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Published
by Drew Sandelands
Scotland fans will be able to buy alcohol at upcoming games at Hampden Park following a “good result” in earlier trials.
A ban is usually in place in Scottish football but trial alcohol sales have been taking place recently, including for the national team’s friendlies against Japan and Curaçao earlier this year.
Those fixtures saw alcohol served from pop-up hospitality bars in the stadium concourse.
Four occasional licences to cover two areas of the stadium concourse have now been approved for the games against Switzerland on 29 September and Slovenia next month.
Addressing the city’s licensing board on Friday, licensing lawyer Stephen McGowan said: “You granted essentially equivalent licences for the friendlies… I’m very pleased to say they both went well, there were no adverse incidents. I think it was a good result for everyone involved with Hampden.”
The bars will open at 17:45 ahead of the 19:45 kick off. Alcohol sales will stop at 19:00 with supporters allowed 15 minutes to drink up.
The hospitality areas will be in the level five east bronze and level five west bronze concourses. Only fans with tickets for seats in these areas are able to access the bars.
McGowan said the games would be the “the next step in this wider project”, gathering further data.
He said the project is taking an “incremental” and “prudent” approach and “public safety has been at the heart of that process”, adding: “You’ve now got the comfort of knowing that two matches have been licensed without any difficulties.”
The general sale of alcohol has been prohibited in Scottish football stadiums since 1981.
Story by Local Democracy Reporting Service reporter Drew Sandelands