TT No.5: Andy Gallon - Sat August 2nd 2008; Queen's Park v Stranraer; Irn-Bru Scottish League Div Two; Res: 2-2; Att: 611; Admission: £9; Programme: £2 (40pp); FGIF Match Rating: ****

Sleek and graceful, handsome Hampden is a thoroughbred among new stadia. A protracted multi-million pound rebuild has produced a stunning home for Scottish football boasting - inside and out - a sense of cohesion and style its shabby predecessor could never hope to emulate. The transformation of 'The Auld Lady' from ugly duckling to preening swan took a long, long time, and may never have been completed without the invention of the National Lottery and its attendant cash handouts. But it was surely worth the wait. Most Scots, for whom Hampden has the same mythical status as William Wallace and Bannockburn, must approve wholeheartedly. What the marketing people have dubbed 'The Hampden Experience' is probably best begun in the car park in front of the South Stand. This impressive focal point has been reconstructed sympathetically, with pleasing echoes of the splendid wooden structure it replaced. The lower section is of brick, a warm shade of terracotta, with upper panelling in silver and navy. This striking colour scheme is used - to great effect - throughout the exterior of the stadium. A broad flight of steps leads up to the main reception entrance, with two barrel-shaped towers, hinting at what used to be here, to either side. At the foot of each, a spiralling pathway provides access for the disabled. Smaller towers flanking the main twins add to the feeling of grandeur. Walking left as you face the facade takes you round the back of the West Stand, which curves sharply because the ground, for an unfathomable reason, has retained its original elliptical shape. Outside, it is mostly terracotta brick, with silver and navy detailing. Beyond is Lesser Hampden, overlooked by a large church and tower blocks, and used by stadium owner Queen's Parks reserve and junior teams. Behind a brick wall lurks an artificial pitch, with an archaic stand and pavilion along the far touchline. Your circumnavigation continues up to Somerville Drive, which features splendidly elegant stone tenements and low-slung town houses, and then round to the shady rear of the North Stand. This has less height than the South Stand, illustrating how the stadium is located on a shelf cut out of a hillside. Four identical towers, encased in glazing bricks, containing stairs and hovering above the pavement, is the main visual feature. A plain turnstile block is somewhat less ornate than the castellated originals. The rear of the East Stand, a grassy bank, is dominated by steps and walkways. The use of terracotta bricks and silver and navy detailing on railings and turnstile doors ensures a pleasing uniformity. Hampden, though surrounded by houses in a variety of styles and materials, has a very open aspect. There is a surprising amount of greenery and the land rises and falls at various points to reveal glimpses of the generally grey Mount Florida district in which it is located. Inside, the trend of unity and simplicity continues. The spectator concourses, with exposed ducting and plain finishes, are nothing to get excited about but the access corridors in the posh sections are light, bright and spacious. The stadium's 52,500 seats are accommodated mostly on a sweeping single tier - a clean, seamless whole and visually stunning. They are presented in alternate bands of red and blue. The word Hampden is picked out in the seats on the north side and the Scottish Saltire at the centre of each end. The seats in the South Stand are navy and, in the middle section, padded. These overlook a wide players' tunnel, with elevated accommodation for managers and substitutes either side. There is a small gallery in front of hospitality boxes above the North Stand seats and a second tier, from which the view must be magnificent, above the lower section in the South Stand. More hospitality boxes are secreted beneath the second tier's overhang. The simply awesome roof, cantilevered out an astonishing 42.5 metres at its greatest depth and peppered with light-enhancing translucent panels, ties everything together perfectly. Bolted on to its plain white fascia are oblong blocks of floodlights, which spelt the end for the ground's distinctive former leaning 'drench' lights. The pitch is surrounded by a tartan track which is narrow at the sides and broadens out to a vast semi-circle behind each goal. An electronic scoreboard hangs from the rafters at each end but, strangely, Queen's Park fail to make any real use of them, displaying only the match score and the playing time. Neither team changes nor scorers are shown.   