The announcement that a brand new entertainment venue is about to be built in the environs of Celtic Park is good news for the club.
If the area around our ground is turning into a major hub then that can only be a positive. It will let us explore some ideas and projects which have long been on the backburner. It will give us a chance to grow and earn.
The news of this has caused some consternation across the city, where they view everything positive that happens to us, or around us, as proof that The Great Conspiracy Of The Unseen Hand is well at work and moving to assure our continued dominance.
Nothing even remotely like that has happened here, or is happening.
The East End of Glasgow was neglected, horribly, for decades. Ironically, it took the Jubilee to push forward with it revitalisation and the big changes that we’ve seen since.
But it was overdue. Central government hadn’t put a penny into our wee corner of the world. We didn’t even have – as was often discussed – an underground station and we still don’t.
Transport links still aren’t great, as anyone who has to use public transport to get to the games can attest, but the area itself looks and feels different, and it’s not before time.
The new venue, which it’s proposed would be able to host 900 people, will not make Celtic money directly, but it will enhance the fan experience and it opens the doors to the hotel and museum projects we’ve long harboured an intention to build.
The problem with these projects is that there had to be a commercial justification for them. The outlay will be huge, and there has to be some kind of cost-benefit advantage to going ahead with them.
The more there is to do in the local area the more these ideas come into focus.
The more the East End becomes and entertainment and events hub the more commercial upside there is in Celtic invested in its own stadium footprint infrastructure, and so this is worth keeping an eye on.
This could be the catalyst for expansion that we’ve been waiting for.
Good news indeed. One correction though: you say that transport links ‘aren’t great’ when in fact they are an absolute disgrace.
Absolutely spot on. There’s no point in anyone mentioning the lack of a tube station. There won’t be a tube station near Celtic Park this century – the subway is a circular line connecting the city centre to the west centre of Glasgow and that’s it. However it can’t be beyond the realms to put two additional spur lines (one from Belgrove and one from Bridgeton) that terminate at or nearby the Clyde Gateway intersections with The Gallowgate and London Road and have sprinter trains from there to and from Glasgow Central/Queen Street on matchdays/other event days from where most fans can then get there transport home.
The club need to look at a partnership to build the Hotel/Museum,look what the english RFU did at twickenham, Marriott hotel build in to the stadium and Virgin Gym set up all in the building.
I would suggest partner with a hotel chain for the build they get the custom of the hotel venue fans get the customer experience (imagine trying to book a wedding or 1st holy communion it will be mobbed )and Celtic get the museum build at no cost its a win win IMO.
why not make celtic park a bigger stadium so more people can get tickets to the games i can never get a ticket because they are always sold out i think the people who are making these decisions are forgetting the supporters
Great comment Greg. We moan about killie but CP needs to accommodate our demand!
I’ve read that it’s a separate company by the name of “G40” that is building this new musical venue hosting 940 people, puzzles me why celtic haven’t bought the grounds around the stadium fir future development of paradise or even to stop others building on it
The main problem is that Wullie Haughey owns all the land around celtic Park, celtic have the funds to carry out developments like hotel, museum etc, but Haughey has his own ideas of what he wants to do with the land.
Dermott has offered way over market value for the land but he refuses to sell and for this reason it is stopping celtic benefiting from additional incomes
Agree with the principle of further expansion, improved transport links and thus employment in the area James. Many of our former and current players are wealthy beyond dreams. Many of our supporters are wealthy individuals too. Many fly in from a variety of places and from other countries beyond these isles for our games, functions, tours, etc. I’m pretty damn sure our founding fathers didn’t want to limit social, employment and business opportunities in the area either so long as they’re for and are Celtic people. After all we moved from a waterlogged marshy park to Celtic park, that’s why it’s called Paradise. It’s called progression and the more of it we can provide for the area and for Celtic minded people the better, and the worse it is for the lodge driven establishment in this city and country.
Celtic is more than a football club, much more, but also agree that we do need to complete Paradise, increase the capacity and ticket opportunities for more fans getting in across the social spectrum, it’s not and should never be just a club for the wealthy. I remember getting in for half price during the 80’s by producing my dole card and I think we should look at assisted pricing aid too. A great many of our current and former players and their business partners aren’t or shouldn’t be struggling given what they’ve earned. It doesn’t have to be a one or the other vision, it can be both and for all. HH
Exactly mhate wee Fergus actually said this also before demand became so strong tho for first 2 season I had a student ticket for 405 at top of North stand so he did help people , as I stated earlier it’s a disgrace really that 25 years on from Lisbon Lon’s stand this board have done nothing to that main stand it needs knocked down and the symmetrical stadium completed and as you say have way more concessions for people it is after all what this club is built on!! Sick the bs ” we look at it” do it!! End of the money is there!! And demand! Also having a ground 25,000 seats more than anyone!! Is massive !But still Desmond get his puppets to talk shit!! We need real forward thinking guys on that board!!
Not for me Celtic should be building a new main stand! As Kevin McKenna says it’s way overdue we Fergus built 3 sides in 4 years! These bassas have sat on their hands for 25 years come this summer!! It like they don’t want to totally blow everyone out the water!! It be filled 99 percent of the time even with us in this set up!! This board area joke we should have symmetrical 75,000 seater stadium!! That all I want to here about ! This bs pandering ” we may look at it” is nonsense !! Tho this the problem when a 75year old runs the club! From God knows where!! Those poles that were out in at each side of the main stand which are only there for those corners not the actual mainstand as they were never there before but they are a disgrace !! No big club should have such a thing , tho I don’t reckon under Desmond this will ever happen all this 50 million in the bank bs well use it to make paradise are true world class areana! With that land we have to ! It be no problem
Poles that are at each side I meant
What we desperately need is a stand with underground (or internal) parking to elevate the stadium to possibly host UEFA final matches. At the moment Hampden (maybe Murrayfield) are the only possible Scottish choices which were obvious with the recent UK and Ireland bid for hosting the EUROs. Every commentator was saying that both Paradise and Ipox were much better for fan experience than Hampden .. but this lack of internal team coach park is what is stifling any possible inclusion. Is it because the front of the main stand is listed so it can´t be altered? I work at most Portuguese grounds and I know that the ones rebuilt for the Euro´s all have such park entries .. but not necessarily in the main stand entrance. But they are all at a lower level than the turnstiles, is there a possibility that such parking could be implemented at the ground ?
Fergus McCann described the stadium re-build as a low cost HIGH MAINTENANCE project.
I feel, to keep the place safe, more needs to be spent on maintenance rather than enlarging it.
I, personally, never felt it was all that safe to do the huddle in it with all the shaking and creaking and it is a few years since I was in it. There is a fair amount of weight on the old structure when 60,000 people are sand dancing on it. Too much for my liking.