Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh at Hampden can be an annual event, and alcohol will be allowed

One week after the old ground stages the Scottish League Cup final, it will throw its doors open to rugby for the first time in 20 years.

Al Kellock, the Glasgow Warriors managing director, believes it can lead to a closer relationship between the two sports and also confirmed that alcohol will be on sale at Hampden for rugby supporters on December 22.

“It will be the usual set-up they have for concerts, so supporters will be able to enjoy a drink at their seats,” said Kellock.

Those attending the League Cup final seven days prior will not have that privilege due to the long-standing alcohol ban at football matches in Scotland and the close proximity of the games is likely to spark more debate over the inequity of the licensing laws in sports stadiums.

The Glasgow-Edinburgh match has moved date as well as venue. It was originally scheduled for Scotstoun on Saturday, December 21 at 5.15pm but has now been pushed back to the Sunday with a more family-friendly kick-off time of 3pm. The second leg is at Murrayfield on December 28.

Kellock, speaking at a press call at Hampden, admitted the club is taking a risk by moving the game away from their Scotstoun home where they have not lost a league match for almost three years but the chance to grow the fixture and capitalise on the team’s recent success was too good to turn down. He also stressed that head coach Franco Smith was on board with the new venue.

Edinburgh attracted a record attendance of 37,904 for their home leg of the 1872 Cup at Murrayfield last year. Kellock wouldn’t be drawn on the size of the crowd he hopes to attract to Hampden but has appealed for Warriors supporters to turn out in force and back the team which won the United Rugby Championship so impressively last season.

“I want this place to be absolutely rocking and I think the boys deserve it and the club deserves it as well,” said Kellock. “There is a little bit of a risk of taking it away [from Scotstoun] but we saw Edinburgh getting 37,500 or so last year. The crowd base is there. The last time we had a final or a game at a big stadium in Glasgow, albeit it was a final, we had 47,000 in at Celtic Park [for the 2019 Pro14 final]. We want to get as many in as possible this time too.

“We've got plans as to what the stand will look like. The communication will start going out to season ticket holders almost immediately to make sure that they're first and foremost well looked after. They'll get the opportunity to move their seats over. We've got a model because Edinburgh have done this and the Scottish Rugby's ticketing team are supporting us brilliantly on it.”

Kellock said he had been looking for a while for a suitable venue to play some of the Warriors’ bigger games and did not rule out moving play-off matches or bigger European ties to Hampden if the Edinburgh fixture proves to be a success following productive talks with Ian Maxwell, the Scottish FA chief executive..

“We've been speaking to various stadiums around Scotland, particularly around Glasgow for a long time,” said Kellock. “We've had some challenges when it came to finding venues for knockout phases of the URC etc. I came in a few months ago and met Ian Maxwell here and the conversation has been great.

“They've been really supportive and brilliant at looking at what we want to get out of it as well. It’s also about proving that we can do this. We've got a phenomenal stadium here, there's no reason why rugby and football can't coexist for a certain number of games. In terms of the opportunity for Glasgow, if we're going to do it, this is the year to do it.

“Me, Franco and Kyle [Steyn, the Glasgow captain] were reflecting on us going over to Pretoria to play in front of 51,000 people in an incredible venue. I'm not saying we're going to get 51,000 in here but the opportunity is there to really have an incredible rugby event. We've got a brilliant rugby community in Glasgow and the Caledonia region. We engage with that rugby community as much as we possibly can.”

As well as the big crowds attracted to Edinburgh for 1872 Cup matches, Kellock has taken note of huge attendances enjoyed by Harlequins and Leinster when they have moved games to Twickenham and Croke Park or the Aviva, particularly over the festive season. He said a lid would be kept on prices, with the aim to attract as many young fans as possible.

“We're not going to price this out of the market,” added Kellock. “It will be priced similar but slightly cheaper to what a Scotstoun and Edinburgh game would be. We're not premiumising this, we're trying to get as big a crowd in as possible. There will be group tickets, group deals as well, like we do at Scotstoun and Edinburgh, but obviously there’s more opportunity to do it here. I would love to see buses leaving from clubs around Glasgow and the wider Caledonian region, bringing bus loads here.”

Glasgow are thriving under Smith and Kellock, playing an exciting brand of rugby which regularly sells out the 7,300-capacity Scotstoun. After last season’s URC triumph, the club wants to keep progressing. Asked about making the Hampden fixture with Edinburgh a staple on the Warriors calendar, Kellock said: “Absolutely. If you dare to dream and you look at what Leinster do in the big games, that's where we want to be. To win that trophy with performances on the park, what we need to do is keep the club growing off the park.

“This is an opportunity to prove that there's a significant rugby audience out there for Glasgow Warriors if we get big enough games and we get the event as good as it can be and the performances. We've got the best players in the country playing against each other in this 1872 game. But then you look at other games, European games, we'll bring some of the best players in the world here. We don't lose in Glasgow very often.

“Everything's in place for this to be a big event. The standard of rugby and the standard of teams we're playing against and beating should be on a bigger stage. It should be a bigger spectacle and that's what we're trying to do.”