Field of dreams

TYNECASTLE Stadium will soon be able to host European matches again with work having started on making the pitch UEFA compliant, the Evening News can reveal.

The project, which involves removing a row of seats from each of the Roseburn and Gorgie stands, will see the stadium meet the minimum criteria of 100 metres x 64 metres which is required to host European matches.

The current size of the Tynecastle playing surface measures 98m x 68m, dimensions which saw it deemed unsuitable for staging last season's UEFA Cup clashes, the Gorgie outfit opting to hold their ties against Braga, Schalke and Ferencvaros at nearby Murrayfield. Contractors were due to begin their work today.

"The contractors are in place and the work should be completed in around two to three weeks time," said stadium manager John Boag.

With the Jambos having failed to secure participation in the UEFA Cup following a disappointing end to the season, a request to have the work postponed for a year was turned down by the Scottish Football Association.

The total cost of the restructuring of the stands, which is to be carried out as part of the SFA's National Club Licensing audit, will be £65,000 and it will be completed in time for the visit of Middlesbrough on Wednesday, July 20.

Boag, along with chief executive Phil Anderton and safety officers from Edinburgh City Council, indicated to the SFA how the minimum criteria could be met without affecting the floodlight stanchions, the club insisting it was a "straightforward" process.

"We demonstrated how the pitch could be made UEFA compliant but with Hearts not in Europe next season we requested a dispensation in carrying out the work. That was turned down and we have been instructed by the SFA to go ahead," said Boag.

"We will be removing one row of seats from each of the Gorgie and Roseburn stands to extend the pitch by one metre at either end and we will also then narrow the pitch to 64 metres."

Two hundred and eighty seats are to be removed, reducing Tynecastle's capacity for next season to around the 17,400 mark. The switch to the home of the Scottish Rugby Union proved a big success with more than 70,000 supporters flocking through the gates for the three games, far in excess of what Tynecastle could ever have accommodated.

The development is in stark contrast to the stance taken by former chief executive Chris Robinson who, in his wide- ranging "Not Fit For Purpose" document of some 18 months ago, insisted it wasn't possible to create the minimum pitch size without incurring prohibitive costs. He used this claim as the central argument to the controversial proposal to sell Tynecastle and ground share with the SRU, something which new owner Vladimir Romanov overturned on buying out Robinson.

The preferred requirement by UEFA for pitch size is 105m x 68m, without which teams cannot host Champions' League matches. Internal work is also currently being carried out at the stadium, the dated referees' room being significantly upgraded to meet further requirements of the National Club License.

Taken from the Scotsman