IF the rumours are right, far from being the joke many people thought when it was first revealed, the Scottish Football Association is taking the option of moving Scotland internationals and major cup finals to BT Murrayfield very seriously indeed.
What a massive compliment the people who responded to a Scottish Football Supporters Association survey paid to BT Murrayfield which is the preferred replacement for Hampden by 34 per cent of respondents.
If more footie fans had actually attended a match at Scottish rugby’s National Stadium then the vote would have been even higher. Apart from car parking – both stadia have the same problem of too few spaces for far too many cars – BT Murrayfield beats Hampden every time as a venue, not least because it holds 15,000 more spectators than the Old Lady of Mount Florida which is, after all, not even the biggest and best stadium in Glasgow.
Yet the Rucker can’t help but feel uneasy at the prospect of BT Murrayfield becoming the National Stadium for rugby and football.
It would be extremely good for the SRU’s bank balance, and that’s a major consideration, but I fear that the goodwill of the people of West Edinburgh would disappear out of the window in seconds if a Celtic v Rangers Cup Final were to be held at BT Murrayfield.
At the moment, BT Murrayfield is only guaranteed to be filled five or six times a year for the Autumn Tests and Six Nations home matches, and anyone who knows the SRU’s balance sheet will tell you that the years in which Scotland has three home games in the Six Nations are better financially than the years when we have two.
That’s why more use must be made of the stadium. As one of the world’s best rugby stadia, BT Murrayfield should get more European finals, but they are shared around and we can only get our fair share.
Other than that at the moment, BT Murrayfield hosts the occasional concert, though none are advertised at the moment while Hampden has three by Ed Sheeran in June – two of them already a sell-out.
The case for more things to happen at BT Murrayfield is obvious, but there is a problem – location, location, location.
Back when the old Edinburgh District Council gave the SRU planning permission for the redevelopment of the stadium, they sort of promised local people there would be no more than a dozen big ground-filling events per year, and by and large, the SRU has stuck to that.
If only out of respect for BT Murrayfield’s neighbouring communities, they should stick to that policy and while the occasional football international or final could be played there, BT Murrayfield should remain the national stadium for the game with oval-shaped balls.
You’ll notice I have used BT Murrayfield throughout. The comms giant paid a reported £20 million for the naming rights in 2014 and the four-year contract is due for renewal.
Let’s hope they continue and that BT Murrayfield is here to stay, only without too many games involving round balls.
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