Twice as many concerts, £2m on loos, plus NFL, UFC and darts (but no football): Murrayfield’s 'bold' future
Plus: 'Awful day' as city councillors debate Dunion report; and £8m in contracts for convicted landlord
Murrayfield to double number of concerts as SRU makes big stadium plans
Murrayfield plans to more than double the number of pop concerts it hosts under plans to cement its status as Scotland’s leading large-scale entertainment venue.
Stadium owners the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) has struck an agreement with the city council to hold 12 concerts a year - double the six that were planned for this year before Billy Joel’s illness-forced cancellation - and says that number could increase in future.
The national rugby stadium has already usurped Hampden Park as the first choice for pop’s global superstars performing in Scotland. This summer it is set to host three sell-out Oasis concerts and AC/DC, after Taylor Swift’s concerts last year broke the attendance record for a Scottish stadium concert, with a 73,000-capacity sell-out.
It hopes to stage a far wider range of events in future, potentially including American football, UFC fighting and major darts tournaments, in plans outlined by chief executive Alex Williamson. However, football is unlikely to become a regular fixture, despite the stadium having hosted some prestige games.
Big bucks: The concerts are huge money-spinners for the city economy, from hotels and bars to taxis and the trams, as well as vital to the SRU’s finances. There have been some wild estimates of the value of the upcoming Oasis concerts, but with more than a quarter of a million music fans expected in August alone, it is safe to say spending can be counted in tens of millions.
Twelve or more concerts: Williamson told reporters at a briefing on the SRU’s finances: “We can have 12 concerts,” he said. “We went through a fairly long-winded and challenging conversation with the licensing team and, actually, the [Edinburgh] City Council has been very helpful but clearly we had to get a number of stakeholders in the local community to support us as well. But I think there is a recognition in Edinburgh that Murrayfield's prosperity is a very important part of the prosperity of the city and so ultimately all parties agreed. And that 12 is a self-imposed cap of 12, as in we have committed to only having 12 for the time being, but it can be negotiated differently in the longer term.”
So all good then? Not everyone is happy. In the same week, the SRU outlined its plans, the Oasis concerts were blamed for a slump in advance Fringe ticket sales of up to 35 per cent at some venues so far this year, with the finger being pointed at soaring accommodation costs in the Capital. There are also concerns about the wider impact of rising hotel demand and prices. Last year, homeless families were forced to move out of hotels where they were being put up, as demand for accommodation soared in August.
What about the loos? The toilets at Murrayfield, particularly the ladies loos, have been described as “disgusting” after being rated the worst in the Six Nations rugby tournament. The SRU is investing millions to turn the stadium into a “world-class sports and entertainment environment”, including nearly £2m bringing its much-derided toilets up to scratch, and on a new PA system and improved hospitality facilities.
Big vision: The development of Murrayfield - which celebrates its centenary this year - as a wider sports and entertainment campus, with an on-site hotel as part of the longer term vision, is being driven by the new chief executive. Williams is a former House of Fraser CEO as well as having run the Goodwood racecourse.
Saturday night’s alright for fighting: The big-name mixed martial arts competition UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) is one sporting event Williams suggest would suit Murrayfield. “When I say that I'd like us to be an entertainment centre there's absolutely no reason in my mind why we wouldn't be hosting other sporting events, let's say NFL as an example but equally why wouldn't we have boxing, UFC or major darts events?,” he says. “We shouldn't limit ourselves to anything, it ultimately just needs to suit the bowl. There aren't many better viewing experiences than here and the acoustic experience is really good so we're available for pretty much anyone.”
What about football…? Williams is not so keen, saying: “I'm not totally certain as to whether that's a long-term commitment for us. Some of those challenges are that I don't think the city particularly enjoys hosting football and we want to be great partners with the city.”
YOUR EDINBURGH BRIEFING
‘AWFUL DAY’ FOR COUNCIL: In what was described as “an awful day” for the local authority by Edinburgh’s Lib Dem group leader Kevin Lang, city councillors debated Kevin Dunion’s report into the handling of complaints against ex-council leader Cammy Day. They agreed to look at steps to tackle the drinking culture among some councillors and tighten up procedures around whistleblowing. The independent report by former Scottish Information Commissioner Dunion highlighted concerns on both issues.
There were heated exchanges as the report was debated with some former colleagues venting their anger at Day, the former Labour leader of the local authority, who is understood to be planning a return to a senior role. Day stood down as council leader before Christmas, while police investigated complaints about sexually explicit messages he had sent on social media to a Ukrainian refugee. He denies any wrongdoing and police found “no criminality”.
Councillors heard Day’s claim he was the victim of a “political stitch-up” had been fuelled by the actions of his predecessor as council leader, the SNP’s Adam Nols-McVey, who was criticised by Dunion for failing to inform the council’s chief executive and monitoring officer about an earlier serious complaint.
£8M FOR CONVICTED LANDLORD: A landlord has been awarded housing contracts worth almost £8m by the city council, 15 years after being fined for running unlicensed properties in the Capital. William Lennie, 72, of Phoenix Properties Edinburgh, pled guilty to running unregistered lets and unlicensed HMOs. The city council said it carries out “full due diligence checks on each provider”, but SNP councillor Stuart Dobbin said it was “extremely concerning”.
