Exclusive:'Glasgow deserves a say': Campaigners bid to keep site of first Hampden Park in community hands

The site of the first Hampden Park should be a space for all, according to a group that hopes to see it placed into community hands.

The site, which operated as a bowling club from the early 1900s, was the location of Scotland's first national football ground and the world's first purpose-built international football stadium.

Opened in 1873, it sits just a stone’s throw from the modern Hampden.

On its pavilion, a mural depicts Andrew Watson, the world's first black international footballer, and Scotland's 5-1 win over England, played on the ground in 1882.

It closed its doors earlier this year and is currently under the stewardship of City Property Glasgow.

The Glasgow City Council arms length external organisation (ALEO) has indicated that their intention is to explore commercial and development options for the former Hampden Park Bowling Club.

But Calum Cameron from First Hampden for All CIC said that the space should be an affordable event space for the local community “as it has been for the past 150 years”. He’s asking people to get involved with the campaign.

He said: “We want to bring this site back into use as a community hub that provides flexible, affordable space for people and organisations right across Glasgow, on the ground where Scotland helped invent the modern game.

"It would be a place for everyone to use, whether that's a home base for sports groups, somewhere community groups can run sessions, or a place to stop for a drink on the way to Hampden on match day.

"We want to carry 150 years of history at First Hampden into a living, breathing place that people use every day of the week. There are so many stories to tell about the area's connection to football, and First Hampden is a one-of-a-kind place to tell them.

"City Property plans to test the site on the open market. We think Glasgow deserves a say in what happens to the place where the modern game began."

The CIC explored a community asset transfer earlier this year, but this was rejected in favour of marketing the site for commercial use or development.

However, Mr Cameron said that the group want to sit down with City Property to find a “collaborative way forward” on the future of the site.

He said: “We think it can be in everybody's interest. That hasn't happened so far, we've asked, and because the community asset transfer was going through, they said they couldn't do that.

“Now that that's been through, we're still ready to sit down with them and see what we can figure out, because ultimately, they work for the people in Glasgow, and I think the whole of Glasgow can benefit from this.”

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Ultimately, there are concerns over what could be built on the site, and how it would handle the legacy of Scotland’s first international stadium.

Mr Cameron said: “We don't know what might come on to that site. We have questions about whether it's viable at all, there's lots of road access issues. We don't think you're going to be able to get planning permission for housing. So the big question for us is what would it be?

“If a commercial bid wanted to lean into the football history, we would definitely talk to them about it. But at the end of the day, we want to have as much control over what happens there, to make sure that that history is represented properly, and it's not just lip service. If this was anywhere else with this level of history, it would already be listed and celebrated.”

City Property Glasgow has been approached for comment.