A stadium on the present site opened on 31 October 1903, with a capacity in excess of 100,000. This was increased between 1927 and 1937, reaching a peak of 150,000. The record attendance of 149,415, for Scotland vEngland in 1937, is the European record for an international football match. Tighter safety regulations meant that the capacity was reduced to 81,000 in 1977. The stadium has been fully renovated since then, with the most recent significant work being completed in 1999. Ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Hampden Park underwent modifications to the stadium to include a running track and other features required for hosting the games.[15]
The club moved to the second Hampden Park, 150 yards from the original, because theCathcart District Railway planneda new line through the site of the ground's western terrace.[18][19] Alawn bowling club at the junction of Queen's Drive and Cathcart Road marks the site of the first Hampden.[17][20] The second Hampden Park opened in October 1884.[17][18] It became a regular home to theScottish Cup Final, butCeltic Park shared some of the big matches including the Scotland v Englandfixture in 1894.[17]
In the late 1890s, Queen's Park requested more land for development of the second Hampden Park.[18][16] This was refused by the landlords, which led to the club seeking a new site.[18][16] Henry Erskine Gordon agreed to sell 12 acres of land off Somerville Drive to Queen's Park in November 1899.[21][22]James Miller designed twin grandstands along the south side of the ground[22] with a pavilion wedged in between.[17][23] The natural slopes were shaped to form banks of terracing, designed byArchibald Leitch.[17] Construction of the new ground took over three years to complete; during the process, adisaster occurred atIbrox in which part of the wooden terraces collapsed.[22] In response, the terraces at Hampden were firmly set in the earthwork and innovative techniques were used to control spectators.[22]
Third Lanark A.C. took over the second Hampden Park in 1903 and renamed itCathkin Park after theirprevious ground of the same name.[17] The club rebuilt the ground from scratch due to a failure to agree a fee for the whole stadium which resulted in Queen's Park removing the pavilion and other fittings (which they owned, while the ground itself was leased).[24][25] During the first season following the move (1903–04, in which they finished as champions), Third Lanark played several of their home matches at the new Hampden while work was carried out on Cathkin Park.[16][21] Third Lanark went out of business in 1967 and Cathkin Park is now a public park with much of the original terracing still evident.[17][16]
In the stadium's first match on 31 October 1903 Queen's Park defeatedCeltic 1–0 in theScottish Football League,[17][19][21][26][27] having played eight of their first nine league matches away from home and the other at the old Cathkin Park[28] awaiting its opening.[29] The firstScottish Cup Final played at the ground was anOld Firm match in1904, attracting a record Scottish crowd of 64,672.[26] The first Scotland v England match at the ground was played in April 1906 with 102,741 people in attendance, which established Hampden as the primary home of the Scotland team.[30] Hampden Park was the biggest stadium in the world from the time of its opening until it was surpassed by theMaracanã in 1950.[19] Along with Celtic Park and Ibrox, the city of Glasgow possessed the three largest football stadia in the world at the time Hampden opened.[17]
Attendances continued to increase during the remainder of the 1900s, as 121,452 saw the 1908 Scotland v England match.[30] The twoOld Firm matches played for the1909 Scottish Cup Final attracted a total of 131,000.[30] After the second match there was a riot because there was confusion over what would happen next when the second match also ended in a draw.[31] The fans believed that the replay would be played to a conclusion and demanded that a period ofextra time be played.[31] The Scottish Cup trophy was withheld as Hampden was not in a fit condition to host a second replay.[32] In response to the riot, theScottish Football Association decided to stop using Hampden as the Scottish Cup Final venue.[33]
Queen's Park conducted extensive ground improvements after the 1909 riot.[33] A new world record of 127,307 were in attendance to see Scotland play England in 1912.[34] A fire in 1914 destroyed the pavilion, which was replaced by a four-storey structure with apress box on the roof.[17] The Scottish Cup Final returned to Hampden in 1920, when a large crowd of 95,000 sawKilmarnock win the cup againstAlbion Rovers.[35] Record crowds attended the 1925 Scottish Cup Final, a 5–0 win for Celtic againstRangers,[36] and the 1927 Scotland v England match, England's first win in the stadium.[37] Hampden became thede facto sole venue of the Scottish Cup Final after 1925[17] and Queen's Park purchased more land in 1923 to bring the total to 33 acres.[17] 25,000 places were added to the terraces and rigid crush barriers were installed in 1927.[17]
