News

Hearts Submit Stadium Plans

|
Image for Hearts Submit Stadium Plans

Despite several pessimists or dare I say it, non-‘believers’, expressing their doubts about Vladimir Romanov’s plans to re-develop Tynecastle, Hearts have today taken their first step to perhaps proving that this is one promise that our esteemed owner could be about to keep.

The club have now officially submitted a planning application for the expansion of our famous old stadium, with the project said to be worth in the region of £50 million. This will see Tynecastle’s capacity rising to 23,000, with talk of various other facilities such as a hotel and a shopping mall also potentially in the pipeline.

Consent will obviously need to be granted for these plans to go ahead, but on the face of it this would appear to be good news for Hearts. I realise that there are many grave concerns over the sum of money being talked about here, especially if you are someone who also has extreme doubts over whether or not Hearts’ debt is in fact still a serious issue for the club. We have been told by various club representatives over the past year or so that the debt has effectively been dissolved into Romanov’s empire of businesses and that it will be offset over a period of time until it ceases to exist, but because the level of their power is such that they don’t have to go into any real detail over such claims, it’s difficult to know how to take a comment like that, especially given the nonsensical way that the football side of the club has been run recently. It’s fair to say that having complete confidence in such a regime is very difficult at the moment.

Still, let’s not turn this into a negative article. Many of us even doubted that we’d get this far, so let’s hope that this is indeed the beginning of a genuinely rich new chapter in the story of Heart Of Midlothian FC.

Share this article

MrH

Come on the famous!

11 comments

  • StockportJambo says:

    Potentially good news, but like others, I’ll wait and see what actually happens. The planning application wouldn’t have been submitted unless those at the club had good reason to believe it would be accepted. Again though, I’ll wait and see.

  • TDBhoy says:

    At least Hearts have unveiled something that resembles a plan for a new stadium. The pres will probably largley ignore this to concentrate on Sir Minty Moonbeam’s ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ stadium plans in Govan.

  • itsnomarooned says:

    I for one am excited about this. Such an application will surely not have benn produced in a vaccum and those involved must (?) have been in close contact with the Council – bit of a waste of effort otherwise. I personally believe that this does show the proper level of commitment (though I admit I’ll be happier when work is actually underway) and that everyone is in this for the long term. If this was all just a big sham and we’re being set up to be sold off then what a ridiculously convoluted way of going about it – these plans plus all the admin type improvements plus the publicised community work. I didn’t notice any mention of Tynecastle school which I understood to be listed in some way. Final quastion here is where we play in the interim. Personally I think Murrayfield is a non-starter which leaves a reduced Tynecastle or Easter Road (I’m ignoring the daft suggestion of Livi or East End!) and I’d be happy enough with Easter Road – though this was being played down by Pedro Lopez. We’ll see …..

  • imcd says:

    I?m quite excited about this too ? maybe I am a closet ?believer?. I agree that if, as Lopez has said today, talks have been ongoing with council throughout this planning process then this should surely pave the way for a reasonably trouble free application. There are doubters of course and Romanov?s behaviour over the last wee while doesn?t exactly instil confidence. But, as itsnomarooned has said, if this is a con it?s one hell of an elaborate con given the work that has gone into this application so far by Hearts and the other high profile companies they have employed at no doubt considerable expense. On the interim stadium front, I think I would like to stay at Tynecastle while the work is going on ? if Hearts consider they can cope with the revenue loss. This means if we can look across at the site every other Saturday and if we think the work isn?t progressing quick enough then we can sing and shout about it from the other three stands. Might be useful diversion if the Team are having another one of their off-days!

  • itsnomarooned says:

    imcd – check out Hearts World for a look at the interview with Pedro Lopez. He comes accross very well.

  • imcd says:

    OK will do – but don’t you have to sign up to the Hearts World bit (and pay cash coins) – I can usually only get to see the free stuff.

  • itsnomarooned says:

    Then you’ll not be disappointed

  • imcd says:

    Good, I hate disappointment.

  • MrH says:

    Isn’t our love of disappointment one of the reasons that we follow this club?!

  • will it ever happen says:

    Looks like a new era could be starting at your place, is everybody behind this?

  • MrH says:

    No – it’s very mixed as no-one really knows whether or not to trust those in charge of the club. We have to see what develops….

Leave a Reply to itsnomarooned Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *