Hampden Park has hosted some iconic moments over its 120 years but Glasgow Warriors will etch a new chapter in the famous stadium's history on December 22nd.

The home of Scottish football will host a club rugby match for the first time after Glasgow switched their home venue for the 1872 Cup match against rivals Edinburgh. Glasgow’s home at Scotstoun is limited to a capacity of 7,000 and Warriors managing director Al Kellock has made the bold decision to hire Hampden for their showpiece fixture in the URC against Edinburgh.

Almost 38,000 fans attended the 1872 Cup second leg at Murrayfield last season and it’s understood Glasgow are targeting 20,000 supporters for the landmark occasion at Hampden. While accepting the decision involves considerable ‘risk’ given Glasgow’s incredible record at Scotstoun and asking over 4,000 season ticket holders to trade places, Kellock believes it’s imperative to grow rugby in Scotland on the back of the Warriors’ URC title triumph last season.

“There is a little bit of a risk of taking it away but we saw Edinburgh getting 37,500 or so last year,” Kellock admitted. “The crowd base is there. The last time we had a final or a game at a big stadium in Glasgow, albeit it was a final, we had 47,000 in at Celtic Park. We want to get as many in as possible this time too. I want this place to be absolutely rocking and I think the boys deserve it and the club deserves it as well. Even to be speaking to you guys here with that trophy sitting in the background, it's a nice thing to be able to do it. I just want the event to match that and I'm sure it will. We've got a noisy crowd and Scotstoun is bouncing.

“We’re delighted to get it over the line. We've been speaking to various stadiums around Scotland, particularly around Glasgow for a long time. We've had some challenges when it came to finding venues for knockout phases of the URC etc. I came in a few months ago and met Ian Maxwell here and the conversation has been great. They've been really supportive and brilliant at looking at what we want to get out of it as well.

"It’s also about proving the concept that we can do this. We've got a phenomenal stadium here, there's no reason why rugby and football can't coexist for a certain number of games. In terms of the opportunity for Glasgow, if we're going to do it, this is the year to do it. Me, Franco and Kyle were reflecting on us going over to Pretoria to play in front of 51,000 people in an incredible venue. I'm not saying we're going to get 51,000 in here but the opportunity is there to really have an incredible rugby event.”

News emerged over Glasgow’s venue switch last weekend before official confirmation arrived on Tuesday morning. The reaction from Warriors supporters has been unquestionably mixed with cynics' main gripes being over transport links, potential loss of atmosphere and home advantage. While Kellock accepts some of these concerns, the former Scotland international maintains it’s a fantastic opportunity to deliver rugby to a bigger audience and understand the size of Glasgow’s support.

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"There's a challenge and there's an ask as well,” Kellock added. “Undoubtedly this is outside people's comfort zones. This is different. But from a club point of view we genuinely feel as if this is the right time to do it. The ask from us is that people get on that journey with us as well. We'll be giving as much information as we possibly can. We'll look to make this as great an event as we possibly can. Ultimately we need bums on seats.

“The initial reaction seems to be good. There will always be people who will look at the change and think it’s maybe not for them. But ultimately if we get our 4,100 season ticket holders to all bring people with them and go from there, that's an engaged rugby audience. I think our players are brilliant at going out and engaging as much as they possibly can. I can't take away from what we've got at Scotstoun and it's brilliant. But we need to take a step forward and try to do something bigger.”

A major contentious issue around rugby’s biggest fixture being played at Hampden will revolve around controversial alcohol legislation. The sale of alcohol in Scottish football stadia has been banned for 44 years and it’s extremely topical with recent speculation that it could be scrapped. But Alcohol will be banned for the Scottish League Cup final on the weekend before Glasgow host Edinburgh at the same venue - when it will be permitted.

“Yes, there will be the usual licensing,” Kellock confirmed. “They're used to concerts here so there are no issues from that perspective. It will be the usual set-up they have for concerts, so supporters will be able to enjoy a drink at their seats. I think there may have been some challenges at the Celtic Park final but they’re used to holding concerts here, they're set up for it."

Over 47,000 fans attended Celtic Park when Glasgow lost to Leinster in the 2019 Pro 14 final. The impressive attendance and off-field success of that encounter has led to Glasgow holding talks with Celtic over potentially using Parkhead for big games over the last few years - the pitch dimensions at Rangers’ home are too small for rugby and ended any proposals to use the Ibrox venue. Those plans never materialized due to several factors but Kellock insists a substantial crowd in December could lead to future games away from Scotstoun.

“Absolutely,” Kellock replied when asked if the Hampden switch could become an annual occasion. “If you dare to dream and you look at what Leinster do in the big games, that's where we want to be. To win that trophy with performances on the park, what we need to do is keep the club growing off the park. We've worked hard at trying to improve Scotstoun as an event. We'll hopefully get more opportunities to do that in the next couple of years as well. This is an opportunity to prove that there's a significant rugby audience out there for Glasgow Warriors.

“You don't need to be a rocket scientist to look at what stadiums are in Glasgow. It's never been a lack of engagement, there's just been reasons, mostly logistical reasons. There has been work going on at various stadiums. There have been lots of conversations in the past, none of them have led anywhere but I suppose ultimately focusing on the fact that this one has given us a great opportunity to do something special.”