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Hampden Park (
Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...
: ''Pàirc Hampden''), often referred to as Hampden, is a football stadium in the
Mount Florida Mount Florida ( gd, Cnoc Florida) is an area in the south-east of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Origins The Glasgow district of Mount Florida originated on the "Lands of Mount Floridon", which were described in detail when offered for sale a ...
area of
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, Scotland. The -capacity venue serves as the
national stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...
of
football in Scotland Association football ( sco, fitbaa, gd, ball-coise) is one of the national sports of Scotland and the most popular sport in the country. There is a long tradition of "football" games in Orkney, Lewis and southern Scotland, especially the Sc ...
. It is the normal home venue of the
Scotland national football team The Scotland national football team gd, Sgioba Ball-coise Nàiseanta na h-Alba sco, Scotland National Fitbaa Team represents Scotland in men's international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. It competes in the thr ...
and was the home of club side Queen's Park for over a century. Hampden regularly hosts the latter stages of the
Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
competitions and has also been used for music concerts and other sporting events, such as when it was reconfigured as an
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
stadium for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. There were two 19th-century stadia called Hampden Park, built on different sites. A stadium on the present site was first opened on 31 October 1903. Hampden was the biggest stadium in the world when it was opened, with a capacity in excess of 100,000. This was increased further between 1927 and 1937, reaching a peak of 150,000. The record attendance of 149,415, for a Scotland v
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
match 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 work being completed in 1999. The stadium houses the offices of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Hampden has hosted prestigious sporting events, including three European Cup / Champions League finals, two Cup Winners' Cup finals and a UEFA Cup final. Hampden is a UEFA category four stadium and it is served by the nearby
Mount Florida Mount Florida ( gd, Cnoc Florida) is an area in the south-east of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Origins The Glasgow district of Mount Florida originated on the "Lands of Mount Floridon", which were described in detail when offered for sale a ...
and King's Park railway stations.


History


Three Hampdens

Queen's Park, the oldest club in Scottish football, have played at a venue called Hampden Park since October 1873. The first Hampden Park was overlooked by a nearby terrace named after
Englishman The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England, who speak the English language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history and culture. The English identity is of Anglo-Saxon origin, when they were known in ...
John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English landowner and politician whose opposition to arbitrary taxes imposed by Charles I made him a national figure. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and cousin to Oliver Cromwell, he was one of t ...
, who fought for the
roundhead Roundheads were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–1651). Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I of England and his supporters, known as the Cavaliers or Royalists, who ...
s in the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
. Queen's Park played at the first Hampden Park for 10 years beginning with a Scottish Cup tie on 25 October 1873. The ground hosted the first
Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...
, in 1874, and a Scotland v
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
match in 1878. The club moved to the second Hampden Park, 150 yards from the original, because the
Cathcart District Railway The Cathcart District Railway was proposed to serve the arising demand for suburban residential travel on the south side of Glasgow, Scotland. It was planned as a loop running to and from Glasgow Central station, but at first only the eastern arm, ...
planned a new line through the site of the ground's western terrace. A
lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...
club at the junction of Queen's Drive and Cathcart Road marks the site of the first Hampden. The second Hampden Park opened in October 1884. It became a regular home to the
Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...
, but
Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...
shared some of the big matches including the Scotland v England fixture in 1894. In the late 1890s, Queen's Park requested more land for development of the second Hampden Park. This was refused by the landlords, which led to the club seeking a new site. Henry Erskine Gordon agreed to sell 12 acres of land off Somerville Drive to Queen's Park in November 1899. James Miller designed twin grandstands along the south side of the ground with a pavilion wedged in between. The natural slopes were shaped to form banks of terracing, designed by
Archibald Leitch Archibald Keir Leitch (27 April 1865 – 25 April 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout Great Britain and Ireland. Early work Born in Glasgow, Leitch's early work was on designing ...
. Construction of the new ground took over three years to complete; during the process, a
disaster A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...
occurred at Ibrox in which part of the wooden terraces collapsed. In response, the terraces at Hampden were firmly set in the earthwork and innovative techniques were used to control spectators.
Third Lanark A.C. Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
took over the second Hampden Park in 1903 and renamed it
Cathkin Park Cathkin Park is a municipal park in Glasgow, Scotland. The park is maintained by the city's parks department, and it is a public place where football is still played. The park contains the site of the second Hampden Park, previously home to t ...
after their previous ground of the same name. 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). During the first season following the move (
1903–04 Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...
, 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. Third Lanark went out of business in 1967 and Cathkin Park is now a public park with much of the original terracing still evident. In the stadium's first match on 31 October 1903 Queen's Park defeated
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
1–0 in the Scottish Football League, having played eight of their first nine league matches away from home and the other at the old Cathkin ParkPaul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) ''The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005'', Yore Publications, p152 awaiting its opening. The first
Scottish Cup Final The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Scottish Cup, is a knockout cup competition in Scottish football. Organised by the Scottish Football Association, it is the third oldest existing football competition in the w ...
played at the ground was an
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
match in
1904 Events January * January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''. * January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...
, attracting a record Scottish crowd of 64,672. 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. Hampden Park was the biggest stadium in the world from the time of its opening until it was surpassed by the Maracanã in 1950. Along with Celtic Park and Ibrox, the city of Glasgow possessed the three largest football stadia in the world at the time Hampden opened.


