Queen's Park agree deal with Scottish FA to play Championship games at Hampden

Queen’s Park will play at Hampden Park next season after reaching agreement with the Scottish FA over use of the national stadium.

The ambitious Championship club used Stenhousemuir’s Ochilview Park last season while work is carried out to renovate Lesser Hampden.

That work won’t be complete by next season and the Spiders have secured Hampden Park as their home from September onwards. As part of the deal with the governing body, the Scotland national team will be able to use the pitch at Lesser Hampden for training before international games.

At the national stadium, the playing surface will be fully renovated following the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert on July 23 but Queen’s Park won’t be able to use the venue until after the SFA’s 150th anniversary game against England on September 12.

Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA chief executive said: “We are pleased that we have been able to reach agreement with Queen’s Park, who will use the national stadium for the forthcoming season. As part of the agreement, our Scotland National Teams will be able to utilise the world-class facilities at Lesser Hampden.

“Steve Clarke and the men’s national team have already spoken highly of Lesser Hampden, having used it as a training base for the back-to-back wins against Cyprus and Spain in the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers, and hopefully it can continue to play a part in our success.

“With the increasing fixture calendar across all of our national teams, and with the need to ensure provision for coach education and referee training and development, it is hugely beneficial to access Lesser Hampden as well as our long-standing partnership with the National Performance Centre at Oriam.”

Leeann Dempster, Queen’s Park chief executive added: “We are excited to be able to return to Hampden Park for what will be an exciting season for us in the cinch Championship.

“While we continue our redevelopment of Lesser Hampden, we are happy to provide the state-of-the-art facilities to the Scotland National Teams as part of the rental agreement.

“I’m sure our fans and visiting fans will look forward to games at Hampden Park next season and we are also pleased to be able to support the efforts of our national teams in the process.”