Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell has confirmed that Hampden could be redeveloped ahead of the 2030 World Cup and insists “nothing is off the table” in terms of changes to the national stadium.
The Scottish FA recently took ownership of the iconic stadium after buying it from Queen’s Park, opening up more possibilities to revamp Hampden and make it into a more modern ground.
Maxwell has previously touted Stuttgart’s stadium as a potential blueprint for changes to Hampden – although he does maintain that the national stadium gets a bad reputation despite fans not necessarily believing it.
“Nothing is off the table, genuinely,” Maxwell said.
“I think Hampden gets a bit of a bad reputation.
“I think it’s a narrative that people continue and I don’t believe anyone really thinks that.
“Anyone who’s been here for a full cup final or a Scotland-England game will tell you how good it is when the stadium is full.
“That’s not to say we don’t need to do work to it. Stadiums of an age need a bit of TLC and it may be that Hampden needs a bit more than that.
“But that’s part of the stadium strategy — working out what we’re doing, how much it’s going to cost, as well as how we’re going to fund it.
“We’re going through the process. There are always options and, if you speak to any architect, they will blow you away with what can be done.
“But they don’t really care about costs.
“We’ll need to decide on it fairly soon because it will be a significant investment.
“Does it need to be done in time for the 2030 bid? That would be the link, yes.
“It makes sense that if we’re going to do anything, to do it when we’re showcasing the stadium on the world stage.”
Hampden has long come in for criticism for it’s poor views from behind the goal and the huge gap between the pitch to supporters.
While it can be fantastic when it is packed to the rafters and rocking, when it isn’t full it can be cavernous and take away from the experience.
Hopefully a revamp happens – and doesn’t get botched quite as badly as the rebuild of Hampden that left us with the current configuration.
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