Scottish FA won't move grounds for RFU

The Scottish Football Association insisted today that there was no way they would be leaving Hampden Park to join forces with the Scottish Rugby Union in Edinburgh to prevent debts escalating.

Acting SRU chief executive David Mackay has suggested that the two organisations could come together in the capital or Glasgow so that one of the country’s national stadiums could be sacrificed.

He said: “It strikes me, for instance, just to be controversial, why do we have two stadia, one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow (Hampden) 45 miles apart, with a joint capacity of 120,000?

“That seems crackers to me. You could share stadia and maximise your assets. One of them should maybe go.”

But the SFA have no plans to leave Glasgow and are happy to continue at their national stadium.

“We’re based at Hampden and there’s no prospect of us moving from Hampden,” SFA spokesman Andy Mitchell told The Press Association.

“It would be for Hampden to decide but it is already a multi-sport stadium, hosting football matches, the Claymores and pop concerts.

“Of course it’s also hosted rugby matches in the past.”

SRU powerbroker Mackay admitted that they could move from Murrayfield to clear a crippling debt.

The financial crisis in football seems to have taken hold of rugby as they are believed to have a bank overdraft of £18.5m (€22.5m).

Mackay, the chairman of the union’s executive board, told Scotland on Sunday: “If someone was to say ‘Here’s a patch of land’ and if the economics worked and the equation was right we would have no choice but to consider it. It is our duty.”

A new national rugby stadium could also house Edinburgh’s professional rugby team and Hearts.