Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian Owner Ann Budge "revealed the club's healthy financial position" has allowed it to put aside millions of pounds to go toward its £12M ($17.4M) stadium upgrade, according to Jamie Borthwick of STV. Budge told supporters that "more than half of the cost was already secured, with an announcement to follow on how the rest of the cash will be raised."
And "she assured fans at a consultation meeting at the stadium that the club will remain debt free after the works have been completed."
The Tynecastle main grandstand "will be replaced, with renovations also taking place in the other three stands, over the course of the next two years." A debenture-style scheme "will be offered to raise more capital for the project, which will take capacity at Hearts' home to between 20,000 and 21,000." The Hearts owner "refused to rule out the possibility of selling naming rights for the new stand to bring in more revenue to fund the project" (STV, 5/3). In Edinburgh, Darren Johnstone wrote the capacity of the main stand "will increase from around 4,000 to 7,000, taking the total capacity of the stadium to around 21,000." The new ground "will include" new UEFA-compliant changing rooms, hospitality areas, shop and ticket office. An east-facing rooftop restaurant "is also planned."
Budge said, "This program is going to cost around £11-£12 million although we already have more than half of that sitting there ready to go and we have a plan to make up the rest, which I’m very confident about and I’ll tell you about that shortly" (SCOTSMAN, 5/3).
