links:
Queensparkfc.co.uk – Official website of Queens Park FC.
Hampdenpark.co.uk – Official website of Hampden Park.
SeeGlasgow.com – Official guide to metropolitan Glasgow.
Firstgroup.com – Information about bus timetables and fares.
Nationalrail.co.uk – Check train times and fares.
