Hampden Park Hampden Park ( often referred to simply as Hampden ) is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow , Scotland . The 52 , 063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland . It is the home venue of the Scotland national football team and amateur Scottish Football League club Queen ' s Park and hosts the latter stages of the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup competitions . It is also used for music concerts and other sporting events . 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 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 ) , Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League . Hampden has hosted prestigious sporting events , including three 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 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 John Hampden , who fought for the roundhead s in the English Civil War . 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 , in 1874 , and a Scotland v England match in 1878 . The club moved to the second Hampden Park , 150 yards from the original , because the Cathcart District Railway planned a new line through the site of the ground ' s western terrace . A lawn bowling 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 , but Celtic Park 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 . Construction of the new ground took over three years to complete ; during construction , a disaster 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 . took over the second Hampden Park in 1903 and renamed it Cathkin Park . The club rebuilt the ground from scratch due to a failure to agree a fee for the whole stadium . Third Lanark went out of business in 1967 and Cathkin Park is now a public park with much of the original terracing still evident . Hampden Park was the biggest stadium in the world when it opened in 1903 , but 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 . In the stadium ' s first match , on 31 October 1903 , Queen ' s Park defeated Celtic 1 – 0 in the Scottish league . The first Scottish Cup Final played at the ground was an Old Firm match in 1904 , 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 . This match established Hampden as the primary home of the Scotland team ; England have never since played in Scotland at a ground other than Hampden . 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 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 not to use Hampden as the Scottish Cup Final venue until after the First World War . 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 on the roof . The Scottish Cup Final returned to Hampden in 1920 , when a surprisingly large crowd of 95 , 000 saw Kilmarnock win the cup against Albion Rovers . 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 sole venue of the Scottish Cup Final after 1925 except in the 1990s when it was being renovated . 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 , who had beaten Scotland 5 – 0 in Vienna in 1931 , became the first foreign national side to visit Hampden Park . Further ground improvements increased the official 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 between Celtic and Aberdeen drew an official crowd of 147 , 365 , with 20 , 000 more people locked outside . Wartime . During the Second World War , matches at heavily - attended grounds were initially prohibited due to the fear of aerial bombing by the Luftwaffe . 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 , set up a command post at Lesser Hampden 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 . 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 . The Hampden fixture list was also expanded by the new Scottish League Cup competition . In 1947 , Rangers defeated Aberdeen in the first League Cup Final . A fire on 25 December 1945 destroyed the stadium press box and damaged offices . The press box was replaced with a plainer two - storey structure that overhang the pitch . The capacity of the ground was cut to 135 , 000 following the Burnden Park disaster in Bolton . The re - entry of the Home Nations into FIFA in 1947 was marked by a match between a Great Britain 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 and Hibernian was played immediately afterwards at Hampden because Cathkin Park was undergoing repair work . The first FIFA World Cup qualification match played at Hampden was a 2 – 0 win for Scotland against Wales 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 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 criteria but lost 1 – 0 . The Coronation Cup , a competition to mark the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II , was held in Glasgow during May 1953 . Four major clubs from each of Scotland and England were invited , with the Old Firm clubs playing their matches at Hampden . Celtic and Hibernian progressed to the final , and a crowd of 117 , 060 saw Celtic win 2 – 0 . Scotland hosted the Magical Magyars of Hungary 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 by defeating Spain , including Luis Suarez , Ladislao Kubala and Alfredo di Stefano , at Hampden . 1960s and 1970s . Hampden hosted the 1960 European Cup Final ; Real Madrid defeated 7 – 3 Eintracht Frankfurt with 130 , 000 people in attendance . Floodlights 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 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 defeated St Etienne . Until 1987 , Hampden used square goalposts . 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 . 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 . In 1970 , Celtic played in the semi - finals of the European Cup against English league champions , Leeds United . 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 . Celtic also played European Cup ties against Ajax 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 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 licenses from local officials , impose crowd segregation and restrict attendances . Pittodrie and Ibrox were converted into all - seater stadium s , while Hampden ' s capacity was reduced to 81 , 000 . Scotland secured qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup at Hampden , with a 2 – 1 victory over Czechoslovakia . Kenny Dalglish scored the winning goal against England in 1976 by nutmegging Ray Clemence . In 1977 , Scotland again won against Czechoslovakia to move towards qualification for the 1978 FIFA World Cup . Scotland played a friendly match against world champions Argentina in 1979 ; the talented , 18 - year - old Diego Maradona scored a goal in a 3 – 1 win for the visitors . 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 Hampden 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 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 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 at Hampden . 