Record attendances

Attendances continued to increase during the remainder of the 1900s, as 121,452 saw the 1908 Scotland v England match. The two
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
matches played for the 1909 Scottish Cup Final attracted a total of 131,000. 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. The fans believed that the replay would be played to a conclusion and demanded that a period of extra time be played. The Scottish Cup trophy was withheld as Hampden was not in a fit condition to host a second replay. In response to the riot, the Scottish Football Association decided to stop using Hampden as the Scottish Cup Final venue. Queen's Park conducted extensive ground improvements after the 1909 riot. A new world record of 127,307 were in attendance to see Scotland play England in 1912. A fire in 1914 destroyed the pavilion, which was replaced by a four-storey structure with a
press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the e ...
on the roof. The Scottish Cup Final returned to Hampden in 1920, when a large crowd of 95,000 saw Kilmarnock win the cup against
Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League Two, the fourth tier of the Scotti ...
. Record crowds attended the 1925 Scottish Cup Final, a 5–0 win for Celtic against Rangers, and the 1927 Scotland v England match, England's first win in the stadium. Hampden became the ''de facto'' sole venue of the Scottish Cup Final after 1925 and Queen's Park purchased more land in 1923 to bring the total to 33 acres. 25,000 places were added to the terraces and rigid crush barriers were installed in 1927. World record crowds attended Scotland matches against England in 1931 and 1933. In 1933,
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, who had beaten Scotland 5–0 in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
in 1931, became the first foreign national side to visit Hampden Park. After intervention from the
Glasgow Corporation The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament. Local government As one o ...
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.How Hampden Park became the largest football ground in the world
Douglas Norman, Scottish Sport History, 9 November 2020
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. 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. A week later the
1937 Scottish Cup Final Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...
between Celtic and
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
drew an official crowd of 147,365, with 20,000 more people locked outside; this stood as a world record for a club match until 1963. 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.


Wartime

During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, matches at heavily attended grounds were initially prohibited due to the fear of aerial bombing by the
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
. 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. 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. The Parashots, a forerunner of the
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting wi ...
, set up a command post at
Lesser Hampden Lesser Hampden is a football stadium in Mount Florida, Glasgow, Scotland, which is located immediately beside the western end of Hampden Park stadium. History In 1923, Queen's Park were looking for an alternative venue for their reserves and y ...
in 1940. 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. Wartime internationals were played at Hampden, and 91,000 saw Scotland beat England 5–4 on 18 April 1942.


