23/42 - Hampden Park, Glasgow
16th March 2019
Ground Number: 23
Ground: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Home of: Queen's Park FC
Match: Queen's Park v Elgin City
Score: 4-1
Attendance: 543
It was a special one today. One we'd been really looking forward to. Ground number 23 saw us head to the home of Scottish football and also home to the oldest football club in Scotland, Queen's Park FC. We'd also be taking in The Scottish Football Museum which is located at the stadium today too. Let's get started then shall we?
We'd been in touch with the club beforehand and they advised that parking was free and available directly in front of the main entrance to the stadium. We found Hampden no problem at all from the M73 and parked right at the entrance. Selfies taken we make our way inside to find the museum firstly.
We're at the home of Scottish football and they're very proud of that fact and I like that! A kind staff member took the picture above for us and pointed us in the direction of the museum. Tickets today were bought at the Scottish FA shop / cafe. I'm not sure if this is the case on busy days but on quiet days like today it worked just fine. £8 each for entry seemed reasonable too.
I won't dwell too much on the museum here except to say it's really well put together and an interesting place. Scottish football's story is told well here with a firm focus on the earlier days and the national team. We felt the east coast clubs (and clubs outside the Old Firm in general) were quite under represented but nevertheless it was great to see and we'd recommend a visit.
Museum done then it's time to get into Hampden proper and see a match. It is, afterall, the main reason we came here. There's a few turnstiles open and it seems home and away supporters enter via the same ones. Once inside you're presented with a large concourse which is home to the small Club Shop and also the catering facilities.
The same cannot be said for the food offering here at Hampden. A real shame. The prices for some items were truly eye watering. £5.30 for a burger? £3.50 for a bag of chocolate sweets? Goodness me. I know it's the National Stadium but we found these prices shocking. We of course opted for a pie and, honestly, it was awful. It tasted of nothing and the crust was burnt in places. If I wasn't so hungry (and reviewing the pie of course) I may have binned it. A real pity, we expected better from Hampden.
Out into the stadium itself then and how can you not be impressed? It's a fantastic ground and with only a few hundred fans here today it offered a somewhat surreal atmosphere but everyone was really friendly and there was some great banter flowing between both sets of fans. One thing was clear to us though...the Queen's Park fans love their club and we love them for that. It would be so easy for them to support one of the larger Glasgow clubs but instead they devote themselves to The Spiders. Good on them!
Everyone was located in the South Stand and we had a great view of the action. The match itself was fantastic. Elgin took an early lead very much against the run of play but Queen's were soon back in it and eventually ran riot finishing the game 4-1 winners. It was hard not to feel sorry for the small band of Elgin fans who had made the long journey south on this miserable day. We've seen Elgin twice now on the tour and on each occasion they've been hammered!
Hampden is a modern stadium and one to be proud of. You'd get a decent view wherever you chose to sit here. It would be a real shame if Queen's Park were booted out to play at the adjacent Lesser Hampden as has been rumoured. Some things you just shouldn't touch. This is their home and they are proud of it. I'm sure the place is buzzing for cup finals and national games but this is also home to Queen's and even though it's mad they have almost 52,000 empty seats every time they play here you just leave some things alone!
We had a great visit to Hampden today. The museum was interesting and was good value for money. Free car parking is always a bonus, great club shop, friendly staff, great views of the match and FIVE goals! It was ticks all around. Well except for those food prices and quality. Work to do there in our opinion.
Next up we head back to the capital city for ground number 24.
Ground Number: 23
Ground: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Home of: Queen's Park FC
Match: Queen's Park v Elgin City
Score: 4-1
Attendance: 543
I won't dwell too much on the museum here except to say it's really well put together and an interesting place. Scottish football's story is told well here with a firm focus on the earlier days and the national team. We felt the east coast clubs (and clubs outside the Old Firm in general) were quite under represented but nevertheless it was great to see and we'd recommend a visit.
Museum done then it's time to get into Hampden proper and see a match. It is, afterall, the main reason we came here. There's a few turnstiles open and it seems home and away supporters enter via the same ones. Once inside you're presented with a large concourse which is home to the small Club Shop and also the catering facilities.
Firstly let's talk about the Club Shop. Fantastic. They offered a brilliant range of Queen's Park related merchandise and at reasonable prices too. We picked up a pin badge for just £2.50. The staff manning the shop were friendly and helpful too.
The same cannot be said for the food offering here at Hampden. A real shame. The prices for some items were truly eye watering. £5.30 for a burger? £3.50 for a bag of chocolate sweets? Goodness me. I know it's the National Stadium but we found these prices shocking. We of course opted for a pie and, honestly, it was awful. It tasted of nothing and the crust was burnt in places. If I wasn't so hungry (and reviewing the pie of course) I may have binned it. A real pity, we expected better from Hampden.
Out into the stadium itself then and how can you not be impressed? It's a fantastic ground and with only a few hundred fans here today it offered a somewhat surreal atmosphere but everyone was really friendly and there was some great banter flowing between both sets of fans. One thing was clear to us though...the Queen's Park fans love their club and we love them for that. It would be so easy for them to support one of the larger Glasgow clubs but instead they devote themselves to The Spiders. Good on them!
Everyone was located in the South Stand and we had a great view of the action. The match itself was fantastic. Elgin took an early lead very much against the run of play but Queen's were soon back in it and eventually ran riot finishing the game 4-1 winners. It was hard not to feel sorry for the small band of Elgin fans who had made the long journey south on this miserable day. We've seen Elgin twice now on the tour and on each occasion they've been hammered!
Hampden is a modern stadium and one to be proud of. You'd get a decent view wherever you chose to sit here. It would be a real shame if Queen's Park were booted out to play at the adjacent Lesser Hampden as has been rumoured. Some things you just shouldn't touch. This is their home and they are proud of it. I'm sure the place is buzzing for cup finals and national games but this is also home to Queen's and even though it's mad they have almost 52,000 empty seats every time they play here you just leave some things alone!
We had a great visit to Hampden today. The museum was interesting and was good value for money. Free car parking is always a bonus, great club shop, friendly staff, great views of the match and FIVE goals! It was ticks all around. Well except for those food prices and quality. Work to do there in our opinion.
Next up we head back to the capital city for ground number 24.
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