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| What's
Hampden Park Like? Rear Of The South Stand (photo) What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? North & East Stands (photo) Where To Drink? How To Get There By Car & Where To Park By Train On Matchday (photo) International Matches Stadium Layout Scottish Football Museum Stadium Tours Other Places Of Interest Record Attendance Hotel Accommodation |
| What's Hampden Park Like? |
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Hampden
was completely re-developed in the 1990's with the
predominantly old terraced being transformed into a
modern all seated stadium. Although not particularly
large for a national stadium, it still retains its
charm and individual character, enhanced by its
completely enclosed oval shape. Three sides are
single tiered, but the South Stand on one side has a
small second tier, which slightly overhangs the
lower one. Normally this
creates an unbalanced look, but it has
integrated well with the oval stadium roof rising gently
towards this stand. There
are two electric scoreboards suspended underneath
the roofs at each end. One unusual aspect of the stadium is that
the team dugouts are actually situated six rows up
on the South Stand, allowing team managers to get a
better view of the game. The roof of the stadium is
adorned with a number of flagpoles and flags, adding
to the overall occasion. |
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| What Is It Like For Visiting Supporters? |
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The facilities are
pretty good. The concourse is spacious and there is
a good selection of food on offer including the
'Hampden Steak Pie', burgers, chips and hot dogs.
There are televisions next to the serving areas
showing the game being played inside, so that you
don't have to miss a kick. There are also Ladbrokes
betting facilities available. One tip, if the queues
for programmes are quite big outside the stadium,
then you can purchase them from programme sellers on
the concourse inside. |
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| Where To Eat & Drink? |
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There are not a great number of bars in the immediate vicinity of the stadium. What ones there are get over crowded. It is therefore probably best to drink in the City Centre or on route before the game. There are though a number of chippies/kebab shops locally. If you do get there early then my favourite bar in the area is the Clockwork Beer Company on Cathcart Road (going away from the city centre). This spacious pub brews its own varied selection of beers and also stocks a wide range of whiskies; or more affectionately known as the 'water of life'. |
| How To Get There By Car & Where To Park |
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Leave the M74 at
Junction 1 and turn left at the roundabout into
Fullarton Road, following the signs for Rutherglen.
Go straight across the next roundabout and at
the following roundabout turn right into Cambuslang
Road. You will cross over the River Clyde and then
continue to the end of this road. At the traffic
lights turn right and continue along Main Street
Rutherglen and then on towards Mount Florida.
Continue straight along this road until you reach
the large Asda Store at which you turn left into
Aikenhead Road. The stadium is up this road on the
right hand side. Map showing the location of Hampden Park (takes you to the Google Maps website). |
| By Train |
| The nearest railway stations to the stadium are Mount Florida & Kings Park. Both are served by trains from Glasgow Central (journey time around 10-15 minutes) and are around a five minute walk away from the stadium. |
| On Matchday |
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| International Matches |
| For International Matches visiting supporters are housed in the South West corner of the stadium (including a small portion of the upper tier of the South Stand) where around 3,000 supporters can be accommodated. Please note that in common with other Scottish Grounds, alcohol is not available inside the stadium, nor is smoking permitted within the stadium. The 'Tartan Army of Scottish supporters' are renown for their friendliness and hospitality, which normally makes for a great visit. |
|
Thanks
to Owen Pavey for providing the stadium plan above. |
| Scottish Football Museum |
| The stadium is also the
home of the Scottish Football
Museum, which opened its doors in May 2001. I
was thoroughly impressed not only with the standard of
museum, but also the vast array of items that can be
seen. From a ticket from the first ever Football
International held in Glasgow in 1872, to an
exhibition of football related 'toys'. The current
Scottish Cup is also available to view within the
museum.
What I particularly
liked was the emphasis on the fans involvement in
the Clubs, from the first fanzines to the Tartan
Army. The museum is a must for any true football
supporter. |
| Stadium Tours |
| Stadium tours are available each day (except matchdays) for the bargain price of £3 adults and £1.50 for concessions, if booked in conjunction with an entrance ticket to the museum. If you just want to book the stadium tour only then this costs £6 for adults and £3 for concessions. Family tickets are also available, giving further discounts. The tour lasts about 40 minutes and includes the Presentation Area, Dressing Rooms, Warm Up Area and a walk at pitch side. I found it quite entertaining, interesting and would recommend it. Tours can be booked in advance on 0141 616 6139. |
| Other Places Of Interest |
| For all those ground
enthusiasts out there, then make sure you take a peek
at the lesser Hampden, behind the West Stand. This is
a small old ground with a quaint looking stand at one
side of the pitch. In the past it has been used by
Queens Park reserves, as well as for the odd first
team outing. Of equal if not more interest are the remnants of another ground, called Cathkin Park, home to Third Lanark until 1967, when they unfortunately went out of business. The ground was originally built in 1872 and once hosted an international match in 1884, between Scotland and England. There is plenty of terracing still remaining of the old ground, in a picturesque setting and it is only a ten minute walk away from the present Hampden. The entrance to the park is in Cathcart Road click here for map (to take you to the Street Map website - First Locate Mount Florida railway station and then Hampden Park is the open space to the right of this area and Cathcart Road can then be found running to the North). |
| Record Attendance |
| 149,415 - Scotland v
England, 1937. This is the record for the largest attendance at a football match in Britain. |
| Hotel Accommodation |
|
If you require hotel accommodation in the area then first try a hotel booking service provided by Late Rooms. They offer all types of accommodation to suit all tastes and pockets from; Budget Hotels, Traditional Bed & Breakfast establishments to Five Star Hotels and Serviced Apartments. Plus their booking system is straightforward and easy to use. Yes this site will earn a small commission if you book through them, but it will go to help with the running costs of keeping the Guide going. Access their Glasgow Hotels and Guest Houses page.Remember that you can use
the above link or panel below to book any other
hotels that you may need for business or leisure,
either in the UK or abroad. |
| Feedback |
| If anything is incorrect
or you have something to add, please e-mail me duncan@footballgrounds.net
and I'll update the guide. |
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Copyright
© Duncan Adams 2012. All rights reserved.
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