FURIOUS Queen’s Park bosses have called on Stewart Regan to lay out the full cost of the Scottish Football Association quitting Hampden.
The SFA chief executive claimed in a recent interview with BBC Scotland that the cost of renewing the governing body’s lease for the national stadium would cost “many, many millions of pounds”.
But that has been rubbished by Queen’s Park – who still own the traditional home of Scottish football.
According to the Spiders’ most recent club accounts, the SFA paid just £308,907 in annual rent despite the terms of their 20-year agreement – which expires in 2020 – stating the Ladbrokes League One outfit should receive £800,000 a year.
Now Queen’s Park chiefs have called on Regan to come clean on just how much it would cost the SFA to move Scotland matches and big cup finals to an alternative venue.
In a statement posted on the club’s website, they said: “Whilst Mr Regan has stated it would take many many millions of pounds to remain at Hampden, he has not clarified how much it would cost the Scottish FA to leave Hampden.
“For the past 17 years the stadium has been successfully operated by Hampden Park Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Scottish FA, with many areas of revenue generation, including sponsors, naming rights, third party rentals and concerts.
“The present lease arrangements allow the Scottish FA to work independently with a vast degree of flexibility and the ability and freedom, for example, to bid and be awarded matches from the UEFA 2020 European Championships.
“The decision to remain or leave cannot be based purely on cost. The City of Glasgow and indeed Scotland could be greatly affected by the loss of the iconic Hampden Park, recognised worldwide as the home of Scottish Football.
“Queen’s Park would further like to clarify that recent reports of rental of £800K per annum, being paid to Queen’s Park are incorrect.
“Under the present lease agreement, a confidentiality clause prohibits us from making public the rental amount, however we can say it is much much less than the £800K per annum paid directly to Queen’s Park. The vast proportion of the rental is retained by the Scottish FA to maintain the stadium.”
The Scottish Rugby Union has revealed it has already held talks with their SFA counterparts about the possibility of staging major Scotland internationals and cup clashes at BT Murrayfield amid growing fears for Hampden’s future.
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