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Education, Culture and Sport Committee, 06 Mar 2001

06 Mar 2001 · S1 · Education, Culture and Sport Committee

Item of business

National Stadium Inquiry

Galbraith, Mr Sam Lab Strathkelvin and Bearsden Watch on SPTV

The committee has taken a lot of evidence and knows most of the facts involved in the matter and I have provided you with a wind-up letter on the subject but I would like to make a short opening statement.I have made it clear in the numerous statements that I have made to the Scottish Parliament that the Scottish Office was always a minor funder of phase 2 redevelopment at Hampden. The project was not run by the Scottish Office; the Millennium Commission was the major funder and we are grateful for the substantial work that it has put into the project and into the development of the rescue package. It is fair to say that, without that input, Scotland and Scottish football would not have had the asset that is Hampden. The Executive first learned of the financial problems encountered by the project in late July 1999, only weeks after the Executive assumed its full powers. We could have let it fail but decided, in the national interest, to try to save it. We have been happy to play a major and constructive part in resolving the problems which, as I say, were not of our making.Much has been said about the financial pressures relating to the project. The position of the co-funders was simple: we were not prepared to contribute further funding without knowing the final outturn costs of the project and the size of the residual funding gap. Our consultants had access to the books of National Stadium and Queen's Park Football Club, but the information that was available to us was insufficient for us to get the answers we wanted.It has been said that the project was underfunded from the outset. The arrangement was set up by the Millennium Commission and a previous Administration. It is important to understand that when it entered the management contract with McAlpine, Queen's Park FC was not required to have a full funding package in place; it was required to be satisfied that a full funding package could be put in place. Everyone involved was aware that the project would require further funding from sponsorship deals, the debenture scheme and other sources. The decision of the directors of Queen's Park FC to seek the appointment of administrators came as something of a surprise to the co-funders. We were not aware of any creditor pressure—in fact, we believed that an informal arrangement with McAlpine gave Queen's Park FC the funds to continue trading over the festive period. It is important to note that the directors of Queen's Park FC were at sportscotland offices signing papers relating to the new lottery awards some time after the court had appointed administrators ad interim.The co-funders—particularly the Millennium Commission and the Scottish Executive—put in considerable effort over many months to help resolve the problems and put the management of Hampden on a more secure long-term footing. My officials and the commission attended many lengthy meetings—often arranged at short notice—with representatives of Queen's Park FC, the National Stadium plc, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Scottish Football Association and other parties. It was quite an exhaustive process. The outcome is that we now have an excellent stadium that has a five-star rating from the Union of European Football Associations and some excellent ancillary facilities.When all the offices are occupied and the museum and sports injury clinic are open, Hampden will have a life about it and a place in the community that it never really had before. It is now time to put Hampden's past behind us and to help the SFA in its efforts to restore confidence, stability and a certain pride in the Hampden stadium and to attract many more visitors, sponsors and paying customers to it.

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Education, Culture and Sport Committee, 06 Mar 2001

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