Work is set to begin on 11 October on the new £7m Carnegie Stand at the eastern end of Headingley Stadium.

The new stand is being developed in partnership with Leeds Metropolitan University and will give the university’s Carnegie campus a permanent base at the stadium. It will include 1,844 seats in its 4,500 capacity and will incorporate 12 classrooms.

The development is scheduled for completion by July 2006 and while work continues, the capacity of the stadium will be reduced to 16,600.

The project is being financed without any grant funding.

The chief executive of Leeds Rugby, Gary Hetherington, said: “We are committed to making Leeds Rugby the leader in club rugby and a profitable business that will support investment in Headingley by 2006.”

The 115-year-old Headingley rugby stadium is home to both the Leeds Rhinos and Leeds Tykes teams