Hearts win the numbers game after a great season

HEARTS today revealed that commercial activity has rocketed by almost 70 per cent as a result of last season's success on the park.

The Tynecastle side have smashed all season ticket records for the new campaign, having received more than 19,000 applications from fans in just 26 days - a rise of 70 per cent. And last term away support increased by 84 per cent, while hospitality packages rocketed by 49 per cent and retail by 66 per cent.

The club also launched their end-of-season DVD, 'Glorious: The Romanov Revolution', in front or around 400 supporters at the Dominion Theatre yesterday and Hearts' race day at Musselburgh on Saturday was also a sell-out and record 7500 crowd for Musselburgh.

Alistair Russell, club commercial director, is keen to harness the interest in the club. He said: "What a season it has been. It has been an absolute rollercoaster from start to finish.

"The success in the Scottish Cup and in the league on the pitch has been absolutely magnificent and that has been reflected off the pitch too.

"We've got in excess of 19,000 applications for season tickets this season and I think that just goes to show how big Hearts are and how much interest there is in the club at the moment.

"Having that number of fans desperate to get their hands on tickets is just fantastic, but this is just the start for us.

"We want to be talking about 20,000 or 22,000 in the future and with the developments to the stadium we will hopefully have the scope to accommodate that."

Despite the huge increments, Russell insisted that the club would not rest on their laurels and insisted that this is just the beginning.

Russell added: "There has been a lot of hard work and planning, and a huge investment from Mr Romanov so we were looking for success this season. Now we are just hoping to continue and grow the success we've had so far.

"This is a family club and we want to attract more people into the Hearts revolution.

"We have devoted the Gorgie stand to families, there is face painting, the menus are geared towards families and we have the facilities in place to encourage the fan base to grow even further.

"It is not a secret that Mr Romanov wants the club to grow and when the stadium is developed it will be in excess of 19,000. We are very much open for business, the more success we have, the more people want to get involved with the club.

"We would encourage that and we are open to any opportunity, whether it be big or small."

The club today announced a commercial agreement with TMG (Travel Management Group plc) to provide European travel arrangements for the club's players, management team and supporters.

TMG, based in Edinburgh and London, will now be Hearts' Official Travel Partner in preparation for this season's UEFA Champions League qualification campaign.

Taken from the Scotsman