World record crowds attended Scotland matches against England in 1931 and 1933.[38] In 1933,Austria, who had beaten Scotland 5–0 inVienna in 1931, became the first foreign national side to visit Hampden Park.[38] After intervention from theGlasgow Corporation in 1935 regarding public order and safety of the huge, ever-increasing crowds attending matches in the city, Queen's Park and Hampden defeated a rival bid from Rangers and Ibrox – which itself already had a capacity well over 100,000 – to enlarge the ground at the expense of the club, in exchange for becoming the official venue for the Scotland v England fixture and the Cup Final (and collect a designated portion of gate receipts from these matches), while the city would provide improvements in transport provision and other infrastructure to support the regular influx of spectators to the venue.[39] This work increased the official theoretical capacity of the ground to 183,388 in 1937, but the SFA were only allowed to issue 150,000 tickets for games.[40] The 1937 Scotland v England match had an official attendance of 149,415, but at least 20,000 more people entered the ground without tickets.[40][41] A week later the1937 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic andAberdeen drew an official crowd of 147,365, with 20,000 more people locked outside;[40] this stood as a world record for a club match until 1963.[39] The 1938 and 1939 cup finals were contested by provincial sides and did not test the new capacity, but the England match of 1939 attracted 149,269.[39]
During theSecond World War, matches at heavily attended grounds were initially prohibited due to the fear of aerial bombing by theLuftwaffe.[42] Scottish national league and cup competitions were suspended for the duration of the war, but regional league and cup competitions were established in their place.[42] Attendance was initially restricted to 50 percent of capacity; therefore, when 75,000 attended a wartime cup final in May 1940, it was the maximum permitted.[43] The Parashots, a forerunner of theHome Guard, set up a command post atLesser Hampden in 1940.[43] A government official presented an order demanding that both the Hampden and Lesser Hampden pitches be ploughed and used to plant vegetables, but the Queen's Park committee chose to ignore the order and the government did not pursue it.[43] Wartime internationals were played at Hampden, and 91,000 saw Scotland beat England 5–4 on 18 April 1942.[43]
After the Second World War ended in 1945, Hampden started to host Scotland matches more frequently.[44] Before then, Hampden had only hosted 15 matches against England and one match each against Austria andCzechoslovakia.[45] During the post-war attendance boom, Hampden was the only stadium big enough to host the crowds who wanted to see the team.[44] Matches that would have ordinarily attracted a crowd of 40,000 were being attended by nearly 100,000.[46] A fire on 25 December 1945 destroyed the stadiumpress box and damaged offices.[44] The press box was replaced with a plainer two-storey structure that overhung the pitch.[47] The Hampden fixture list was also expanded by the new Scottish League Cup competition.[46] In 1947,Rangers defeatedAberdeen in thefirst League Cup Final,[46] a year after a 135,000 crowd watched the last edition of its wartime predecessor, theSouthern League Cup, played between the same teams.[48] The capacity of the ground was officially cut to 135,000 following theBurnden Park disaster inBolton in March 1946,[47] but before that reduction was confirmed, 139,468 watched the Scotland v EnglandVictory International on 13 April of that year.[39]
The re-entry of theHome Nations intoFIFA in 1947 was marked by a match between aGreat Britain and a Rest of Europe select on 10 May 1947.[49] Great Britain won 6–1 and 130,000 people attended.[49] Unusually, a league match betweenThird Lanark andHibernian was played immediately afterwards at Hampden becauseCathkin Park was undergoing repair work.[49] The firstFIFA World Cup qualification match played at Hampden was a 2–0 win for Scotland againstWales on 9 November 1949; this match was also part of the1950 British Home Championship.[50] The win appeared to guarantee Scotland qualification for the1950 FIFA World Cup because the top two finishers in the Championship were offered places in the tournament, but the SFA decreed that they would only send a team if they were British champions.[51] Scotland only needed a draw against England at Hampden to meet that condition but lost 1–0.[51][52][53]
TheCoronation Cup, a competition to mark theCoronation of Queen Elizabeth II, was held in Glasgow during May 1953.[54] Four major clubs from each of Scotland and England were invited, with theOld Firm clubs playing their matches at Hampden.[54]Celtic and Hibernian progressed to the final, and a crowd of 117,060 saw Celtic win 2–0.[55][56]
A fire was deliberately started in the south stand in October 1968, destroying offices, 1,400 seats and one of the team dressing rooms.[47][70] The fire caused the1968–69 Scottish League Cup Final to be postponed until April.[70] By 1970 Hampden was starting to age as a stadium.[59]Wembley had been revamped for the1966 World Cup, while other major stadia were being constructed for tournaments.[59] Public safety was emphasized after theIbrox disaster of January 1971, when 66 spectators were crushed to death.[71] A benefit match was played at Hampden, while the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 compelled stadium authorities to obtain licences from local officials, impose crowd segregation and restrict attendances.[72][73]Pittodrie andIbrox were converted intoall-seater stadiums, while Hampden's capacity was reduced to 81,000.[47][74]
