Quote Originally Posted by NAE NOOKIE View Post
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I agree with much of that. But I think the issue with Hampden is not even so much the state of it as the deal the SFA have with Hampden Park Ltd to rent it. As I've said before its a fact that Hampden is only still usable as a national stadium because the owners have been able to attract grants and sponsorship on the back of the SFA and SPFL using it, without football it would be little more than a rarely used concert venue and they would find it next to impossible to keep it maintained, far less pay for any upgrades.

This is why Hampden's future is now in doubt .... You can understand why the SFA and SPFL are at the point of asking 'why the hell are we paying so much to rent a stadium that only exists because of us?' and more to the point, why should Scottish football make any attempt to stay at the stadium under these circumstances, let alone spend time, money and effort on any project to give the stadium the revamp it so badly needs ... saying its bearable for 90 minutes a couple of times a year is fine, but that doesn't detract from the fact that its lagging miles behind its equivalents in England, Wales and Ireland and there are clubs around Europe who have and are building stadiums that make it look like a 1970s hovel in comparison.

Queens park have been taking the piss for years ...... They are a club engrained in the history of Scottish football but clearly have little interest in its wellbeing, even to the point where they screw up the pitch inside the stadium they haven't paid for because they are too up themselves to use lesser Hampden for their games which are attended by about 300 people.

Its time the SFA called their bluff and put it to them that they either enter into an agreement that gives the SFA control of the stadium or they bolt .... The SFA must know that without them the stadium is doomed and more to the point Queens Park must know it as well. There are three scenarios here:

The SFA / SPFL renew the current deal ....... The stadium remains a dump and nobody gains apart from Queens Park.

The SFA / SPFL withdraw altogether ...... within 20 years the stadium becomes a housing scheme.

The SFA /SPFL enter into an agreement that gives them control of the stadium ..... That not only gives them scope to investigate ways to revamp it, in the long run events like concerts will put money into the coffers of Scottish football rather than Hampden park Ltd.

I would love to see a breakdown of exactly how Hampden operates .... Does it make a profit and if it does where does that money go? How much of it is used to maintain the stadium and how much of it goes into folks pockets? It should be noted that 17 years ago the stadium was a baw hair from liquidation, which the owners blamed on failure to quickly reach an agreement with the SFA on a rental agreement ... nuff said !
How are Queen's Park "taking the piss"? They own the stadium because they bought it and developed it over many years. It's not theirs by chance. They've got every right to charge a rent that will help cover costs. They're not owned by anyone other than the members - fan ownership since 1867 is pretty impressive - and no individual is making a profit from this. Queen's are pretty much a model club for community football running a host of teams for all ages and promoting football in a wide area. You're painting them like some ogres screwing money out of football and that's nonsense. Unlike almost every other club (including ours) they are non-profit making with every penny going back into football through the practical set up or maintaining the ground. What makes you think it "goes into folk's pockets"?

In the late 70s we were on target for a completely rebuilt Hampden until the Thatcher government came along and pulled the funding plug to the loud applause of those who were rebuilding Ibrox and saw the potential for a cash cow (not the plastic Tynecastle type) and the then Glasgow District Council (who were said by many to be the political wing of Celtic).

The SFA and SPFL are perfectly free to take their custom where they want if they can find a better deal somewhere but the idea that they're somehow being held to ransom by Queen's Park is a myth perpetuated best by those who want to see the revenue for international and neutral games monopolised by the sinister sisters of Ibrox and Parkhead.

I'd love to see more of these games taken round the country including to ER but there is still a crying need for a neutral national venue that doesn't fill the money chests of the combined forces of darkness and unless someone's serious about building a new one Hampden is the best we've got by a long way.

I wish it was bigger and I wish the seats were raised a bit steeper but the sight lines and distance from pitch are better than many large stadia in Europe and with a full crowd in the atmosphere can still be brilliant (eg. 21/5/16).

Instead of throwing unfounded accusations at Queen's Park they should be applauded both for their custodianship of Hampden and also for staying clear of the bigotry temptation whilst they were shaping so much of the Scottish game.