Heart of Midlothian said that gate receipts at Tynecastle rose by 24% in '17-18.GETTY IMAGES
Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian revealed unnamed benefactors "handed over" £1M ($1.31M) toward player wages in donations totaling £3M ($3.92M), according to the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The Tynecastle club on Wednesday announced its annual report, which shows turnover increased from £11.26M in '17 to £12.13M ($15.84M) in the year ending June '18. Although pre-tax profit was down from £2.32M to £1.81M ($2.36M), other figures are more favorable. Gate receipts at Hearts, "in part due to Tynecastle's increased capacity after the main stand was redeveloped," rose by 24%. Commercial income increased by 8% (DAILY RECORD, 11/14). The BBC reported Hearts "invested heavily in Tynecastle," spending nearly £18M ($23.5M) so far to increase the capacity to 20,000 and improve facilities in other areas of the ground, including a new hybrid pitch, undersoil heating, a supporters' bar and a TV studio. Club Owner Ann Budge said that the '17-18 financial year saw the club "continue on our journey to re-establish Heart of Midlothian as a major force within Scottish football." The 7,290-capacity main stand "has yet to be fully completed," with the costs rising from the initial estimate of £12M (BBC, 11/14).
