Hive Stadium

Atmosphere & Experience: 5
It would be nice to put the limited atmosphere down to the game I attended falling in the fallow week in the 2026 Six Nations. It was near enough a sell-out, however, and most of the stands were packed. To be fair to them, Edinburgh’s stadium team make a real effort to generate some enthusiasm in the build-up to kick-off. But it just doesn’t come off. The reliance on spectators downloading the Stadium FX app on their phones for the pre-game light show proves to be a poor strategy when it transpires that only about 13 people were willing to part with all their personal data for the cause and the ensuing spectacle looks more like a handful of snap happy fans who have forgotten to turn the flash off on their cameras than a gasp-inducing visual spectacle. It doesn’t get much better from there. Perhaps worn down by Edinburgh’s run of poor form, the home crowd struggles to muster much enthusiasm even when their side take the lead for the final time with 11 minutes left to play.

Seats: 2
The Hive has some of the worst seating for a professional sporting arena, for which you will be expected to pay, by URC standards, a high price. For £40.50, plus booking fees, I was crammed into a seat just inside the 22 at the Murrayfield end of the ground. Looking straight ahead, my view was obstructed by two of the metal pillars holding up the roof of the stand. Looking to the right, another dozen pillars obscured sections of the field, with the problem being particularly bad close to the far goal line. Despite its small stature, which in many other URC grounds feels like an advantage in that it brings you much closer to the action, the design of the Hive makes one feel distanced from the game and gives the impression that, wherever you’re sat, you’re in what should be a cheaper, limited view seat. Those pillars also serve to create a real sense of separation from the game, as if you’re watching through a window or some kind of fence. Being squeezed into some spare land in the shadow of Murrayfield, the Hive has a small footprint and, given that you can’t make a rugby pitch any smaller, that means the stands are squashed down. Practically, this means you’ll likely find your seat very uncomfortable and, when everyone stands to cheer, you’ll have a hard time seeing what’s got them so worked up if you’re not a tall person.

Catering: 6
A selection of food stands are open in Murrayfield’s west fan village on Edinburgh men’s home games. Scottie Dog’s spicy ‘green grass hotdog’ is a good shout for vegetarians looking for something to warm them up in the cold conditions, while carnivores might want to give their haggis dog a shot. Lines for bars are manageable and there’s a reasonably good selection of drinks on offer.

Facilities: 6
There are semi-permanent bathroom huts set up behind each stand. Facilities are plentiful enough that you should be able to get to the end of the line and then get a drink during the half-time interval.

Getting There: 8
Jump on a tram from the city centre or Haymarket and you’ll be able to walk to the ground, which is situated just a few minutes from the Murrayfield station. Alternatively, one can walk from Haymarket in about half an hour.

Getting Away: 8
The small crowd, even when the stadium is at capacity, means you shouldn’t have to wait long for a tram back to town. And there’s always the option of walking to Haymarket, where onward travel options are more plentiful if you’re heading into the city or taking a train elsewhere.