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Murrayfield Stadium

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Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium as viewed in 2017, with the Flag of Scotland (Saltire) depicted in the stand UEFA

Map
LocationRoseburn Street
Edinburgh
EH12 5PJ
Public transitNational Rail Haymarket
Edinburgh Trams Murrayfield Stadium
OwnerScottish Rugby Union
OperatorScottish Rugby Union
Capacity67,144
Record attendance104,000 (1975 Five Nations – Scotland vs Wales)
SurfaceDesso GrassMaster hybrid pitch
Construction
Opened21 April 1925
Renovated1995
Tenants
Scotland national rugby union team (1925–present)
Edinburgh Rugby (1996–2017, 2018–present selected matches)
Edinburgh Sevens (2007–2011)
Scottish Claymores (1995–2002)

Murrayfield Stadium (Scottish Gaelic: Stadium Murrayfield) is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotland national rugby union team. With a seating capacity of 67,144, it is the largest stadium in Scotland, the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, and the twenty–second largest in Europe.[1]

It officially opened on 21 April 1925 with a game between Scotland and England. The game was won by Scotland who came out victorious following a Grand Slam.[2] The stadium hosts most of Scotland's home test matches and the Scottish Hydro Electric Cup final, as well as URC and European Rugby Champions Cup matches.

Although primarily a rugby union stadium, Murrayfield has in the past hosted American football, rugby league and association football matches, as well as numerous music concerts. Currently, the stadium is known as Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons.

History

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Purchase of land

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The SRU identified 19 acres of land at Murrayfield, purchasing this from Edinburgh Polo Club at Murrayfield, having raised money through debentures.[3] A stand and three embankments were constructed, which took two years.[3] Previous internationals had been played at Inverleith[4] but it was not large enough to cope with the increasing number of spectators.[5] Arthur Sellers was the stadium's first groundsman, having previously prepared the pitches at Inverleith.[6] On 21 March 1925 England were the first team to visit Murrayfield, with 70,000 people watching Scotland beat them to win their first Five Nations Championship Grand Slam.[4][7]

Usage during WWII

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During the Second World War the ground at Murrayfield was offered to the nation and was taken over by the Royal Army Service Corps and used as a supply depot. During the war years the armed forces sports authorities managed to arrange two Scotland v. England services internationals each year, on a home-and-away basis. Scotland's home matches were played at Inverleith for the first two years with a return to Murrayfield in 1944 after that ground's derequisition.

Recent history

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Exterior of Murrayfield under its sponsorship branding with BT
Interior of Murrayfield pre–match, 2018

Murrayfield's record attendance of 104,000 was set on 1 March 1975 when Scotland defeated Wales 12–10 during the 1975 Five Nations Championship.[8] This attendance stood as a world record until 1999, and remains a European record.[4] The East stand was built in 1983.[9]

In October 1991 another debenture scheme was launched, to finance a more comprehensive redevelopment of the West Stand.[10] The new West Stand was designed with a 48-metre cantilever roof.[11] The old West Stand housed a museum, but this was not replaced and plans for a new visitor centre were shelved when the game turned professional.[12] The first phase was completed in January 1993 with the new north and south stands opening.[11] In February 1994 the centre section of the new West Stand opened.[9] The work was carried out by Tilbury Douglas.[13]

In 1994, Murrayfield completed a £50-million renovation where floodlights were installed for the first time.

In October 2012, SRU chief executive Mark Dodson told the BBC that it was actively seeking a name sponsor for Murrayfield:[14]

The single biggest piece of our inventory is our national stadium. We would like to see if we can monetise that. It would be crazy for us not to look at using our single biggest piece of inventory to drive revenue. We want to get the right price for it.

In addition, Dodson indicated that the SRU was actively seeking a site for a completely new stadium with a capacity of 10,000 to 15,000 as a future home for Edinburgh Rugby.[15] The pitch was damaged by nematodes in the lead up to the 2013 autumn internationals. This led the SRU to replace the grass with a Desso surface from the start of the 2014 season.[16] A naming rights deal with BT was agreed in May 2014, resulting in the stadium being officially named as the BT Murrayfield Stadium.[17]

Scottish Rugby and Scottish Gas agreed a new five-year partnership deal starting in July 2023. This will result in the creation of a Club & Community Net Zero Fund worth £2 million to ensure Scottish clubs can save on energy bills and carbon emissions. Scottish Gas will also invest in the women's game through shirt and stadium sponsorship, resulting in an official name change for the stadium to Scottish Gas Murrayfield.[18]

Location

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Murrayfield is located next to Murrayfield Ice Rink, Murrayfield Curling Rink, and is close to Edinburgh Zoo. It is named after the area of Edinburgh it is located in, Murrayfield. There are two cricket pitches in the immediate vicinity at Roseburn Park used by Murrayfield DAFS CC and four rugby pitches owned by the SRU which were used by teams including the amateur club Murrayfield Wanderers RFC. Wanderers and their predecessors had played there since 1902 but were asked to vacate in 2018 as the governing body had plans to develop the land.[19][20] Wanderers moved their training base to Roseburn but continued to hire the Murrayfield pitches for some matches.

Transport

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Buses

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The stadium is served by Lothian Bus services 12, 22, 26, 31 and the Airlink 100 along Corstorphine Road.[21][22] Post-match traffic congestion is common along this route.

Rail

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Despite the line running adjacent to the stadium, the closest railway station to the stadium is Haymarket, which lies a mile to the East.

Interchange with the Edinburgh Trams is available at Haymarket, Edinburgh Park and Edinburgh Gateway stations. Edinburgh Waverley is a short walk from the St Andrew Square tram stop.

Tram

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Murrayfield Stadium tram stop is located adjacent to the stadium entrance turnstiles on Roseburn Street. Access to the platform is by a flight of stairs or lift. As part of crowd-management measures, ticketing machines are situated at the bottom of the staircase and not the platform.

Preceding station   Edinburgh Trams   Following station
Haymarket
towards Newhaven 		  Newhaven - Edinburgh Airport   Balgreen
towards Airport

Uses

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Rugby union

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Murrayfield Stadium in 2002.
Interior of Murrayfield

Murrayfield is used for most Scottish international rugby union matches, with all Scotland's Six Nations home games being played in the stadium. The stadium also hosted all of Edinburgh's matches between 1996 and January 2017. (For Pro14 matches, only the lower tier of the East Stand is typically used.) Since February 2018 all Edinburgh matches are once again held at Murrayfield; with work now finished on the construction of a new 7,800 capacity stadium on the back pitches to host Edinburgh Rugby from the start of the 2021/22 season.

From 2007 to 2011, Murrayfield hosted the Edinburgh 7s, then the final event in the annual IRB Sevens World Series in rugby sevens, but that tournament was moved to Glasgow starting in 2012 due to low attendance. Murrayfield hosted select matches from the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The stadium also hosted the Heineken Cup Final in 2005, when Toulouse beat Stade Français 18–12, again in 2009, with Leinster defeating Leicester 19–16 and finally in 2017 with Saracens defeating Clermont 28–17.[23]

Rugby World Cup

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Murrayfield hosted matches of the 1991, 1999 and 2007 Rugby World Cups.

1991
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Date Competition Home team Away team Attendance
5 October 1991 1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 2  Scotland 47  Japan 9 40,000
9 October 1991 1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 2  Scotland 51  Zimbabwe 12 35,000
12 October 1991 1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 2  Scotland 24  Ireland 15 54,000
19 October 1991 1991 Rugby World Cup Quarter-final 2  Scotland 28  Western Samoa 6 54,000
26 October 1991 1991 Rugby World Cup Semi-final 1  Scotland 6  England 9 54,000
1999
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Date Competition Home team Away team Attendance
3 October 1999 1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A  Scotland 29  South Africa 46 57,612
8 October 1999 1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A  Scotland 43  Uruguay 12 9,463
10 October 1999 1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A  South Africa 47  Spain 3 4,769
16 October 1999 1999 Rugby World Cup Pool A  Scotland 40  Spain 0 17,593
20 October 1999 1999 Rugby World Cup Quarter-final play-off 3  Scotland 35  Samoa 20 20,000
24 October 1999 1999 Rugby World Cup Quarter-final 3  Scotland 18  New Zealand 30 59,750
2007
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Date Competition Home team Away team Attendance
18 September 2007 2007 Rugby World Cup Pool C  Scotland 42  Romania 0 31,222
23 September 2007 2007 Rugby World Cup Pool C  Scotland 0  New Zealand 40 64,558

Rugby league

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Although primarily a rugby union stadium, Murrayfield hosted the Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals of 2000 and 2002. The stadium hosted rugby league's Super League Magic Weekend in 2009. The record for a rugby league attendance at the stadium is 67,247 for the 2000 Challenge Cup Final.

Association football

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Murrayfield has also hosted association football matches. In December 2003, the SRU board agreed to let local Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian F.C. (Hearts) lease the stadium for match days.[24] Later that month, UEFA confirmed that Hearts' own ground, Tynecastle did not meet the minimum criteria for European matches from the 2004–05 season.[25] Hearts used Murrayfield as their home venue for European matches for three years[26] until Hearts made adjustments to Tynecastle that made it compliant with UEFA regulations.[27] Additionally, both Hearts and Edinburgh neighbours Hibernian have played preseason friendlies against FC Barcelona at Murrayfield.[28][29] Almost 58,000 people attended to watch Hearts play Barcelona in July 2007, recording the largest crowd at an association football match in Edinburgh for 51 years.[30]

In 2014, Glasgow club Celtic played two qualifying matches at the stadium due to Celtic Park being unavailable because of Glasgow's hosting of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[31] Hearts again used the stadium for home games during the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership, due to the delays in construction of a new main stand at Tynecastle.[32] Murrayfield hosted one of the 2018–19 Scottish League Cup semi-finals, played between Hearts and Celtic, in October 2018.[31] That match attracted an attendance of 61,161, the second-largest ever recorded for a football match in Edinburgh.[33] In July 2019, Murrayfield hosted a pre-season friendly between Liverpool and Napoli, that attracted a crowd of 65,442 which was the highest attendance of fans at a football match in Scotland since the 1989 Scottish Cup Final.[34] On 19 July 2023, Manchester United faced Olympique Lyonnais at Murrayfield in front of a crowd of 48,484.[35] On 20 March 2024, it was announced that Manchester United would return for the second successive year to play a pre-season match at Murrayfield, taking on Rangers on 20 July 2024.[36] infront of 56,574

American football

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Murrayfield has played host to American football and was one of two home venues for the now defunct Scottish Claymores in the NFL Europa between 1995 and 2004, the other being Hampden Park in Glasgow. Additionally, it hosted World Bowl '96 on 23 June 1996. It has been mentioned[by whom?] as a potential future host site for the NFL International Series, should the National Football League add future games outside the series' current permanent home, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Two other London stadiums, Wembley Stadium and Twickenham Stadium, are the only other grounds in Britain to host NFL matches.[37]

Music

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David Bowie played to a capacity crowd of 47,000 people on 28 June 1983.[38] Simple Minds were scheduled to play at the stadium in 1989, but pulled out because of Jim Kerr's objections to the venue's administrators allowing Scottish rugby players to attend the sport's centenary celebrations in South Africa, which was then still under apartheid.[39] On 30 June 1996, Tina Turner played at Murrayfield as part of her Wildest Dreams Tour. In September 1997 U2 played at Murrayfield as part of their Popmart Tour.[40] On 3 June 1999, The Rolling Stones played to 51,000 on their No Security Tour.[41] On 8 July 1999 Celine Dion performed her Let's Talk About Love World Tour as she sold out the full venue of 67,000, on her first ever show in Scotland. In July 2005, Murrayfield hosted the final Live 8 concert, Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push, with performances including James Brown, Texas and The Proclaimers. Oasis played a sold-out show on 17 June 2009, as part of their world tour. Some antisocial behaviour at this event affected the stadium's licensing arrangements when they were reviewed a few months later.[42] This was the last time Oasis would play a concert in Scotland[43] and the second time they had played the stadium, the first being on their Standing on the Shoulder of Giants Tour in 2000.[44]

Bon Jovi performed at the stadium on 22 June 2011 as part of their tour.[45] Madonna performed to a sell-out crowd of 52,160 on 21 July 2012 as part of her MDNA Tour. On 3 June 2014, One Direction performed to over 64,000 fans at Murrayfield as part of their Where We Are Stadium Tour. Foo Fighters performed at Murrayfield Stadium as part of their Sonic Highways World Tour on 8 September 2015. The band were originally supposed to play Murrayfield on 23 June 2015 but this was cancelled and rescheduled after Dave Grohl broke his foot at European Festival that same month.[46] The Spice Girls performed to over 55,000 fans on 8 June 2019 as part of their Spice World tour, it was their first Scottish concert in 21 years. Taylor Swift broke the all time Scottish concert attendance record 3 times when The Eras Tour came to Murrayfield for 3 nights on 7th, 8th and 9th June 2024, playing to 73,000 people each night, and nearly 220,000 people over the 3 nights.

