Ennis-Hill and Scotland's Commonwealth Games silver medallist Eilidh Child were here today to see first-hand the work being carried out at the home of Scottish football, which organisers have dubbed the "Glasgow solution".

"Looking at the amazing athletics arena that is taking shape at Hampden Park, I am sure Glasgow 2014 will be a Commonwealth Games like no other," said the heptathlete, who will not be competing in Glasgow as she is expecting her first child in July.

"I've been hearing today about the 'Hampden Roar' and I know from the Olympic Games in London the importance of a home crowd and how much of a boost that wonderful support gave to the athletes."

In order to host more than 48 athletics events during the Games, the pitch at Hampden has been raised by almost two metres using a temporary deck which is made up of 1,200 base panels supported by more than 6,000 structural steel stilts.

The repositioning of the famous Glasgow turf will allow the necessary width and length to be gained for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) approved track, which is scheduled to be fully laid down by the end of next month.

The surface of Hampden Park has been raised by almost two metres using specially designed stilts ©Glasgow 2014



While similar techniques have been used for setting up temporary tracks at events such as the Great City Games in Manchester and the Great North City Games in Newcastle, organisers claim this is the first time the technology has been used on such a large scale and the work at Hampden Park can provide a blueprint for future athletics events worldwide.

"I think it will yes," head of venue and Athlete Village development at Glasgow 2014, Ian McKenzie, told insidethegames.

"The opportunity is there and the fact that we have done it shows it's possible.

"We have three major stadia in Glasgow and people around the world will come to the same conclusion as we did.

"We didn't need a fourth stadium with 40,000 seats because first of all it would have cost millions and millions of pounds and secondly, who was going to use it and run it afterwards?

"What we have done is adapted the stadium and if you look around the world there are a lot of stadia that can be adapted to host big events."

Work continues on the laying of the track at Hampden Park which is scheduled to be completed by mid-May ©ITG



Work on Hampden began in December 2013 and the venue is due to be officially handed over to Glasgow 2014 by mid-May according to McKenzie, who said that "everything has gone to plan so far" and that the total cost of work on the track and the warm-up track at Little Hampden nearby will come in at the budgeted £14 million ($23 million/€17 million).

The capacity at Hampden Park will be reduced from over 50,000 to 40,000 for the seven days of athletics action during Glasgow 2014, which will see more than 1,000 athletes competing on the newly laid track and in-field area.

While Ennis-Hill will not be one of those athletes competing during the Games, which get underway on July 23, Child said she cannot wait to get competing on the new surface in front of home fans as she looks to go one better than her silver medal in the 400 metres hurdles at Delhi 2010.

Eilidh Child (left), Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg (centre) and Jessica Ennis-Hill speak about the athletics track today at Hampden Park ©ITG



"It's a spectacular transformation and I'm hugely excited to be competing here this summer," said the Heart of Midlothian fan who revealed that she has been to the stadium to support her team on a number of occasions, including a famous 4-0 win over Edinburgh rivals Hibernian.

"The thought of pushing down the home straight in front of a packed crowd inside our national stadium gives me goosebumps."

A special time-lapse video showing the construction work carried out on Hampden Park can be viewed here.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
February 2014: Glasgow to host London leg of 2014 IAAF Diamond League
December 2013: Hampden's famous turf lifted as Glasgow 2014 makeover gets underway
May 2013: Glasgow 2014 funded work on Hampden Park completed
October 2012: Glasgow 2014 seeks builder of £14 million running track for Hampden Park
May 2012: Exclusive - Hampden Park athletics track is a risk worth taking, says Glasgow 2014 chief