Date: 11th December 2017
Report on the Hampden Survey
By Dr David Stewart
Introduction
An on-line survey was conducted during November, 2017. A total of 2923 responses were obtained. As a result of the large number of supporters responding to the survey, all percentages mentioned in this report are accurate to within 2%. As an example, a reported percentage of 40% is accurate to within 2%, or is accurate within the range 38%—42%.
All age groups were represented in the sample but the vast majority (93%) of respondents were male. So the results presented here reflect the views of male supporters.
The objective of the survey was to solicit opinions on future options for playing internationals and cup games. The initial question of the survey asked if supporters should have a say in what happens next with respect to the use of Hampden Park. An overwhelming majority (97%) of respondents indicated that supporters should have input on this issue.
Assessment of Ambience and Facilities at Hampden
Respondents were asked their opinions on a variety of aspects of the Hampden experience whilst attending a match. These aspects are listed in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Opinions of the Hampden Experience
| Attribute | Very Bad-Bad | Neutral | Good-Very Good |
| Atmos.—Internationals | 40 | 36 | 24 |
| Atmos.—Cup Games | 39 | 36 | 25 |
| Parking | 82 | 14 | 5 |
| Public Transport | 64 | 22 | 14 |
| Visibility | 73 | 17 | 10 |
| Catering | 57 | 31 | 12 |
| Toilets | 44 | 36 | 20 |
| Value –Internationals | 80 | 15 | 5 |
| Value—Cup Games | 64 | 27 | 9 |
| Overall | 56 | 31 | 13 |
(The data are percentages)
The information in Table 1 should be interpreted as follows. Take the top left cell as an example. Forty(40) percent of respondents indicated that the atmosphere at internationals was Bad to Very Bad.
Across ALL attributes, a minority of supporters believe that Hampden provides a good (to very good) match day experience. Dissatisfaction is highest with Parking, Visibility and Value for Money of both Internationals and Cup games.
Looking down the last column of Table 1 illustrates that atmosphere at Internationals and Cup games received the most favourable assessments by supporters. However, even in those cases a majority of fans still did not rate these aspects favourably.
What is particularly noteworthy is that only 13% of supporters rate the overall experience of Hampden as a positive one.
Preferences for Hampden Alternatives
Given the high levels of dissatisfaction expressed about the Hampden experience, it is interesting to examine how fans felt about alternatives. Table 2 illustrates preferences for three alternatives to the existing Hampden option.
Table 2: Alternatives to Hampden
| Alternative | Percent |
| Retain Hampden | 15 |
| Play at Club Grounds | 25 |
| Murrayfield | 34 |
| New Hampden | 26 |
Dissatisfaction with the Hampden experience is reflected in the small level of support for retaining Hampden as the venue for Internationals and Cup games. Only 15% of respondents favour the status quo of the traditional venue.
This evidence suggests that there is a strong desire for change. The most preferred venue is Murrayfield with 34% of respondents choosing this as their preferred site.
Although there is a low level of support for the existing venue, the results do not suggest that there is a strong case for constructing a new facility. Seventy-four percent of respondents selected another option rather than suggesting the creation of a new facility.
Differences Based on Age
Supporters were categorised into five age groups in order to facilitate the interpretation of the survey data.
These age groups are illustrated in the Table 3.
Table 3: Age Groups of Respondents
| Age Group | Percent(%) |
| 29 and below | 19 |
| 30-39 | 23 |
| 40-49 | 27 |
| 50-59 | 20 |
| 60+ | 11 |
(total sample size=2923)
Seventy percent of the respondents were aged between 30 and 59 with the 40-49 group being the most common.
Table 4 below is a cross tabulation of Age against preferred venue. The information in this table is presented in the form of row percents.
Table 4: Effects of Age on Preferred Venue
| Age Group | Retain Hampden | Clubs Grounds | Murrayfield | New Hampden |
| 29 and below | 14 | 25 | 37 | 24 |
| 30-39 | 18 | 28 | 32 | 23 |
| 40-49 | 15 | 26 | 34 | 25 |
| 50-59 | 15 | 23 | 33 | 29 |
| 60+ | 13 | 20 | 35 | 32 |
(row percents may not add to 100% because of rounding.)
To illustrate how the data should be read, consider the entry in the top left hand cell. This should be interpreted as 14% of supporters aged 29 years or less were in favour of retaining Hampden as the preferred venue for Internationals and Cup games. Does Age matter in choice of venue? The answer is “Yes”. There is a significant association between a supporter’s age group and their choice of venue.
Examination of the last column in the table illustrates that support for a new facility increases with age.
Murrayfield is the most preferred venue across all of the age categories. However, the strongest support for Murrayfield comes from the two smallest age groups: 37% of the youngest group favour Murrayfield, whereas 35% of the oldest group favour that venue.
The Relative Importance of Hampden Attributes
Fans were asked to give an overall assessment of their experience at Hampden. The following analysis illustrates which attributes had the most influence on a fan’s overall experience.
In total there were ten aspects of the matchday experience examined in the survey. All of these can be viewed in Table 1. One of these aspects can be regarded as dependent upon the nine others. Namely, the overall matchday experience can be thought of as dependent upon other aspects such as Visibility, Parking, atmosphere in the ground and so on.
Stepwise regression was used to investigate the effect that each of the nine attributes : Atmosphere in International matches thru to Value for money at Cup games…..had on the overall matchday experience of Hampden. The intent of this analysis was to determine the relative importance of each of these attributes in influencing a fan’s overall assessment.
Table 5 shows the five most important determinants of fans’ assessment of Hampden.
Table 5: Most Important Factors influencing Overall Matchday Experience
| Factor | Relative Importance |
| Atmosphere..…Internationals. | 1 |
| Visibility | 2 |
| Toilets | 3 |
| Public Transport | 4 |
| Atmos. … Cup games. | 5 |
(R-squared=0.67; Overall R-squared=0.69)
The information in this table suggests where the priorities are if it is desired to improve the Hampden matchday experience. Items ranked first and fifth are behavioural in nature and, thus, cannot be influenced directly. However, items ranked second to fourth have a logistical component. Toilet facilities can be improved. Local authorities can be influenced to put on specials for match days. Visibility is a more difficult item to deal and depends upon the level of attendance. If the ground is not full, then poor visibility sections can be left unsold, and fans encouraged into the better visibility areas within the ground.
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