Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian is "set to fork out" £250,000 ($313,200) to relay the Tynecastle Stadium pitch which drew "heavy criticism" in Sunday's Edinburgh derby, according to Tony Haggerty of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The old pitch "will be ripped up and replaced with new turf for next season." The Tynecastle surface was "hammered by critics after it cut up badly" during the Scottish Cup fifth round tie with Hibs which ended in a "dour" 0-0 draw. Hearts are also undertaking a £12M ($15M) reconstruction of the Main Stand at Tynecastle with work on that project "due to be completed by September." With the '17-18 Premiership season due to start on Aug. 5, the capital club has "already intimated" to the Scottish Professional Football League that it will have to play some of its home opening league fixtures away from Tynecastle to "allow the work on the stadium and the pitch to be completed." A club spokesperson said, "The Tynecastle pitch is more than 20 years old and the turf has never been properly ripped up and relaid" (DAILY RECORD, 2/13).