Post-war

After the Second World War ended in 1945, Hampden started to host Scotland matches more frequently. Before then, Hampden had only hosted 15 matches against England and one match each against Austria and
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
. During the post-war attendance boom, Hampden was the only stadium big enough to host the crowds who wanted to see the team. Matches that would have ordinarily attracted a crowd of 40,000 were being attended by nearly 100,000. A fire on 25 December 1945 destroyed the stadium
press box The press box is a special section of a sports stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event. It is typically located in the section of the stadium holding the luxury box and can be either enclosed or open to the e ...
and damaged offices. The press box was replaced with a plainer two-storey structure that overhung the pitch. The Hampden fixture list was also expanded by the new Scottish League Cup competition. In 1947, Rangers defeated
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
in the first League Cup Final, a year after a 135,000 crowd watched the last edition of its wartime predecessor, the Southern League Cup, played between the same teams. The capacity of the ground was officially cut to 135,000 following the
Burnden Park disaster The Burnden Park disaster was a human crush that occurred on 9 March 1946 at Burnden Park football stadium, then the home of Bolton Wanderers. The crush resulted in the deaths of 33 people and injuries to hundreds of Bolton fans. It was the de ...
in
Bolton Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
in March 1946, but before that reduction was confirmed, 139,468 watched the Scotland v England
Victory International The term Victory International or Victory Internationals refers to two series of international football matches played by the national football teams of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales at the end of both the First and Second World Wars. The ...
on 13 April of that year. The re-entry of the
Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...
into
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
in 1947 was marked by a match between a
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and a Rest of Europe select on 10 May 1947. Great Britain won 6–1 and 130,000 people attended. Unusually, a league match between
Third Lanark Third Lanark Athletic Club was a Scottish football club based in Glasgow. Founded in 1872 as an offshoot of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, the club was a founder member of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) in 1872 and the Scottish ...
and Hibernian was played immediately afterwards at Hampden because
Cathkin Park Cathkin Park is a municipal park in Glasgow, Scotland. The park is maintained by the city's parks department, and it is a public place where football is still played. The park contains the site of the second Hampden Park, previously home to t ...
was undergoing repair work. The first
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
qualification match played at Hampden was a 2–0 win for Scotland against
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
on 9 November 1949; this match was also part of the 1950 British Home Championship. The win appeared to guarantee Scotland qualification for the
1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...
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. Scotland only needed a draw against England at Hampden to meet that condition but lost 1–0. The
Coronation Cup The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 yards (2 ...
, a competition to mark the
Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...
, was held in Glasgow during May 1953. Four major clubs from each of Scotland and England were invited, with the
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
clubs playing their matches at Hampden.
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
and Hibernian progressed to the final, and a crowd of 117,060 saw Celtic win 2–0. Scotland hosted the
Magical Magyars The Golden Team ( hu, Aranycsapat; also known as the Mighty Magyars, the Magical Magyars, the Magnificent Magyars, the Marvellous Magyars, or the Light Cavalry) refers to the Hungary national football team of the 1950s. It is associated with seve ...
of
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
in December 1954 in front of 113,506 fans. The Scots put up a good fight against one of the most outstanding teams in the world at the time, but eventually lost 4–2. Scotland qualified for the
1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the sixth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Brazil be ...
by defeating
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, including Luis Suarez,
Ladislao Kubala Ladislao is a given name, a Hispanic variant of Vladislav. Notable people with the name include: * Ladislao Cabrera, Bolivian hero during the War of the Pacific * Ladislao Diwa, Filipino patriot * Ladislao Martínez, Puerto Rico musician * Lászl ...
and
Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...
, at Hampden.


1960s and 1970s

Hampden hosted the 1960 European Cup Final;
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
defeated
Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
7–3 with 130,000 people in attendance.
Floodlights A floodlight is a broad-beamed, gas discharge lamp#High-intensity discharge lamps, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is Night game, being held during low-li ...
were installed at Hampden in 1961 and were inaugurated with a friendly match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers. The ground then also hosted the 1962 and 1966 finals of the
European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
. The attendances for each of these finals was less than 50,000, and the SFA did not offer to host another European final until the 1976 European Cup Final, in which
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
defeated
St Etienne ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
. St Etienne believed that two of their efforts which hit the square crossbar and rebounded into play would have resulted in goals if it had been round, and the French club subsequently bought the goalposts and displayed them in their museum. After Celtic won the 1967 European Cup Final, the home leg of their Intercontinental Cup tie against Racing Club was held at Hampden. Celtic won 1–0 at Hampden, but lost the tie after a play-off in
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
. In 1970, Celtic played in the semi-finals of the
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
against English league champions,
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
. Celtic chose to move their home leg of the tie from their Celtic Park home to Hampden, which had a far greater capacity. A crowd of 136,505, a record for any match in UEFA competition, saw Celtic win 2–1 (3–1 on aggregate) to advance to the
1970 European Cup Final The 1970 European Cup Final was a football match held at the San Siro, Milan, on 6 May 1970, that saw Feijenoord of the Netherlands defeat Celtic of Scotland 2–1 after extra time. Ove Kindvall's goal in the 117th minute meant the trophy was won ...
. Celtic also played European Cup ties against
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
and Rosenborg at Hampden during the 1970s. A fire was deliberately started in the south stand in October 1968, destroying offices, 1,400 seats and one of the team dressing rooms. The fire caused the 1968–69 Scottish League Cup Final to be postponed until April. By 1970 Hampden was starting to age as a stadium.
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
had been revamped for the 1966 World Cup, while other major stadia were being constructed for tournaments. Public safety was emphasized after the Ibrox disaster of January 1971, when 66 spectators were crushed to death. 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.
Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...
and Ibrox were converted into
all-seater stadium An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Ame ...
s, while Hampden's capacity was reduced to 81,000. Scotland secured qualification for the
1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the tenth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the ...
at Hampden, with a 2–1 victory over Czechoslovakia.
Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...
scored the winning goal against England in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
by nutmegging
Ray Clemence Raymond Neal Clemence, (5 August 1948 – 15 November 2020) was an England international football goalkeeper and part of the Liverpool team of the 1970s. He is one of only 31 players to have made over 1,000 career appearances, and holds the ...
. In 1977, Scotland again won against Czechoslovakia to move towards qualification for the
1978 FIFA World Cup The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June. The Cup was won by t ...
. Scotland played a friendly match against world champions
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
in 1979; the talented, 18-year-old
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...
scored a goal in a 3–1 win for the visitors.


