UK Stadiums: The City Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland
The City Stadium (Lesser Hampden) is a football ground in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, located directly beside the national stadium Hampden Park. It is owned and used by Queen's Park FC. Since 2023, the ground has been officially named The City Stadium due to a naming-rights sponsorship deal. The club currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second level of professional football in Scotland.
The league consists of 10 teams. The champions are promoted to the Scottish Premiership. The clubs finishing second, third and fourth enter the Premiership promotion play-offs together with the 11th-placed Premiership side.
Capacity
The original capacity back in 1925 was for about 12,000 spectators. Current capacity is around 990 spectators after redevelopment with expansion proposals to raise this to around 1,700 seats. Despite its small size today, the stadium serves as a permanent home ground for Queen's Park and a training facility for Scottish national teams
In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Queen's Park began redeveloping the site to create a modern stadium suitable for professional matches after the club sold Hampden Park to the Scottish Football Association.
The playing surface is now natural grass.
The Club: Queen's Park
Queen's Park Football Club (nicknamed the Spiders), founded in 1867, is the oldest association football club in Scotland and the tenth oldest in the world. Men from the local YMCA discussed passionately what the club name should be in its inaugural meeting. Initially, names such as the Celts and the Northern were mentioned, but they settled with Queen's Park, though the voting result suggests it was not a unanimous decision. They played their first match in August 1868 against Thistle F.C., now a defunct club.
As the oldest team within Scottish borders, the club boasted enormous pedigree in the early stages and was a dominant force. In the world's first international fixture in 1872 between the Scots and the English, all of the Scottish starting eleven were playing for the Spiders, the only time such a thing has happened.
Nickname
The club nickname is credited to David Wotherspoon, a player and committee member, who introduced the black and white hooped jersey. Queen's Park have won ten Scottish Cups, all between 1874 and 1893. In the early stages of the FA Cup, Scottish clubs were invited to participate. Queen's Park utilized the opportunity to the fullest, reaching the final in 1884 and 1885. Both games were played at the Kennington Oval, or the Oval, to cricket fans, and on both occasions, their opponents were Blackburn Rovers. The Spiders failed to win either of the two games and so there is no Scottish team that has claimed the title.
The club is renowned for its amateur principles. In 1890, the Scottish Football League was formed, but Queen's Park refused to join. Three years later, the Scottish Football Association acknowledged professional football, which saw the rise of other competitive teams, chiefly Celtic and Rangers. Queen's Park eventually became a Football League side and started participation in the 1900-01 season. Recognized for their contribution, the club entered straight into the top flight. Several important figures in the Scottish game are associated with the club. One of them is Andrew Watson, the first black footballer to play an international, representing Scotland on three occasions. Born in British Guiana, Watson had two spells for the Spiders and featured for the famous amateur side Corinthians. Charles Campbell, categorized as a half-black person, won an astonishing eight Scottish Cups for the club.
Access - Getting There
The stadium is located on Letherby Drive adjacent to Hampden Park.
By train, the most convenient stations are Mount Florida and King's Park. The walking distance between Mount Florida and the stadium is eight minutes, and from King's Park, it takes roughly twenty minutes. Either station is served by trains from Glasgow Central.
Parking is available immediately behind the South Stand, but it is for permit holders only.
If buses are your preferred means of transport, look out for these seven services from Glasgow city centre (5, 6, 7, 7A, 34, 90 and 31).
Address: Letherby Drive Glasgow G42 9BA, United Kingdom
Accessibility
Wheelchair user spaces with personal assistants seats are located in the East Stand at the rear. Access is on the east side of the stadium. An Accessible toilet is located on Rear concourse of the stand. Altgether there are 10 places for wheelchair users and 9 seats for their personal assistants. Away supporters who are wheelchair users are located in this area of the stand.
Nearby Hotels
The city of Glasgow has many fine hotels to choose from. At the top end are the Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel and the One Devonshire Gardens a Hotel Du Vin. Other recommended places to sat in Scotland's largest city are Dalziell House and the Tartan Lodge. See here for a complete accommodation list of available hotels in Glasgow.
More Football Stadiums in Scotland
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