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 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 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 . The last match played in front of the sloping terraces was the 1992 Scottish League Cup Final . Within a year , the east and west ends of the ground had been replaced and the partially rebuilt Hampden was re - opened for a friendly match between Scotland and Netherlands 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 . The final stage of the renovation begain in November 1997 , costing £59 million . There was a cost overrun and a fraud squad investigated alleged financial irregularities . Queen ' s Park retained ownership of the ground but the renovation was funded by the National Lottery . The South Stand was replaced and the stadium was re - opened for the 1999 Scottish Cup Final . The ground now has a capacity of 52 , 063 . Real Madrid were again victorious when Hampden Park hosted the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final , defeating Bayer Leverkusen , with Zinedine Zidane 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 . One of the 2012 Olympics matches was delayed after the North Korean team protested against the flag of South Korea being used to represent their players . Hampden will be temporarily converted into an athletics stadium for the 2014 Commonwealth Games . 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 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 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 direct from a corner kick . The roar that followed the goal was so loud that Jackson , who was a mile away in the Glasgow Victoria Infirmary , could tell that Scotland had scored . The phrase Hampden Roar is also used as rhyming slang . People from Glasgow may ask , " What ' s the Hampden ? " , by which they mean " What is the score ? " or " How are you ? " . 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 within Scottish football and their regular qualification for cup matches played at Hampden , the East and West stands are commonly known as the Celtic 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 , which it presently does not , 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 52 , 063 . This capacity will be temporarily reduced to 44 , 000 for the 2014 Commonwealth Games , as the running track will raise the field level by 1 . 9 metres . The redeveloped Hampden has held the top status with the various UEFA stadium categories , currently holding category four status . The Scottish Football Museum , which opened in 2001 , is located within Hampden . Part of the museum is the Scottish Football Hall of Fame . 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 and Scottish Football League are all located within Hampden . Lesser Hampden 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 presently used by Queen ' s Park for training , reserve team matches and youth football . Lesser Hampden will be used as a warm - up area during the 2014 Commonwealth Games . Other uses . Sports other than football . Hampden Park has held four full rugby union international matches . The first was in 1906 , when the Scottish Rugby Union chose to play their match against the touring South Africans at Hampden because no rugby ground could satisfy the demand to see the visitors . A crowd of over 30 , 000 saw Scotland win 6 – 0 . The redeveloped Hampden served as one of the 1999 Rugby World Cup venues , over 90 years later . Scotland played Romania in a friendly match before the tournament and South Africa played Uruguay in a tournament pool match . The only rugby union international played at Hampden since then was in November 2004 , between Scotland and Australia . Hampden hosted the Scottish Amateur Athletics Association championships during the 1920s and 1930s , with the original Meadowbank Stadium used as an alternative venue . Eric Liddell 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 . When Glasgow hosts the 2014 Commonwealth Games , Hampden will be temporarily converted to stage the athletics events and the Closing Ceremony . Suzanne Lenglen , the French professional tennis 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 and Karel Koželuh . During the Second World War , American armed forces based in Scotland played games of softball , baseball and American football at Hampden . American football returned to Hampden in 1998 , when the NFL Europe team Scottish Claymores shared home games between Hampden and Murrayfield . World Bowl XI was held at Hampden in 2003 , but after the 2004 season the Claymores left Scotland to become the Hamburg Sea Devils . Hampden was the home of the Glasgow Tigers speedway 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 , in Coatbridge . The redeveloped Hampden was the venue for a boxing card headlined by former world champion Mike Tyson 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 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 . Genesis and Paul Young performed in the first concert at Hampden , in 1987 . The Rolling Stones played there in 1990 , during their Urban Jungle Tour . Since the redevelopment of Hampden was completed in 1999 , many acts have performed there , including The Rolling Stones , Rod Stewart , Tina Turner , Bon Jovi , Eagles , U2 , Oasis , George Michael , the Red Hot Chili Peppers , Neil Diamond , Take That , AC / DC , Bruce Springsteen , Coldplay , Pink and Paul McCartney . The damage caused to the Hampden pitch by a U2 concert in August 2009 forced a Queen ' s Park league match to be postponed . The 50th anniversary Conventicle of the Boys ' Brigade , 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 s . American evangelical Christian missionary Billy Graham 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 . Records . The highest attendance recorded at Hampden for a football match was 149 , 415 , for the 1937 British Home Championship tie between Scotland and England . This is still a European record for an international match . The 1937 Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Aberdeen 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 that were only surpassed by the Maracanã , and it still holds all the major European records . The European Cup 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 52 , 063 . 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 . Hampden regularly has crowds of below 1 , 000 for Queen ' s Park matches in the lower divisions of the Scottish Football League . Queen ' s Park have not played in the top division of Scottish football since 1958 . Transport . The nearest railway stations are Mount Florida and King ' s Park . Both stations are served by trains from Glasgow Central on the Cathcart Circle Lines . First Glasgow 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 . Public car parking is provided by City Parking Glasgow on the Queens Park recreational ground and the Toryglen playing fields .