Scotland secured qualification for the1974 FIFA World Cup at Hampden, with a 2–1 victory over Czechoslovakia.[75]Kenny Dalglish scored the winning goal against England in1976 bynutmeggingRay Clemence.[75] In 1977, Scotland again won against Czechoslovakia to move towards qualification for the1978 FIFA World Cup.[75] Scotland played a friendly match against world championsArgentina in 1979; the talented, 18-year-oldDiego Maradona scored a goal in a 3–1 win for the visitors.[69][76]
Exterior of Hampden's South Stand, which was opened in 1999
During the late 1970s, it became apparent that the facilities at Hampden were in need of renewal.[77][78] As an amateur club, Queen's Park could not possibly fund the works,[47] while Glasgow District Council withdrew funding and the UK Government decided not to fund it either.[77][78] Queen's Park considered selling Hampden,[47] but a public appeal and minor repair work kept the stadium open during the 1980s.[77] The riot after the1980 Scottish Cup Final prompted reforms, as alcohol was banned from football stadia in Scotland.[79][80]
The first phase of the redevelopment involved the demolition of the North Stand, the concreting of all terraces and the building of a block of turnstiles around the upper section of the East Terrace.[81] This work, begun in October 1981 and completed in 1986, reduced the capacity to 74,370 and cost £3 million.[81] A second phase had been planned to begin in 1988, but the release of theTaylor Report caused the plans to be redrawn and the proposed costs escalated to £25 million.[81] Scotland hosted the1989 FIFA Under-16 World Cup, with theScots contesting the final againstSaudi Arabia at Hampden.[82] In 1987, thesquare goalposts that had been used since the stadium opened were banned by FIFA.[63]
After the cancellation of the annual Scotland v England fixture in 1989, questions were raised as to whether Scottish football required a separate national stadium.[81] Rangers proposed Ibrox as an alternative venue, whileMurrayfield was about to be redeveloped without public funding.[78][81][83] None of these arguments impressed the National Stadium committee, which consisted of the SFA,Scottish Football League and Queen's Park.[81] The West Terrace was converted to seating in 1991 for only £700,000, but this left two terraces and therefore disqualified Hampden from hostingFIFA World Cup qualification matches.[81]
The UK Government eventually provided a grant of £3.5 million in 1992, which allowed work to begin on a £12 million project to convert Hampden into anall-seater stadium.[77][81][84] The last match played in front of the sloping terraces was the1992 Scottish League Cup Final.[82] Within a year, the east and north parts of the ground had been converted from terracing to seats, and the partially rebuilt Hampden was re-opened for afriendly match between Scotland andNetherlands on 23 March 1994.[81] It was then also used for the later stages of the1993–94 Scottish Cup competition.[85] As the capacity of the old South Stand had been limited to 4,500, the total capacity of Hampden had been reduced to approximately 37,000.[81] With Celtic Park also undergoing extensive redevelopment to become all-seater, Celtic spent the 1994–95 season groundsharing at Hampden, at a cost of £500,000 rent.[86]
The final stage of the renovation began in November 1997, with its £59 million cost funded by theNational Lottery.[78][60][87] There was a cost overrun[78] and a fraud squad investigated alleged financial irregularities.[88] The South Stand was replaced and the stadium was re-opened for the1999 Scottish Cup Final.[89] The ground now has a capacity of 51,866.[2] Queen's Park retained ownership of the ground, with the SFA holding a lease that ran until 2020.[90]
Hampden was temporarily converted into an athletics stadium for the2014 Commonwealth Games.[98][99] It hosted its last international game before the conversion work on 15 November 2013 and Queen's Park temporarily played their home games at theExcelsior Stadium inAirdrie.[100][101] Due to the works being carried out at theOlympic Stadium, the 2014London Grand Prix was renamed the Glasgow Grand Prix and hosted by Hampden.[102] The conversion works involved the removal of eight rows of seating, which reduced the capacity to 44,000.[4] Hampden was converted back into a football stadium after the Commonwealth Games.[103][104]
Interior of Hampden Park pitch, 2018
