Work starts on Hearts' main stand as demolition begins

Hearts' new main stand construction has begun in earnest with demolition work starting in front of Tynecastle.

Hearts plan to have the new main stand completed by September

Old stadium offices, the club shop and adult education centre are to be torn down to create space for the new £12 million project. City of Edinburgh Council approved planning permission last month and Hearts have spent the last few weeks clearing the site. Workmen have moved in to begin taking down the old club office building for the first phase of the redevelopment.

The new main stand will replace the existing, dilapidated stand which is 102 years old. It will house 7290 seats and increase stadium capacity to 20,099. There will be new offices, hospitality lounges, a roof terrace, a directors’ suite, state-of-the-art dressing rooms, media facilities, ticket kiosks and a new Tynecastle Nursery School.

Jim Clydesdale is the architect behind the design and is also responsible for Tynecastle’s other three stands. The entire project is due for completion in September 2017 and will finish the rebuilding of the stadium.

In the meantime, Hearts’ stadium offices and shop have been relocated to the back of the Wheatfield Stand, where they will remain throughout the building work. The plan is for the new stand to be constructed around the current one, the inside of which will then be excavated next summer.