WELCOME TO THE (SHORTER) WORKING WEEK: The city council is to explore the idea of running a trial of a four-day working week for its staff. The four-day week normally sees staff working reduced hours for the same pay with supporters including Edinburgh Greens councillor Claire Miller pointing to improved productivity. The city council has agreed to investigate the idea after a 15-month trial at South Cambridgeshire District Council found it saved £300,000 in agency staffing fees, reduced staff turnover by 30% and a range of council services either saw no change or improvements in delivery. The idea isn’t universally popular, with Conservative councillor Chris Cowdy pointing to financial pressures on the local authority and warning “now may not be the time for a speculative experiment.”l
STUDENT FLATS BAN: The council is also to examine the possibility of introducing a moratorium on new Purpose Built Student Accommodation. Officials will study an effective moratorium on new PBSA projects enforced in Glasgow between 2019 and 2021 to see if the Capital could follow suit, at the request of SNP councillor Danny Aston.
SIR CHRIS’S CANCER PLEA: Sir Chris Hoy has called for the NHS to start encouraging younger men to get tested for prostate cancer. The six-time Olympic champion was diagnosed with stage four cancer at the age of 47 in 2003, but the health service guidelines targets men aged over 50 in its detection work. Prostate Cancer UK urged the UK Government for an overhaul of NHS guidelines to encourage GPs to proactively speak to men at high risk from 45 years old.
UNIFORM RULES RELAXED: School uniform rules have been relaxed in the city’s schools to help lower costs for families. It means clothes carry school logos are no longer compulsory at any of Edinburgh’s state schools. The Leith Collective community interest company has also launched a free school uniform exchange to help families across Edinburgh and West Lothian.
BOOK SHOP ROBBERY: Argonaut Books on Leith Walk was the victim of a robbery as staff were packing up on Saturday night. Police are investigating after four “threatening and aggressive” thieves stole the contents of the shop’s Scottish Book Trust charity collection box. The book shop has gifted £300 to the SBT and are inviting further donations in an effort to make something good out of bad.
TRANSPORT PRIZES: The new Roseburn to the Union Canal offroad cycle and pedestrian route has been recognised with the Excellence in Transport Design prize for the city council at the Scottish Transport Awards. Lothian Buses and Police Scotland were also recognised for their joint Operation Crackle crackdown on antisocial behaviour on the city’s buses.
FETTES JOBS CUTS: Fettes College is looking to cut staff in order to make savings in the wake of the introduction of VAT on school fees. The private school, which costs up to £18,000 a year to attend as a boarder, has opened a consultation process for teaching and non-teaching staff. It said the imposition of VAT was one of the reasons it needed to “right size our staffing model”.
DRUG GANG WAR: While Police Scotland continue to say they have no evidence linking the fatal shooting of two Scottish criminals in Spain to the Capital’s on-going drug gang ‘war’, Spanish police have contradicted that idea by publicly blaming one of the two sides, the Daniels crime gang, for the double murder.
Pic of the week
THE BUSINESS
Home builders seek reduction in regulation
An overhaul of government rules and regulations around house-building is being called for by housebuilders in Scotland, to make it easier for smaller firms to build.
House-building sector body Homes for Scotland has published a report which shows that the number of small and medium-sized (SME) home builders in Scotland has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Edinburgh was the first local authority in Scotland to declare a Housing Emergency in November 2023.
Red tape and rising costs are highlighted as key issues, with nearly nine in 10 firms interviewed stating that government policies are making it harder for them to build. New regulations introduced since 2021 are responsible for in excess of £20,000 of additional costs on developing every new home; increasing affordability pressures even further.
The report also calls for further streamlining for Scotland’s planning system, reflecting the recent reforms proposed by the UK Government to boost housing delivery in England.
POLICY RISK: Scotland’s policy-makers have further been told that tax and regulatory burdens are a significant factor in more than 80% of SMEs believing their businesses are at risk over the next year. A survey by legal firm Aberdein Considine say more than 37% of firms named Scottish Government policy changes as the biggest challenge to business growth.
TACKLING FRAUD: A new Edinburgh business could help save companies around the world billions of fraud – by tackling impersonation scams. LastingAsset is the latest firm be be spun-out from Edinburgh Napier University, aimed at protecting digital assets by adapting AI technology to tackle imposter calls.
INVESTORS MERGE: Edinburgh-based venture capital investors Par Equity and north of England-based Praetura Ventures are to merge, creating a group focused on the UK outside the south-east. PXN Group will provide investments from £200,000 to £8million from offices in Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and London. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
OPEN THE DOORS: Edinburgh Filmhouse reopens its doors on Friday, following the successful public fund-raising campaign to secure its future, with a season of the best films it missed while it was shut for two years.
MOVIE MARATHON: If that isn't enough cinema for you, then you might want to try the Lord of the Rings Extended Trilogy at the Cameo on Sunday. Enjoy all three chapters of Peter Jackson's retelling of JRR Tolkien's timeless fantasy, with 15 minute breaks in between each film. Total running time is 12 hours and 7 minutes for those with the stamina.
MONKEY BUSINESS: The National Museum of Scotland brings together more than 50 taxidermy specimens of monkeys, apes, lemurs and lorises for its latest major exhibition Monkeys: Our Primate Family. Specimens on display will include the Barbary Macaque, Western Lowland Gorilla, and ring-tailed Lemur. The exhibition opens on Saturday, until 30 November, and tickets cost from £13.
QUICK BITES
TOP TEA FOR TWO: Two Edinburgh restaurants – 20 Princes Street and One Square at The Sheraton – have won awards for ‘best in afternoon tea service and creativity’ at the Afternoon Tea Awards 2025 at Harrods.
COFFEE CLOSURE: A branch of Costa Coffee in Ocean Terminal shopping centre closes today, following the closure of its branch in Bruntsfield last year.
SUSHI OPENING: Sushi restaurant Umi is to open in Shandwick Place in the west end, to add to their existing city venue at Chapel Street in the southside. The Shandwick Place site has been unoccupied since Bar Burrito closed its business there.