Hearts stadium revamp gathers pace as half of funding secured

Scottish Premier League (SPL) football club Hearts has secured half of the funding it needs to complete its £12m (US$17.3m, €15.2m) stadium redevelopment project.

The Edinburgh-based club is proposing to revamp the Main Stand at its Tynecastle home ground to bring its capacity up to 21,000.

Planning permission was submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council in 21 March 2016, which triggered a consultation period with a minimum of eight weeks.

If the plan is given the green light the new stand is expected to be ready and open for September 2017. As part of the proposal two electronic screens will be installed, as well as additional facilities for disabled fans.

However, there are no plans to create a safe-standing area like SPL rival Celtic.

“Subject to planning and health and safety approval being granted, the club anticipates that the day the first team runs out in front of the new Main Stand for the first time, it will be completely paid for, with no bank debt at all,” said a statement on the club website.