1990s redevelopment

During the late 1970s, it became apparent that the facilities at Hampden were in need of renewal. As an amateur club, Queen's Park could not possibly fund the works, while Glasgow District Council withdrew funding and the UK Government decided not to fund it either. Queen's Park considered selling Hampden, but a public appeal and minor repair work kept the stadium open during the 1980s. The riot after the 1980 Scottish Cup Final prompted reforms, as alcohol was banned from football stadia in Scotland. 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. This work, begun in October 1981 and completed in 1986, reduced the capacity to 74,370 and cost £3 million. A second phase had been planned to begin in 1988, but the release of the
Taylor Report The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
caused the plans to be redrawn and the proposed costs escalated to £25 million. Scotland hosted the 1989 FIFA Under-16 World Cup, with the Scots contesting the final against
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
at Hampden. In 1987, the square goalposts that had been used since the stadium opened were banned by FIFA. 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. Rangers proposed Ibrox as an alternative venue, while
Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...
was about to be redeveloped without public funding. None of these arguments impressed the National Stadium committee, which consisted of the SFA, Scottish Football League and Queen's Park. The West Terrace was converted to seating in 1991 for only £700,000, but this left two terraces and therefore disqualified Hampden from hosting
FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a competitive match that a national association football team takes in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the (men's) FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments are hel ...
matches. 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 an
all-seater stadium An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in professional association football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most association football and Ame ...
. The last match played in front of the sloping terraces was the 1992 Scottish League Cup Final. 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 a
friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
between Scotland and
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
on 23 March 1994. It was then also used for the later stages of the 1993–94 Scottish Cup competition. 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. 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. The final stage of the renovation began in November 1997, with its £59 million cost funded by the National Lottery. There was a cost overrun and a fraud squad investigated alleged financial irregularities. The South Stand was replaced and the stadium was re-opened for the 1999 Scottish Cup Final. The ground now has a capacity of . Queen's Park retained ownership of the ground, with the SFA holding a lease that ran until 2020.
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
were again victorious when Hampden Park hosted the
2002 UEFA Champions League Final The 2002 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The show-piece event was contested between Bayer Leverkusen of Germany and Real Madrid of Spain at Hamp ...
, defeating
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...
, with
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
scoring the winning goal with a left-foot volley. Hampden has since hosted the 2007 UEFA Cup Final and was one of the venues for
football at the 2012 Summer Olympics The association football tournament at the 2012 Summer Olympics was held from 25 July to 11 August, and was the only sport to begin before the official opening day of the Olympic Games, two days before the opening ceremony. It was also the only ...
, hosting three matches in the men's tournament and five in the
women's tournament A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
. One of the matches was delayed after the North Korean team protested against the
flag of South Korea The national flag of South Korea, also known as the Taegukgi (also spelled as ''Taegeukgi'', ) and colloquially known as the flag of Korea, has three parts: a white rectangular background, a red and blue Taegeuk in its center, accompanied by fo ...
being used mistakenly to represent their players. Later in 2012, a
Scotland women's national football team The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...
game was played at Hampden for the first time, when it hosted the first leg of a European Championship qualifying playoff against
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. Hampden was temporarily converted into an athletics stadium for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It hosted its last international game before the conversion work on 15 November 2013 and Queen's Park temporarily played their home games at the
Excelsior Stadium The Excelsior Stadium, is a Association football, football stadium in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Airdrieonians F.C., Airdrieonians of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL). Since the 2021–22 season ...
in Airdrie. Due to the works being carried out at the
Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...
, the 2014
London Grand Prix The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Di ...
was renamed the Glasgow Grand Prix and hosted by Hampden. The conversion works involved the removal of eight rows of seating, which reduced the capacity to 44,000. Hampden was converted back into a football stadium after the Commonwealth Games.