The Scottish Football Museum is housed at Hampden, and can be found adjacent to the main entrance in the South Stand, which is the sole section of the ground opened for Queen's Park fixtures. It contains a fascinating and priceless collection of artefacts, including caps, shirts and medals from as far back as 1872. Amusingly, to non-Scots, a whole section is devoted to Archie Gemmill's classical goal for the national team against Holland at the 1978 World Cup finals in Argentina. There is a diorama depicting flailing Dutch defenders and the midfielder's mazy run is replayed endlessly on a large screen. All together now: And Gemmill has put Scotland in dreamland! Also displayed is the ball used for the opening game, between Queen's Park and Celtic, at Hampden back in 1903. A combined match and museum ticket costs £14, which represents a decent reduction on the cost of both. The standard admission for Queen's Park games is £11 - taking in the museum sees that cut to £9. One of my favourite other sports is speedway and I was thrilled to see Svein Kaasa remembered with a simple, poignant memorial in the museum foyer. Kaasa, a 25-year-old Norwegian, was killed tragically in a track crash during a home match with Swindon Robins in September 1972 while riding for Glasgow Tigers, who were based at Hampden for four seasons between 1969 and 1972. Though speedway forms only a small part of the Hampden story, it - and Kaasa - have not been forgotten. Full marks! One of the great curiosities of British football is, of course, that Hampden is owned by Queen's Park, though the Scottish FA run the place. It's rather like a village curate preaching in a cathedral. The Spiders, formed in 1867 and the oldest club in Scotland, remain the only amateur outfit in the Scottish League. Watching Queen's play in front of a few hundred spectators huddled together in the South Stand amid this huge bowl must be one of the oddest experiences the sport can offer anywhere in the world. Owing to the distance from the action and the 'reserve game' atmosphere, maintaining concentration is a challenge for fans - and possibly for players, too. Today's game is between two sides expected to struggle this season. Stranraer, hit by financial problems over the summer, were promoted into Division Two only because of Gretna's sad demise, while Queen's Park last term had a close shave with relegation to the Scottish Football League basement. But the teams come up with an exciting contest on a beautiful sunny afternoon. The game is preceded by a personal first - the chance to take part in a minute's applause. This is in tribute to broadcaster, journalist and author Bob Crampsey and former Spiders full-back Paul Borland, who both died recently. Crampsey, 78, to whom the match programme devotes three pages, grew up within 300 yards of Hampden and went on to become the club's greatest champion. He penned a history of Queen's Park - 'The Game for the Game's Sake' - and was made an honorary life member. His brother played in goal for the team and he even married a season ticket holder! Borland, 29, a veteran of 61 games for the Glorious Hoops, was found dead at home. The applause, ironically, is a life-affirming experience. The match confirms what a great game football is. Queen's Park look short on confidence and pace, and Stranraer are quick to take advantage. Frenchman Gregory Tade, gangly but threatening throughout, forces the ball past keeper Zander Cowie from close range for a 15th-minute opener. The game looks up for the Spiders five minutes later when Martin McBride crashes a 25-yard free-kick into the top right-hand corner of motionless Cowie's goal. But visiting centre-back Alex White offers the hosts a way back in the 31st minute. He is sent off for an off-the-ball kick aimed at Paul Harkins. It's nothing and Blues boss Derek Ferguson makes a voluminous case for the defender from the technical area and is sent to the stands for his pains (or possibly for his language). Queen's Park only really get their act together just before the hour mark, when they bring on three substitutes. One of them, Robert Dunn, forces the ball over the line with his first touch in the 60th minute after being struck by team-mate Richard Sinclair's powerful downward header. Now, it's all Queen's as Stranraer leave Tade marooned in splendid isolation up front and go through the timewasting manual from first page to last. An A to Z of baffoonery. Justice is done with eight minutes left when Andrew Gibson brings down Barry Douglas on the left side of the box and Paul Cairney blasts his spot-kick into the same corner found earlier by McBride's free-kick. The Spiders keep pushing as the clock ticks down but run out of time, though Cairney's deflected free-kick in the last minute brings a brilliant tip over out of Scott Black, and have to be content with a point. I don't see many Scottish programmes these days but Queen's Park's looks like a decent issue. Colour pictures proliferate and the layout follows a distinctive newspaper style. The legendary Bob Crampsey features on the unusual cover and there are numerous well-written articles. Even the spelling and punctuation is spot-on! One final observation about Hampden. Bearing in my mind it is Scotland's national football stadium, it seems odd that it is not signposted at all from the end of the M74, the main access into Glasgow from the south. The nearest brown tourist sign I spotted was by the traffic lights within 200 yards of the East Stand. What use is that? But even if you have trouble navigating your way through Rutherglen town centre, Hampden is worth the hassle. The old ground was stately in parts, the new is magnificent all over.

contributed 03/08/08