Date Performer(s) Opening act(s) Tour/Event Attendance Notes
28 June 1983 David Bowie Thompson Twins, Icehouse Serious Moonlight Tour 47,444
1 August 1987 U2 The Pogues, Runrig, The Mission, Love and Money The Joshua Tree Tour
27 July 1995 R.E.M. The Cranberries, Belly, Spearhead Monster Tour 46,796 / 46,796
30 June 1996 Tina Turner Wildest Dreams
4 August 1996 Eagles Kenny Wayne Shepherd Hell Freezes Over Tour 49,312 / 49,312
2 September 1997 U2 The Seahorses PopMart Tour 50,439 / 50,439
4 June 1999 The Rolling Stones Sheryl Crow No Security Tour 44,283 / 44,283
8 July 1999 Celine Dion The Corrs Let's Talk About Love World Tour 53,013 / 60,000
29 July 2000 Oasis Happy Mondays, Doves Standing on the Shoulder of Giants Tour
28 & 29 June 2003 Robbie Williams Ash Weekends of Mass Distraction Tour
14 June 2004 Red Hot Chili Peppers N.E.R.D., Ash Roll on the Red Tour
6 July 2005 Various Acts Live 8 Scotland
21 July 2007 Bryan Adams Anthology Tour
17 June 2009 Oasis Kasabian, The Enemy, Reverend and the Makers Dig Out Your Soul Tour
22 June 2011 Bon Jovi Vintage Trouble Bon Jovi Live 53,043 / 53,043
26 June 2011 Kings Of Leon Zac Brown Band, White Lies, The Walkmen Come Around Sundown World Tour
21 July 2012 Madonna Alesso The MDNA Tour 52,160 / 52,160
3 June 2014 One Direction 5 Seconds of Summer Where We Are Tour 64,623 / 64,623
8 September 2015 Foo Fighters Royal Blood, Honeyblood Sonic Highways World Tour
9 June 2017 Robbie Williams Erasure The Heavy Entertainment Show Tour
9 June 2018 The Rolling Stones Richard Ashcroft No Filter Tour 54,221 / 54,221
8 June 2019 Spice Girls Jess Glynne Spice World – 2019 Tour 55,211 / 55,211
22 June 2022 Eagles Little Big Town Eagles 50 Years Tour
20 May 2023 Beyoncé Renaissance World Tour 55,834 / 55,834[47]
26 & 27 May 2023 Harry Styles Wet Leg Love On Tour
30 May 2023 Bruce Springsteen Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour
7–9 June 2024 Taylor Swift Paramore The Eras Tour 219,000 / 219,000[48]
8,9 & 12 August 2025 Oasis TBA Oasis Live '25 Tour

