Glasgow target ‘new audience’ after changing Edinburgh game venue

Glasgow are hoping to attract “a new audience” when they host Edinburgh in their first-ever match at Hampden Park in December. The Warriors announced on Tuesday that their United Rugby Championship fixture against their intercity rivals on Sunday, December 22 – which doubles up as the first leg of the 1872 Cup – will be moved from their Scotstoun home in the west of the city to the national football stadium on the south side.

The move mirrors what Edinburgh do when they switch their home leg of the 1872 from The Hive to the adjacent Murrayfield Stadium in order to accommodate a bigger crowd.

On the back of their URC title success last season, Glasgow are hoping that taking the game to Hampden will allow them to attract a number of spectators that far exceeds the 7,246 capacity of Scotstoun.

“This is a massive moment in the history of not just our club, but rugby within our city and our Glasgow Warriors community,” managing director Al Kellock told the Warriors’ website.

“To be able to take one of our biggest games of the season to one of Scotland’s national stadia is a reflection of the journey that we have been on as a club, as we continue to grow the game in our city, the west of Scotland and Caledonia regions.

“We are excited by the opportunity this fixture presents, not only on the field but off it as well. We also hope to welcome a new audience that may otherwise not attend a Glasgow Warriors match, especially in the run-up to the festive holidays.

“Our ask to the Warrior nation is to now make this as big an occasion as we possibly can. I firmly believe that we have earned the opportunity through our performances over the last season, to show our club, our values and our players to a new audience on one of Scotland’s biggest stages. We know that Glasgow is not just a football city – let’s show that to the world.”

The match in December will be the first time a rugby fixture has been staged at Hampden since November 2004 when Matt Williams’ Scotland side lost 31-17 to Australia.