With their lease on Hampden due to expire in 2020, the SFA canvassed opinion from its member clubs about where Scotland games should be played.[105] In September 2018, the SFA announced an agreement to purchase Hampden from Queen's Park.[106] As part of the deal,Lesser Hampden was redeveloped and became the home stadium for Queen's Park.[106][107] As of August 2020, the SFA had taken ownership of Hampden and a new facility was under construction at Lesser Hampden.[108] Queen's Park played their last match at Hampden on 20 March 2021, as their lease expired at the end of that month.[109] Queen's Park moved back into Hampden for the 2023–24 season, having agreed a deal with the SFA to rent the stadium while allowing the Scotland national teams to use Lesser Hampden as a training pitch.[110]
In September 2014, Hampden was one of 13 venues chosen to host matches in theUEFA Euro 2020 tournament.[111] It held three group games and one round of sixteen match, with attendances restricted to 25% of its capacity due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[112][113][114][115][116]
Architects drew up plans in 2020 for a major redevelopment of Hampden, but this was contingent on a2030 World Cup bid that did not materialise.[117] The SFA instead entered a five-nation bid to host someUEFA Euro 2028 games at Hampden,[117] which was successful.[118] The SFA registered its interest in hosting a European club final at Hampden in either 2026 or 2027,[119] but was unsuccessful.[120]
The football match crowd at Hampden were renowned for creating theHampden Roar and trying to terrify opposing teams. The stadium's capacity exceeded 100,000 from the early 1900s until the 1980s and the Roar could be heard wheneverScotland scored an important goal.[78] After the renovation of the stadium and the reduced capacities, the roar has become more muted.[78]
The Hampden Roar was first noticed in a game againstEngland in 1929.[121] Scotland, who had played the second half with ten players due to an injury toAlex Jackson, equalised in the final minute with a goal fromAlec Cheyne direct from acorner kick.[121] The roar that followed the goal was so loud that Jackson, who was a mile away in theGlasgow Victoria Infirmary, could tell that Scotland had scored.[121]
The phrase Hampden Roar is also used asrhyming slang;[78] People fromGlasgow may ask "What's the Hampden?" ("What's the score?",idiom for "What's happening / what's going on?").[78][122]
In April 2018, the stadium operating company commissioned a study into the noise levels produced at Hampden during anOld Firm match.[123] This found a peak noise level of 115 decibels, after goals were scored, and 109 decibels when the teams first came onto the field.[123] These findings were much higher than those recorded in a 2014 study ofPremier League grounds (maximum of 84 decibels), but well short of the world record set by aNational Football League match at theArrowhead Stadium inKansas City (142 decibels).[123]
Hampden is an all-seated bowl stadium, although the ground is split into four geographic sections, officially known as the North, East, South and West Stands.[124] Due to the dominance of theOld Firm within Scottish football and their regular qualification for cup matches played at Hampden, the East and West stands are commonly known as theCeltic andRangers ends.[125][126] The East Stand has 12,800 seats on a single tier of 53 rows.[81] The two end stands are up to 140 metres away from the pitch, due to Hampden retaining its bowl shape after it was redeveloped.[127] This distance is almost as great as if Hampden included an athletics track, although the distance between the pitch and the two side stands is more comparable to a normal football stadium.[127]
The South Stand is the main stand of the stadium, as it holds the technical areas, dressing rooms, indoor warm-up area, executive boxes,[128] lounges[129] and media facilities. It has been sponsored byBT Scotland since 1998.[130] The South Stand is also the only part of the stadium split into two tiers, although there is also a small gallery above the North Stand that has 290 seats and access to lounges.[124][127] The North Stand accommodates 9,100 spectators in 46 rows.[127] The total capacity of the stadium is 51,866.[2][16] The capacity was temporarily reduced to 44,000 for the2014 Commonwealth Games, as the running track raised the field level by 1.9 metres.[98]
Panoramic view of Hampden Park during the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Lesser Hampden is a football stadium located immediately beside the western end of Hampden Park. The ground was constructed in the early 1920s after additional ground was purchased to expand the main stadium.[17][135]Queen's Park proposed in 1990 to sell off Lesser Hampden to fund redevelopment works on the main stadium, but this was rejected by planners.[81] Lesser Hampden was refurbished for use as a warm-up area during the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[98] When the SFA took ownership of Hampden, new stands were constructed at Lesser Hampden for it to be used again as a football stadium.[108]
