But a spokesman for the First Minister Alex Salmond was quoted in The Scotsman as saying: “Hampden is the home of Scottish football, and it is only right for the cup final to be played there.” In addition, there are those who stand to benefit from the westward journey of 50,000 people. Coach and minibus companies are obvious examples but the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce chief executive has also argued that showpiece events, such as the Scottish cup final, are important to the economy of Scotland’s largest city.
Perhaps of more interest than political and institutional wrangling is the reason why many fans of the two Edinburgh clubs seem reluctant to play the game at the home of Scottish football-aside, that is, from the issues raised above. An example from English football may help to frame this issue: When Liverpool and Everton met in the semi-final of this year’s FA cup, why was there not equivalent resistance to playing the game at Wembley? This would have negated the need for upwards of 80,000 people to travel what is a much greater distance than the 48 miles between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Arguably, Wembley still occupies a totemic place in the English football imagination in a way that Hampden does not for Scottish football fans-at least not anymore. Maybe this can be traced back to the redevelopment of the stadium in the 1990s but Wembley has been redeveloped more extensively and more recently.
It is not inconceivable that more than a decade of underachievement by the national side has indirectly taken some of the lustre from the national stadium. For a younger generation of fans in particular, Hampden has become synonymous with thwarted ambition rather than associated with thrilling victories. The national team has achieved a few notable victories there in the last decade and the atmosphere has been exuberant on many occasions. But all too often this has been energy expended in the pursuit of a lost cause and some of the majesty of the home of Scottish football may have disappeared into the ether as a result.
Having the semi-finals and finals of Scotland’s domestic cup competitions played at Hampden thus takes on more significance for the guardians of the Scottish game: their tenacity comes from insecurity. To start playing these games at other venues may lead to further diminishment of the standing of the national stadium but it is a pity that the convenience of so many needs to be sacrificed on this particular altar.
Follow Alasdair on twitter: @agmckillop.
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