SFA ownership

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. In September 2018, the SFA announced an agreement to purchase the ground from Queen's Park in 2020. As part of the deal,
Lesser Hampden Lesser Hampden is a football stadium in Mount Florida, Glasgow, Scotland, which is located immediately beside the western end of Hampden Park stadium. History In 1923, Queen's Park were looking for an alternative venue for their reserves and y ...
is to be redeveloped and become the home stadium for Queen's Park. As of August 2020, the SFA had taken ownership of Hampden and a new facility was under construction at Lesser Hampden. Queen's Park played their last match at Hampden on 20 March 2021, as their lease expired at the end of that month. In September 2014, Hampden was one of 13 venues chosen to host matches in the
UEFA Euro 2020 The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
tournament. It held three group games and one round of sixteen match, with attendances restricted to 25% of its capacity due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.


Hampden Roar

The football match crowd at Hampden were renowned for creating the ''Hampden 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 whenever
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
scored an important goal. After the renovation of the stadium and the reduced capacities, the roar has become more muted. The Hampden Roar was first noticed in a game against
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1929. Scotland, who had played the second half with ten players due to an injury to Alex Jackson, equalised in the final minute with a goal from
Alec Cheyne Alexander George Cheyne (28 April 1907 – 5 July 1983) was a Scottish footballer who played as an inside forward. He is reputed to have been responsible for the Hampden Roar following his goal in the 'Cheyne International' of 1929. Playing c ...
direct from a
corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is taken ...
. The roar that followed the goal was so loud that Jackson, who was a mile away in the
Glasgow Victoria Infirmary The Glasgow Victoria Infirmary was a teaching hospital situated at Langside/ Battlefield in the south-east of Glasgow from 1880 until 2015. It was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. History A competition was held to design a 120-bedded ...
, could tell that Scotland had scored. The phrase Hampden Roar is also used as
rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...
. People from
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
may ask, "What's the Hampden?", by which they mean "What is the score?" or "How are you?". In April 2018, the stadium operating company commissioned a study into the noise levels produced at Hampden during an
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
match. This found a peak noise level of 115 decibels, after goals were scored, and 109 decibels when the teams first came onto the field. These findings were much higher than those recorded in a 2014 study of
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
grounds (maximum of 84 decibels), but well short of the world record set by a
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
match at the
Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...
in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
(142 decibels).


