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You are at:»»Parkhead morphs from derelict scheme to tourist attraction in one generation

Parkhead morphs from derelict scheme to tourist attraction in one generation

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

Old Celtic Park 90s

The scene above is of Celtic Park in the 1990s, with the stadium and surrounding area pretty much as they were when Fergus McCann, you, me and 10,000 others stepped forward to buy the club. Improvements had been made on a decade earlier: the Celtic End roof ran to the front of the terrace, while you would walk around the east side of the stadium.

No one has ever satisfactorily explained to me how Fergus was able to decamp for a year, buy footballers and erect a 60,000 seater stadium after raising less than £20m capital, but when he left the stage 17 years ago next month, we had a facility appropriate for the times.

The east end of Glasgow has seen many economically poor decades – over a century’s worth, in fact. The area was built to cater for dirty industries and house workers and their families in as little space as possible. Poverty, social diseases and dreadful mortality rates have blighted the place ever since.  As a consequence, housing and industrial land was cheap, and people prepared to plough money into the area were scarce when Peter Lawwell arrived the club started to acquire land around its footprint. The chief executive has always had a plan to move the club beyond its confines, in many ways. Celtic Park was going to be a visitor attraction all year round.

The long-disused London Road School (the large building to the right of the photo above) had a stone outer wall, but in all practical ways it was an unusable eyesore. Metal had been stripped from the outer and inners walls by thieves, the building was not watertight and vegetation had taken root high up the walls.

Celtic wanted to rip it down and develop the area, but the same forces which will prohibit you from parking within one kilometre from the stadium on match days from next season, denied the club permission. They only changed their mind when it became clear that the Queen would have to approach the stadium for the Commonwealth Games alongside the crumbling school.

If it wasn’t for one visit by the Queen, none of what subsequently happened in the area would have been possible.

Now Celtic plan to build a hotel, retail facilities and the long-awaited club museum (below) in the area to the south west of the stadium. The money and necessary partnerships are in place.

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Don’t assume that the Council will welcome what is a stunning improvement to an enormously neglected area of their city. CQN’er, the late Councillor George Ryan, told me an SNP opponent at the Council objected to planning permission for the Celtic Superstore as it would have a negative economic impact in neighbouring supermarkets. You will deal with parking chaos next season for a reason.

The economic impact of Celtic on the east end of Glasgow for the decades ahead will be significant. Parkhead will morph from being a derelict scheme to being the site of a tourist attraction within one generation.

The community who laboured to level the ground to build the first Celtic Park on the site could never have imagined the process they were setting underway.

Well done to all, we can be very proud of the legacy we will leave future generations.

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  1. Art of War on

    See how we are always told that Scottish football needs a strong Ran*ers. How come that in the ’82 Scotland World Cup squad there was not one hun?

     

     

    Mibbes cos they were pish. With crowds of 7k each week eh? Hopefully back where they belong soon.

     

     

    Incidentally, Celtic had only 2 reps, can you name them?

     

     

    Out of the 22 man squad, only 9 played in Scotland.

     

     

    Other than Celtic, Aberdeen had 4, Dundee Utd had 2 and 1 from the Jags.

     

     

    Considering the fact that 2 of the Scots were goalkeepers, that means that our league at the time only supplied 7 outfield players. 12 of the Scotland squad plied their trade in England and 1in Italy.

     

     

    The difference nowadays is that the ‘Scots’ playing down south are, in the main, at lower league level. In the 80’s they were League 1 and top players. Dalglish, Hansen, Gray, Souness and Archibald to name a couple.

     

     

    Snodgrass, Maloney et-al are not at the same level.

     

     

    Spain 82 was the first WC that i can remember most of the games and players. The Cups after that did not give me the same buzz.

     

     

    Don’t think it will again.

  2. Margaret McGill on

    Fellow Tims. Colonoscopies a must if there is a genetic predisposition in your family. I started mines young. Very undignified but beats death.

     

    My polyp count 2,13,2,0,1(last week). 1 of the 13 was a big one. those are the problems.

  5. beatbhoy on

    Margaret McGill

     

     

    Well, had I got myself better organised, I could’ve been at that Brazil v France game, and I regret being a few miles from the stadium, but not able to join the French and Brazilians as they made their way to the match together.

     

     

    Still, as you say, it was a sizzler that day, so the beer gardens in the Old Town had a real carnival atmosphere going, as did the Fanzone later.

     

     

    Wish like you I could say I’d been to a World Cup match though. Even an England one!

     

     

    As regards cheating, there seems to be much more of a focus on forwards. What about defenders when they pull a shirt, and hold their arms away innocently, or worse, leave the foot in and then point to the ball histrionically? Isn’t that simulation of a kind?

  10. beatbhoy on

    Margaret McGill

     

     

    Totally agree. The goal line technology has been a major success, so get it extended to a video ref, certainly for those situations.

  12. beatbhoy on

    You are bad, Mags!

     

     

    You forgot to tell them to take the sedation.

     

     

    Certain people I know thought it was somehow unmanly or something, and refused when it was offered.