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Tomas, Fiona (10 February 2020). "England thrash Scotland in freezing temperatures at Murrayfield to ensure Six Nations Grand Slam pursuit marches on". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh – Rugby". www.visitscotland.com. Visit Scotland. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Changed days as the home of Scottish rugby takes on world of big business From cricket pitch to a cash jackpot". The Herald. 4 March 1995. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Scottish Flashback: Murrayfield in the snow, 1963". The Scotsman. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. ^ Martin, Don (1992). Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway guidebook. Glasgow: Strathkelvin District Libraries & Museums. p. 67. ISBN 0904966348.
  6. ^ The man who prepares the pitches. Edinburgh Evening News. 27 February 1932. p. 17
  7. ^ 1925 - Scotland’s first Grand Slam win, Raeburn Place Foundation
  8. ^ "Edinburgh, Roseburn Street, Murrayfield Stadium". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 13 December 2015 – via Canmore.
  9. ^ a b "How Murrayfield is growing great". The Herald. 5 February 1994. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. ^ "The debenture scheme delivers delight". The Herald. 5 February 1994. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Murrayfield is entering a bright new era". The Herald. 13 January 1993. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  12. ^ "Return of Murrayfield museum remains beyond SRU's pocket". The Scotsman. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  13. ^ "18Feb93 UK: TILBURY SCORES TRY - £20M STADIUM REDEVELOPMENT CONTRACT". constructionnews.co.uk/. 18 February 1993. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Murrayfield could be renamed for right price – Scottish Rugby". BBC Sport. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  15. ^ "SRU chiefs seek Murrayfield stadium name change sponsor to help pay off debts". The Scotsman. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  16. ^ "Scots to install hybrid pitch at Murrayfield". Bangkok Post.
  17. ^ "Scottish Rugby confirms deal for BT Murrayfield Stadium". BBC Sport. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  18. ^ Gould, Caitlin (13 July 2023). "Scottish Gas teams up with Scottish Rugby for a greener Scotland". Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  19. ^ SRU send Wanderers on their way – despite club's significant investment in Murrayfield estate, The Offside Line, 30 July 2018
  20. ^ History, Murrayfield Wanderers RFC
  21. ^ "Getting to BT Murrayfield from Edinburgh City Centre" (PDF). Lothian Buses. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Getting to BT Murrayfield from Edinburgh Airport and Ingliston or Hermiston Park & Ride" (PDF). Lothian Buses. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Leicester 16–19 Leinster". BBC Sport. 23 May 2008.
  24. ^ "Hearts get go-ahead for ground switch to Murrayfield". The Scotsman. 4 December 2003. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Tynecastle not fit for Europe". BBC Sport. 22 December 2003. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  26. ^ "Hearts 0-2 Sparta Prague". BBC Sport. 14 September 2006. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  27. ^ "Tynecastle Stadium: 1981-present". heartsfc.co.uk. Heart of Midlothian FC. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013. 2005: Plans were produced for a new Main Stand that could take the capacity of the stadium up to 25,000. In the meantime, the removal of 280 seats from the front of the Gorgie and Roseburn Stands allowed the club to extend the length of the playing pitch to meet UEFA Cup requirements. The capacity of the ground is now 17,400.
  28. ^ "Classy Barcelona toy with Hearts". BBC Sport. 28 July 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  29. ^ Grahame, Ewing (25 July 2008). "Hibernian handed six of the best by rampant Barcelona at Murrayfield". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  30. ^ Bean, Graham (5 September 2013). "Champions League: Celtic to play at Murrayfield". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  31. ^ a b "Liverpool to play friendly against Napoli at Murrayfield in July". BBC Sport. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  32. ^ Anderson, Barry (3 August 2017). "Hearts to stage games at Murrayfield due to main stand delay". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  33. ^ Wales, Peter (28 October 2018). "Hearts-Celtic semi-final is second largest football attendance in Edinburgh". Edinburgh Evening News. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  34. ^ Lindsay, Matthew (28 July 2019). "Liverpool 0 Napoli 3: Champions League winners slump to heavy defeat at Murrayfield". The Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  35. ^ "United 1 Lyon 0". www.manutd.com. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  36. ^ Cruickshank, Sarah (20 March 2024). "Manchester United and Rangers to face off at Scottish Gas Murrayfield". Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  37. ^ "The NFL International Series | NFL Football Operations". operations.nfl.com. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  38. ^ "Acclaim in the rain". The Glasgow Herald. 29 June 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  39. ^ The Q Encyclopedia of Rock Stars by Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton, Dorling Kindersley 1999, page 910
  40. ^ "U2 criticised for holding Murrayfield concert". The Herald. 3 September 1997. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  41. ^ "The Stones (and the years) roll on". BBC News. 4 June 1999. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  42. ^ "Murrayfield ordered to bid for booze licence before every gig". The Scotsman. 18 August 2009. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  43. ^ "Supersonic: The inside story of Oasis at Loch Lomond". HeraldScotland. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  44. ^ "BBC News | SCOTLAND | Oasis roll with the punches". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  45. ^ "Bon Jovi Live 2011 Tour Page". Island Records. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  46. ^ Dingwall, John (8 September 2015). "Review: Foo Fighters at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh". Daily Record. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  47. ^ "Year-End Top 300 Concert Grosses" (PDF). Pollstar. 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  48. ^ Cruickshank, Sarah (12 June 2024). "Swift smashes records at Scottish Gas Murrayfield". Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Murrayfield Stadium.
Preceded by
None
 Rugby World Cup Sevens
host venue
1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Heineken Cup
final venue
2004–05 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Heineken Cup
final venue
2008–09 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European Rugby Champions Cup
Final Venue
2016–17 		Succeeded by
European Rugby Challenge Cup
Final Venue
2016–17
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