Hampden Park, Scotland’s National Stadium

Hampden Park Glasgow, Scotland’s National Stadium Commonwealth Games, Scottish arena building news

Hampden Park, Scotland’s National Stadium News

Major South Glasgow football ground evelopment, Strathclyde, Scotland national arena

post updated 16 September 2023

Designing Iconic Glasgow Stadiums
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Hampden Park Stadium Building Renovation

Scotland’s national stadium will celebrate its 120th anniversary of opening on October 31, 2023. Over the 12 decades the arena has undergone many upgrades and bears little resemblance to that of the early 20th century.

The last of these took place in 2014. It temporarily turned the venue into an athletics stadium used for the Commonwealth Games. At that time, infrastructure for people with disabilities was also improved.

Interestingly, no work was undertaken before Euro 2020, when Hampden Park hosted European nation football matchest.

The Scottish arena was on the list of venues for the joint British and Irish bid to host the 2028 European Football Championships. However, all indications are that, should the UK and Ireland be selected to host the tournament, the stadium will undergo a major transformation that will make it one of the most modern arenas in the UK.

The first renderings have been prepared by Glasgow architectural office Holmes Miller, based in Finnieston. The arean designs make a strong impression.

The facility, which currently has a capacity of 51,866, will be expanded. It is expected to have 65,000 seats, making it the largest in Scotland, surpassing the 60,000-seat Celtic Park.

This will be made possible by the redevelopment of the stands – tilting them more and moving them towards the pitch. Wembley did something similar in 2007, by removing the greyhound track to bring fans closer to the pitch. Some sources also report the likely delineation of standing areas.

Until 2022, all arena sections in the UK had to be seated, but relevant regulatory changes already allow standing ones under certain conditions. Holmes Miller’s proposal, however, makes it clear that the 65,000 is to be for seating only.

http://stadiumdb.com/news/2023/06/scotland_this_is_what_a_revamped_hampden_park_is_to_look_like

2 Aug 2014

This is the Commonwealth Games’ most innovative construction project with its transformation into an IAAF-approved athletics track.

Hampden Park, Scotland’s National Stadium Building

The football stadium in the Mount Florida area normally has a 52,000 capacity. The venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland, but also the historic Queen’s Park F.C. football club.

At one time the world’s largest stadium, this arena hosts the Track and Field Athletics competitions and the XX Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony.

The playing surface was raised by 1.9 m to transform the stadium from a football venue into an international-standard Track and Field facility. A warm-up track and jump areas were created next to the stadium at Lesser Hampden.

Address: Glasgow G42 9BA, Scotland

Phone: 0141 620 4000

Opened: 1903

Architects: Archibald Leitch, James Miller

Hampden Park Commonwealth Games

Firm behind Hampden transformation comes on board as Games sponsor

Hampden Park, Scotland’s National Stadium – Commonwealth Games

13 Dec 2013 – The construction firm tasked with delivering the transformation of Scotland’s National Stadium for next year’s Commonwealth Games was unveiled today (Friday, 13 December) as part of the Glasgow 2014 Sponsor Family.

Malcolm Construction, which earlier this month began work to change Hampden Park into a world-class track and field venue for the Games, joins the Glasgow 2014 Sponsor Family with immediate effect as its Official Construction Provider.

Hampden Park will take centre stage as the venue where the Commonwealth’s elite track and field athletes will go head-to-head for gold and glory in front of sell-out crowds.

Hampden Park
picture : Glasgow 2014

It is also where the Games’ most innovative construction project is currently under way.

As part of its temporary transformation, the stadium will be given a dramatic new look to gain the width and length required for an IAAF-approved athletics track.

An innovative technical solution being installed by Malcolm Construction will see the playing surface raised by more than 6ft on a grid of structural steel stilts. This will be the first time this technology has been used on this scale to deliver a world-class athletics event.

For Games-time the arena will be transformed into a 44,000-seater stadium, before returning Hampden to its current 52,000 capacity following the end of the Games.

David Grevemberg, Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive, said:

“We warmly welcome Malcolm Construction to the Glasgow 2014 Sponsor Family. Our transformation plan for Hampden is both innovative and sustainable and it’s great to have on board a Glasgow-based company with a strong track record in construction to deliver this pioneering project.”

Martin Kiely, Managing Director of Malcolm Construction, said:

“We are delighted to be named a sponsor for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in our home city. This will be a fantastic event for all of Scotland and we look forward to what we are sure will be a successful and historic Games.”

The famous Hampden turf has already been removed from Scotland’s National Stadium, home of the Scotland international football team, and commemorative sections presented to members of the Tartan Army.

Work to install the raised surface is ongoing with the current phase involving a staged installation of the deck to form the base for the athletics track to be constructed on top.

Hampden will also play host to the Closing Ceremony of Glasgow 2014, where the flag is officially handed over to the Gold Coast, the Australian city that has the privilege of hosting the next Commonwealth Games in 2018.

The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving 70 teams of athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years. Glasgow 2014 will be the 20th Commonwealth Games and will be held from 23 July to 3 August.

It will feature 17 sports in 11 days of competition with 250 medal events on show. The Games will play host to 4500 athletes and sell 1,000,000 tickets, with the event aided by an army of 15,000 local volunteers. Glasgow 2014 Ltd is the official name for the Organising Committee tasked with delivering the Games in partnership with the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Commonwealth Games Scotland.

Malcolm Construction is a division of The Malcolm Group which originated as a family-owned business in the 1920’s and now provides logistics, construction and maintenance solutions throughout the UK.

Hampden Park is Scotland’s National Stadium home venue of the Scotland national football team and amateur Scottish Football League club Queen’s Park. A stadium on the present site was first opened on 31 October 1903 and 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 match in 1937, is the European record for an international football match. 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 Champions League finals, two Cup Winners’ Cup finals and a UEFA Cup final.

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