EVEN as a business editor, occupied on a daily basis with hard numbers and realities on the corporate and economic fronts, I found it utterly disheartening to read Fergus McCann’s open letter on Hampden Park, published exclusively by The Herald this week.

READ MORE: Hampden Park: An open letter by former Celtic owner Fergus McCann

Mr McCann is a fine businessman, and certainly laid the foundations for the financial success that Celtic enjoys today when he led the club.

However, when it comes to a Scottish national treasure such as Hampden, it was demoralising to read Mr McCann distilling the question of Hampden’s future and the location of the national team’s future games down in large part to financial considerations.

“Whatever way you do the arithmetic, Hampden Park is a liability, not an asset,” wrote Mr McCann.

He highlighted the amount spent on the south stand and roof in the 1990s, declaring that about £64 million of taxpayers’ money had gone into the project.

In the grand scheme of things, given Hampden is a national asset, it is important to keep the £64m in context.

READ MORE: Hampden Park: An open letter by former Celtic owner Fergus McCann

Countries with ambition should spend money on their infrastructure. When you consider what Hampden does for Scotland, £64m is not really such a big amount.

Hampden showed Scotland in its best light to many tens of thousands of international visitors during the Commonwealth Games in 2014. It also played its part in the London 2012 Olympics, when it hosted football.

We should also not forget the valuable employment created by Hampden, not just the regular staff but also, more importantly, the huge numbers of people working there on the days of Scotland matches or other big events.

Yes, the challenge with all big assets is to use them as much as possible, whether it be an aircraft or a football stadium. Hampden has enjoyed notable success in attracting major concerts such as U2 and The Stone Roses, and it would be good to see more on this front. It is a great venue for such events in the summer months.

READ MORE: Hampden Park: An open letter by former Celtic owner Fergus McCann

It is true, as Mr McCann observes, that there is a relatively small south stand crowd for Queen’s Park games. However, Hampden is the home of Queen’s Park, and it would be a great pity to see this tradition ended. Likewise, it is a very big deal for the vast bulk of senior Scottish clubs to win the honour of going to Hampden to play in a cup semi-final or final, with such visits giving fans memories that last a lifetime.

All of that said, the key issue is that Hampden is the home of Scotland’s national football team. Having watched Scotland play Georgia at Ibrox in October 2014, it was just not the same as being in the national stadium. The same would apply to Celtic Park.

There is much talk about how Ibrox and Celtic Park are somehow better in terms of atmosphere than Hampden but, from the perspective of a Scotland fan with little interest in the Old Firm, I find it impossible to concur with this viewpoint. From a personal perspective, the Georgia game was a good example of this.

READ MORE: Hampden Park: An open letter by former Celtic owner Fergus McCann

The national team should have its own home. And this should be its historic home. It is okay to play the odd, meaningless friendly at the likes of Pittodrie or Fir Park but not the big games that matter.

Murrayfield is for rugby. Ibrox and Celtic Park are for the Old Firm. Pittodrie is for Aberdeen, and Fir Park is for Motherwell.

Hampden is for Scotland and football. And its status as a national treasure – that has provided so many memorable nights for the Tartan Army and fans from around the world – should transcend any debate around mere financial aspects.