Watch: Hampden pub receives ‘excellent feedback’ after unrecognisable £85,000 garden refurbishment

The Florida Park, a community pub on Battlefield Road in Glasgow – located within a five minute walk of Hampden Park – has unveiled its brand-new beer garden following an incredible £85,000 refurbishment.

The garden, which was officially opened on Saturday, March 25 by pub regular Martin Haining ahead of Scotland’s eagerly awaited UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying match against Cyprus, is part of leading company Proper Pubs, Admiral Taverns, which owns over 165 pubs across England, Scotland, and Wales, in partnership with Tennent’s Lager.

The pub showcases a major exterior transformation enhancing their overall offering, and further cementing its place within the community as a popular social hub. The beer garden has been designed from scratch to create a vibrant, inviting space for locals and football fans from further afield to use all year round.

At the helm of the Florida Park is operating manager, Elaine Ferrie, who came to the pub back in October 2021 with almost 35-years of experience. Elaine has an extensive background in hospitality, and more specifically running bars and events across the UK and Europe. Her wealth of knowledge and expertise in the industry is invaluable and will be key to unlocking the pub’s full potential.

She said: “I am absolutely delighted to unveil the Florida Park’s brand-new beer garden to my customers! It’s been incredible seeing my vision come to life and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turned out. It looks amazing. None of this would have been possible without them or the support I’ve received from my team and Admiral Taverns.

“The feedback we received from customers was excellent. The response we got centred around around the speed of the service they received. I don’t think anybody waited longer than eight minutes to get serviced, which on a matchday or an event day is just absolutely amazing. They were commenting on how nice and inviting the outdoor area looked and said they felt very comfortable in it.”

The new garden boasts an extensive outdoor bar featuring festoon lighting and a mural painted on one side by local artist, Gillian McNeill. Throughout, the area will host an eclectic mixture of colourful furniture to link with the pub’s industrial feel inside and will comfortably seat around 70 customers, or 125 standing. In addition, a selection of exotic and traditional garden greenery has been introduced – including hanging baskets, potted plants and small trees to give it a fresh, welcoming feel.

The garden has also received brand new decking in one section to host a large undercover, heated area and plenty of seating to ensure it can be used all year round. The outdoor bar stocks a wide selection of premium lagers and ciders including Tennents, Heverlee, Guinness and Magners and also offers an array of premium spirits.

If customers would prefer something a little different, they can pop inside for a classic cocktail such as an Espresso Martini or a Sex on the Beach. Whilst the Florida Park doesn’t offer its own food menu, on match and concert days the operator invites street food vendors to the pub, with a percentage of the proceeds going towards local charities.

Since taking over the pub, Elaine has worked hard to embed it into the community through her charity work. Last year, she managed to raise enough money in four weeks to have a lifesaving defibrillator installed at the pub and is always looking for other local initiatives to support. These include the local foodbank, as well as collecting selection boxes and Easter eggs for nearby children’s charities. Over Christmas, Elaine, with the help of her locals, managed to collect almost 600 selection boxes.

Matthew Gurney, Operations Director for Proper Pubs, commented: “Elaine and the team have done a fantastic job with this refurbishment. It looks incredible and has far exceeded all my expectations. This really was the finishing touch to an already cracking pub so on behalf of everyone at Admiral Taverns and proper Pubs, I’d like to thank Elaine for her continued hard work, and I wish her and the pub every success in the future.”