Structure and facilities

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. Due to the dominance of the
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
within Scottish football and their regular qualification for cup matches played at Hampden, the East and West stands are commonly known as the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
and Rangers ends. The East Stand has 12,800 seats on a single tier of 53 rows. The two end stands are up to 140 metres away from the pitch, due to Hampden retaining its bowl shape after it was redeveloped. 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. The South Stand is the main stand of the stadium, as it holds the technical areas, dressing rooms, indoor warm-up area, executive boxes, lounges and media facilities. It has been sponsored by BT Scotland since 1998. 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. The North Stand accommodates 9,100 spectators in 46 rows. The total capacity of the stadium is . The capacity was temporarily reduced to 44,000 for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as the running track raised the field level by 1.9 metres. The redeveloped Hampden has held the top status with the various
UEFA stadium categories UEFA stadium categories are categories for association football, football stadiums laid out in UEFA's Stadium Infrastructure Regulations. Using these regulations, stadiums are rated as category one, two, three, or four (renamed from elite) in asce ...
, holding category four status. The
Scottish Football Museum The Scottish Football Museum is Scotland’s national museum of association football, located in Hampden Park in Glasgow. The Museum The museum houses over 2000 objects of football memorabilia, including the world's oldest cap and match ticket fr ...
, which opened in 2001, is located within Hampden. Part of the museum is the
Scottish Football Hall of Fame The Scottish Football Hall of Fame is located at the Scottish Football Museum. Nominations are made each year by fans and a committee selects the inductees. The first inductions to the Hall of Fame were in November 2004 in a ceremony at Hampden Par ...
. A distinctive feature of the old Hampden, the press box which sat on the roof of the old South Stand, is also exhibited at the museum. The offices of the Scottish Football Association,
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
and Scottish Football League are all located within Hampden.
Lesser Hampden Lesser Hampden is a football stadium in Mount Florida, Glasgow, Scotland, which is located immediately beside the western end of Hampden Park stadium. History In 1923, Queen's Park were looking for an alternative venue for their reserves and y ...
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. 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. It is used by Queen's Park for training,
reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...
matches and youth football. Lesser Hampden was refurbished for use as a warm-up area during the 2014 Commonwealth Games.


Other uses


Sports other than football

Hampden Park has held four full
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
international matches. The first was in 1906, when the
Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...
chose to play their match against the touring
South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...
at Hampden because no rugby ground could satisfy the demand to see the visitors. A crowd of over 30,000 saw
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
win 6–0. The redeveloped Hampden served as one of the 1999 Rugby World Cup venues, over 90 years later. Scotland played
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
in a friendly match before the tournament and South Africa played
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
in a tournament pool match. The only rugby union international played at Hampden since then was in November 2004, between Scotland and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Hampden hosted the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association championships during the 1920s and 1930s, with the original
Meadowbank Stadium Meadowbank Stadium (officially the Meadowbank Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose sports facility located in the Meadowbank area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of the earlier New Meadowbank and Old Meadowbank sports venues, it was ori ...
used as an alternative venue.
Eric Liddell Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Qing China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended boarding school near London, spending time when p ...
won the 110, 220 and 440 yard dashes in the 1924 championship. His last competition in Britain was the 1925 championship, when he won the 220 yards race for a record fifth time. Hampden was temporarily converted to stage the athletics events for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It was also used for the
closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
.
Suzanne Lenglen Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (; 24 May 1899 – 4 July 1938) was a French tennis player. She was the inaugural world No. 1 from 1921 to 1926, winning eight Grand Slam titles in singles and twenty-one in total. She was also a four-time World ...
, the French professional
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player, played an exhibition match against Vivian Dewhurst at Hampden in 1927. A crowd of 10,000 saw that match and another between male players
Howard Kinsey Howard Oreon Kinsey (December 3, 1899 – July 26, 1966) was an American tennis player in the 1920s. He was originally from California. Playing record His most significant championships were the 1926 French National men's doubles championsh ...
and
Karel Koželuh Karel Koželuh (; hu, Kozeluh Károly ; 7 March 1895 – 27 April 1950) was a Czech tennis, association football, and ice hockey player of the 1920s and 1930s. Koželuh became a European ice hockey champion in 1925 and was one of the top-ranked ...
. During the Second World War, American armed forces based in Scotland played games of
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
,
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
and
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
at Hampden. American football returned to Hampden in 1998, when the
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
team Scottish Claymores shared home games between Hampden and
Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...
.
World Bowl XI World Bowl XI was NFL Europe's 2003 championship game. It was played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland on June 14, 2003. The crowd were entertained pre-match by Scottish rock legend Fish performing a rousing rendition of “Caledonia”. Hal ...
was held at Hampden in 2003, but after the 2004 season the Claymores folded and were replaced by the Hamburg Sea Devils. Hampden was the home of the Glasgow Tigers
speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...
team from 1969 until 1972. Poor crowds, escalating costs and the refusal of the city council to allow music to be played at events contributed to the team moving to
Cliftonhill Cliftonhill Stadium, commonly known as Cliftonhill and currently 'The Reigart Stadium' for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League te ...
, in
Coatbridge Coatbridge ( sco, Cotbrig or Coatbrig, gd, Drochaid a' Chòta) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as ...
. The redeveloped Hampden was the venue for a
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
card headlined by former world champion
Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
in June 2000. Tyson knocked down Lou Savarese after just 12 seconds of the fight, which the referee stopped after 38 seconds. The fight ended in farce as the referee, who had been attempting to separate the two fighters, was also knocked down by Tyson. The disappointed crowd booed Tyson out of the ring, while former fighters Jim Watt and
Barry McGuigan Finbar Patrick McGuigan MBE (born 28 February 1961) is an Irish boxing promoter and former professional boxer. Born in Clones, Ireland, McGuigan was nicknamed ''The Clones Cyclone'' and held the WBA and lineal featherweight titles from 1985 ...
criticised his actions. After the fight, Tyson claimed that he wanted to eat the children of world champion Lennox Lewis, which also drew criticism.


