by Guest Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:01 am
History
The first two Hampdens
Queen's Park have played at a venue called Hampden Park since 1873. When Queen's Park moved to the third (and current) Hampden Park, the second Hampden was sold to Third Lanark A.C. and renamed New Cathkin Park. The site of the first Hampden Park 1873–1884 is on the site of the present day Hampden Bowling Club.[1] The second Hampden Park (Cathkin Park) is just across the Cathcart Road. Queen's Park played there from 1884–1903.[2]
The present Hampden
In 1903, Queen's Park decided to purchase 33 acres of land in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow's south side.[3] The first match at the present Hampden Park was played on 31 October 1903, when Queen's Park recorded a 1–0 win over Celtic.[4] Hampden Park was the largest stadium in the world until 1950, when the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro was completed.
After the release of the Taylor Report in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster, among other football tragedies, Hampden Park was converted to be all-seater at a cost of £12 million.[3] The need to improve safety led to its most recent renovation in the late 1990s, costing £59 million.[3] The stadium was re-opened on 14 May 1999, with a capacity of 52,103.
Some aspects of the stadium design have been criticised, as supporters sitting in the stands behind the goals are a long distance from the pitch. The SFA have discussed plans to address this problem and to increase Hampden's capacity to at least 70,000.[5]
Last edited by Liverpool fc 4 ever on Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:02 am; edited 1 time in total