U2 in concert at Hampden in August 2009, as part of the360° Tour. The pitch was damaged by the concert, resulting in a postponement of aQueen's Park football match.Hampden Park hosted the2014 Commonwealth Games closing ceremonyThe stadium played host to the Athletics events during the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Hampden Park has held four fullrugby union international matches. The first was in 1906, when theScottish Rugby Union chose to play their match against the touringSouth Africans at Hampden because no rugby ground could satisfy the demand to see the visitors.[30] A crowd of over 30,000 sawScotland win 6–0.[30] The redeveloped Hampden served as one of the1999 Rugby World Cup venues, over 90 years later.[30][88] Scotland playedRomania in a friendly match before the tournament and South Africa playedUruguay in a tournament pool match.[136] The only rugby union international played at Hampden since then was in November 2004, between Scotland andAustralia.[137][138]
Hampden hosted the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association championships during the 1920s and 1930s, with the originalMeadowbank Stadium used as an alternative venue.[140]Eric Liddell won the 110, 220 and 440 yard dashes in the 1924 championship.[140] His last competition in Britain was the 1925 championship, when he won the 220 yards race for a record fifth time.[140] Hampden was temporarily converted to stage the athletics events for the2014 Commonwealth Games.[98][141] It was also used for theclosing ceremony.[142]
Suzanne Lenglen, the French professionaltennis player, played an exhibition match against Vivian Dewhurst at Hampden in 1927.[37] A crowd of 10,000 saw that match and another between male playersHoward Kinsey andKarel Koželuh.[37]
Hampden was the home of theGlasgow Tigersspeedway team from 1969 until 1972.[144] Poor crowds, escalating costs and the refusal of the city council to allow music to be played at events contributed to the team moving toCliftonhill, inCoatbridge.[144] Glasgow Tigers'Svein Kaasa was killed during a race at Hampden Park on 29 September 1972.[145]
The redeveloped Hampden was the venue for aboxing card headlined by former world championMike Tyson in June 2000.[146][147] Tyson knocked downLou Savarese after just12 seconds of the fight, which the referee stopped after 38 seconds.[146][148] The fight ended in farce as the referee, who had been attempting to separate the two fighters, was also knocked down by Tyson.[148][149] The disappointed crowd booed Tyson out of the ring,[146][147] while former fightersJim Watt andBarry McGuigan criticised his actions.[148] After the fight, Tyson claimed that he wanted to eat the children of world championLennox Lewis, which also drew criticism.[149][150][151]
The 50th anniversary Conventicle of theBoys' Brigade, which had been founded in Glasgow byWilliam Alexander Smith, was staged at Hampden in 1933.[152] 130,000 people were inside the ground, while another 100,000 stood outside singingPsalms.[152] Americanevangelical Christian missionaryBilly Graham had an "All Scotland Crusade" during the spring of 1955.[55] The major outdoor event of the tour was at Hampden, where a crowd of 100,000 heard him speak.[55]
The highest attendance recorded at Hampden for a football match was 149,415, for a1937 British Home Championship tie between Scotland and England.[19][60][167] This is still a European record for an international match.[19][60][167] The1937 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic andAberdeen drew an official crowd of 147,365, a world record for a club match, with 20,000 more people locked outside.[19][40][39] Hampden set world attendance records that year which have only been surpassed by theMaracanã,[40] and it still holds all the major European records.[19][167] TheEuropean Cup match between Celtic and Leeds United in 1970 was attended by 136,505, which is a UEFA competition record.[19][167]
Since the redevelopment of Hampden was completed in 1999, the capacity for sporting events is now limited to 51,866. Attendances for concerts can be higher than this as people are allowed onto the pitch area. In 2009, more people attended concerts at Hampden than football matches.[60] WhileQueen's Park played at the ground, Hampden regularly had crowds of below 1,000 for their matches in the lower divisions of theScottish football league system.[55][168]
^Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005)The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005, Yore Publications, p152ISBN0954783042
^"Uefa Cup final awarded to Hampden". BBC Sport. 19 April 2005. Retrieved20 August 2011.The choice of Hampden for2007 will be seen by theScottish FA as further justification for its sometimes criticised decision to upgrade the stadium, which is also the home forScottish Third Division outfitQueen's Park. Critics have suggested that the £74m spent since 1990 was unnecessary when Glasgow already had two major stadia, the 60,500 capacityCeltic Park andRangers'Ibrox Stadium, which can hold 50,400. Edinburgh'sMurrayfield Stadium, the home ofScottish rugby, which can hold 67,500, had also been touted as an alternative national home for football.
^Lamont, Alasdair (15 May 2002)."Hampden enjoys the party". BBC Sport. Retrieved19 August 2011.Once inside, the disparity in terms of support was even more evident, with the Spanish followers [fans ofReal Madrid] occupying the whole of what is traditionally regarded as theRangers end of the ground. Fans ofBayer filled less than half of theCeltic end, but they did not let that stop themselves being heard
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