Uses other than sport

The 50th anniversary Conventicle of the
Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun activities with Christian values. Following its inception ...
, which had been founded in Glasgow by William Alexander Smith, was staged at Hampden in 1933. 130,000 people were inside the ground, while another 100,000 stood outside singing
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
s. American
evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...
missionary
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
had an "All Scotland Crusade" during the spring of 1955. The major outdoor event of the tour was at Hampden, where a crowd of 100,000 heard him speak.


Concerts

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
and
Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...
performed in the first concert at Hampden, in 1987.
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
played there in 1990, during their
Urban Jungle Tour The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album '' Steel Wheels''; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg ...
. Since the redevelopment of Hampden was completed in 1999, many acts have performed there, including
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
,
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...
,
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...
,
Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
, U2,
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
,
George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...
, the
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
,
Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
,
Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singe ...
,
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
,
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
,
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
,
Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
,
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,
Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...
,
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, and
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
. The damage caused to the Hampden pitch by a U2 concert in August 2009 forced a Queen's Park league match to be postponed.


Records

The highest attendance recorded at Hampden for a football match was 149,415, for a 1937 British Home Championship tie between Scotland and England. This is still a European record for an international match. The
1937 Scottish Cup Final Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Febr ...
between Celtic and
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
drew an official crowd of 147,365, a world record for a club match, with 20,000 more people locked outside. Hampden set world attendance records that year which have only been surpassed by the Maracanã, and it still holds all the major European records. The
European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
match between Celtic and Leeds United in 1970 was attended by 136,505, which is a UEFA competition record. Since the redevelopment of Hampden was completed in 1999, the capacity for sporting events is now limited to . Post-redevelopment, Hampden has hosted six Scotland matches with attendances over 51,000 spectators. 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. While Queen's Park played at the ground, Hampden regularly had crowds of below 1,000 for their matches in the lower divisions of the
Scottish football league system The Scottish football league system is a series of generally connected leagues for Scottish football clubs. The Scottish system is more complicated than many other national league systems, consisting of several completely separate systems or 'gr ...
.


Transport

The nearest railway stations are
Mount Florida Mount Florida ( gd, Cnoc Florida) is an area in the south-east of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Origins The Glasgow district of Mount Florida originated on the "Lands of Mount Floridon", which were described in detail when offered for sale a ...
and King's Park. Both stations are served by trains from Glasgow Central on the
Cathcart Circle Lines The Cathcart Circle Lines form a mostly suburban railway route linking Glasgow (Central) to Cathcart via a circular line, with branches to Newton and Neilston, on the south bank of the River Clyde. They are part of the Strathclyde Partners ...
.
First Glasgow First Glasgow is the largest bus company serving the Greater Glasgow area in Scotland. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. The company operates within the area covered by the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, a public body responsible for h ...
operate several bus routes in the area surrounding Hampden. There is a stadium car park immediately behind the south stand, but for major events this is only available to permit holders.


See also

* Scottish stadium moves * European club finals held at Hampden


References

Sources * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hampden Park 1903 establishments in Scotland Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics 2014 Commonwealth Games venues American football venues in Scotland Athletics (track and field) venues in Scotland Sports venues completed in 1903 Defunct speedway venues in Scotland Football venues in Glasgow Music venues in Glasgow
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
Olympic football venues Queen's Park F.C. Rugby World Cup stadiums Rugby union in Glasgow Rugby union stadiums in Scotland Scotland national football team venues Scottish Football League venues Sports venues in Glasgow Scottish Professional Football League venues UEFA Euro 2020 stadiums Celtic F.C. Music venues completed in 1903