     

     

    They ken noo!

     

     

    Or do you get that wee camera to swallow? It looks the biz!

  13. Soz on

    There is a thread running over on FF that asks

     

     

    “Given the recent years and our current situation..

     

    Is stopping 10 in a row still the be all and end all or would we swap that for a guaranteed secure future and continued success going forward??

     

     

    Yes I know they don’t have to be mutually exclusive, but given the situation at present I was curious as to other Bears thoughts…

     

     

    Now, you would have thought that after all the shit that they have gone through that the response would be an overwhelming call to secure the future of their team. But regardless, the thread meanders through the rabid hatred of all things Celtic and how 10 in a row must be stopped at all costs.

     

     

    You have to question the mindset of a support who would put the long term existence of their team behind stopping a rival club from achieving something that is fairly inevitable anyway.

     

     

    They really are a special kind of crazy.

  14. Margaret McGill on

    The biggest attraction at the new masterplan musuem will be the Ibrox collection.

     

    It will be like the Burrell collection but uglier.

     

    See what you can collect. :)

  15. Margaret McGill on

    Trumps great. half of America is raging the other half that voted for the fraud are scratching their heads.

     

     

    We’re gonna shut down NATO. Err naw we urny.

     

    We’re gonna shut down Iran. Err naw we urny.

     

    We’re gonna put troops on the ground to wipe out ISIS. Err naw we urny.

     

    We’re gonna build a wall and make Mexico pay for it. Err naw we urny.

     

    We dont believe in the One China policy. Err yes we do.

     

    We’re gonna sell nuclear weapons to S. Korea and Japan. Err naw we urny.

     

    We’re gonna ban entry from terrorist countries. Err naw we’re no just muslim ones.

     

    We’re gonna take Iraq’s oil. Err naw we urny.

     

    We’re gonna try for peace with the palestinians. Err naw we urny.

     

    Can we call Obamacare Trumpcare because we havent thought of squat.

     

    But not to worry we’re targeting the innocent ragheads and wetbacks with deportation and stopping transgender public toilets ..at last success!

     

    Its still February.

     

    Im loving it.

     

    More royal decrees to come.

  19. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    MAGS

     

     

    MACJAY’s right. Transgender toilets indeed! Same wi disabled ones and baby changing facilities.

     

     

    People have to learn to either fit in or f… off.

  20. proudbhoy on

    Marty bhoy

     

     

    Just read back

     

     

    Great to hear your doing well .. we never know what’s round the corner.

     

     

    Take care

  21. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 23RD FEBRUARY 2017 3:50 AM

     

     

    No , Bobby.

     

    Not the same.

     

    Dramatically different.

     

    No need to fit in . No need to f….. off.

     

    Just use whichever one you prefer.

     

     

    Transgender toilets.

     

    Ludicrous.

  22. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    Cressida Dick-a reminder not to dip your wick where you shouldn’t,or the first female commissioner of the Met.

     

     

    I think she missed her vocation. She should have applied to lead Trump’s Homeland Security,given her past dealings with illegal immigrants.

  30. Jobo Baldie on

    Good morning friends. Looks to have been some snow overnight in ole EK but thw rain is currently doing its best to wash that away and so it’s more slushy underfoot and pretty yeuchy overhead.

  31. VFR800 is now a Monster 821 on

    MARTYBHOY59 on 22ND FEBRUARY 2017 11:00 PM

     

     

    Glad you have recovered well! Hope the next few weeks see you right back on your feet!

     

     

     

    KTF

  32. VFR800 is now a Monster 821 on

    Word of The Day

     

     

    cornucopia /ˌkɔːnjʊˈkəʊpɪə/ 

     

    noun

     

    (Greek myth) the horn of Amalthea, the goat that suckled Zeus 

     

    1. a representation of such a horn in painting, sculpture, etc, overflowing with fruit, vegetables, etc; horn of plenty 

     

    2. a great abundance; overflowing supply 

     

    3. a horn-shaped or conical receptacle or ornament

     

     

    Derived Forms 

     

    cornucopian, adjective

     

     

    Word Origin 

     

    c.1500, from Late Latin cornucopia, from Latin cornu copiae “horn of plenty,” originally the horn of the goat Amalthea, who nurtured the infant Zeus. See horn (n.) and copious.

     

     

     

    KTF

  37. Hot Smoked on

    This, from Art of War last night, made me smile:

     

    “….. Dalglish, Hansen, Gray, Souness and Archibald to name a couple. ” 0:-)

     

     

    JJ

  41. Hot Smoked on

    WWW

     

    ….and you can still purchase one fromJohn J Dick in Lochgelly priced £85 – £175.

     

    If you do decide to order, make sure you get the spelling correct ! ( Some on here would have very painful hands if Paul decided to introduce it on CQN 0:-)) ).

     

     

    JJ

  42. Hot Smoked on

    Had Alex Ferguson done what Neil Lennon did. ie give his players a right roasting at the weekend followed by an important victory mid-week,the media would have been effusive in their raise. Has Mr Lennon received as much in the MSSM ?

     

     

    JJ

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