TYNECASTLE STADIUM UPGRADE POTENTIAL - UEFA category 4 granted ( updated/merged )

[TWF]

We need to maximise the potential that exists at the moment without accepting a major capital investment. The Roseburn should be "re-designed" to allow accommodation of up to 700 away supporters, "protected by side supports of reinforced transparent material. This "restriction" on the away supporters should apply to ALL teams except perhaps the Wee Team? I am unsure as to the exact arithmetic but surely it will provide at least 500 seats for our own supporters. Also on the "rumours" that the Ultras "singing section will be housed in the lower Gorgie will that not in itself create some potential for "new" seating elsewhere?

[Libertarian]

5 minutes ago, Gorgi1874 said:

The city is growing rapidly, plenty of future ST holders 👍👍

Edinburgh s population is predicted to overtake the population of Glasgow by 2037. Midlothian and East Lothian have the fastest growing populations of all local authorities and West Lothian isn't far behind 

[WheatfieldWarrior]

9 minutes ago, basscom said:

This is a great idea. Too many seats lost to the massive white security boundary, costing approx 250-300 seats each game. 
 

Only issue would be Hibs games as they should get the full stand. They could sit either side of the fence for those games.

 

Can we house away fans in the undercroft? this would free up seats in the roseburn and allow us to get rid of the barrier. 

[Jambo dans les Pyrenees]

1 hour ago, The Maroon Pound said:

So I presume we just remove the steel supports, floodlight pylons X4 , supporting beams X4  take aff the side cladding, put in new steel supports throughout put in new concrete terracing (standing section's) , should add around 4,499 seats for the 3 corners

new roofing ,new floodlights

Builders estimate £20 million

Job done, BOSCH

Or maybe take out the lower tiers seating in 3 stand's and increase capacity with standing section's, seating row 9 upwards seating costings £3 million, BOSCH 

 

 

I was up for it until you got to 4,499.  

 

4,500 and now you are talking.

 

Oh and hot tubs as well.  Like at the cricket.

[BlueRiver]

1 hour ago, PortyBeach said:

I was always one who favoured a move from Tynecastle because in my view the site was too hemmed-in.

But that ship has sailed now, I reckon.

 

Me too. Even though it's an opinion that makes me as popular as ebola 🤣

[Herbert.]

Gorgie is a dump we should shift along to Sighthill. Its easier to get to and the smell of the brewery can be replaced with the smell of burtons. I think we're near the point Tynecastle is going to hold us back. 

[Bauld]

People don't like it. But here is a fact.

 

Tynecastle is too small and not fit for purpose.

 

If we want to grow as a club. Increase our financial capability. 

 

Tynecastle isn't fit for purpose.

 

It is too small. It has no option for expansion. 

 

We have only just started our path towards becoming a bigger club in Scotland and already we've outgrown the stadium even with a new stand. 

 

5 years? 10 years? Are we supposed to just accept a 19k stadium as our ground as the biggest club in a capital city that is growing in size and population every year? 

 

It's not something a lot of people want to hear. But I can't see any other option other than moving to a new location where we have the ability to grow. 

Edited May 21, 2023 by Bauld

[Bull's-eye]

1 hour ago, Worthing Jambo said:

So you’ll fit in half a seat, aye?🤭🤣🤣🤣

 

Might be a squeeze.

 

Ill buy 2 seats to stay comfortable.

[Worthing Jambo]

8 minutes ago, Bull's-eye said:

 

Might be a squeeze.

 

Ill buy 2 seats to stay comfortable.

Your missus can just sit on your knee then, job done👍

[WheatfieldWarrior]

7 minutes ago, Bull's-eye said:

 

Might be a squeeze.

 

Ill buy 2 seats to stay comfortable.

 

Does that mean you would want double loyalty points?

 

Mind you, if we narrow the turnstiles in line with the seating, that might not be an option.

[Poseidon]

Sighthill is surely a no-go now with the new development. When the flats came down would have been the time but Tynecastle was satisfying the demand back then. 

 

Now that Murrayfield flood defences are sorted then i think the back pitches where the DAM stadium is could still be an option. Joint effort between us and SRU to build a 25-28k stadium for us and Women's Scotland team/Edinburgh or somehow strike a deal for them to have Tynecastle and us to get a new stadium built on that footprint.

 

I do still think under the right conditions we could make a proper go of the big Murrayfield longer term if we keep growing at a decent pace

[WheatfieldWarrior]

18 minutes ago, Herbert. said:

Gorgie is a dump we should shift along to Sighthill. Its easier to get to and the smell of the brewery can be replaced with the smell of burtons. I think we're near the point Tynecastle is going to hold us back. 

 

Not sure about sighthill, what about Craigmillar? Could probably build the san siro out there?

[davemclaren]

5 minutes ago, Poseidon said:

Sighthill is surely a no-go now with the new development. When the flats came down would have been the time but Tynecastle was satisfying the demand back then. 

 

Now that Murrayfield flood defences are sorted then i think the back pitches where the DAM stadium is could still be an option. Joint effort between us and SRU to build a 25-28k stadium for us and Women's Scotland team/Edinburgh or somehow strike a deal for them to have Tynecastle and us to get a new stadium built on that footprint.

 

I do still think under the right conditions we could make a proper go of the big Murrayfield longer term if we keep growing at a decent pace

I think we need to own our stadium. History of many other clubs tells us that  leasing/renting can go badly wrong.  

[WheatfieldWarrior]

4 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

I think we need to own our stadium. History of many other clubs tells us that  leasing/renting can go badly wrong.  

 

So no 50k stadium based on a groundshare with Hibs then?

 

[Luckies1874]

Any Hearts fan who wanted a ticket for yesterday and “could not get one” is a total numpty. There were loads available and it would have taken them 2-3 minutes to purchase one. 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

10 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

I think we need to own our stadium. History of many other clubs tells us that  leasing/renting can go badly wrong.  

100% correct 

[His name is]

An easyish fix for all clubs in the UK is to push for safestading with a higher standing to seat ratio. 

 

Some German clubs run with 1 - 1.8. 1000 seats becomes 1800 standing. 

[Hesh]

24 minutes ago, Poseidon said:

 

 

Now that Murrayfield flood defences are sorted then i think the back pitches where the DAM stadium is could still be an option. Joint effort between us and SRU to build a 25-28k stadium for us and Women's Scotland team/Edinburgh or somehow strike a deal for them to have Tynecastle and us to get a new stadium built on that footprint.

 

I do still think under the right conditions we could make a proper go of the big Murrayfield longer term if we keep growing at a decent pace

The SRU have no need for a 25k stadium any time soon.  The whole object of the DAM was to be able to increase the capacity as and when and there's no indication this needs done at the moment.

 

I'm not sure if you're suggesting rugby could be played at tynecastle, never happen, the pitch is too small

[Sub4TiddlerMurray]

3 hours ago, Nessjambo67 said:

I’m sorry I can’t get my head round this oh there’s 2500 waiting to get a ST . There has not been a game this season when we have actually not seen hundreds of empty seats in the Hearts end ! Where are these people ? 

I hear the waiting list is now circa 5,000

[Herbert.]

3 minutes ago, Sub4TiddlerMurray said:

I hear the waiting list is now circa 5,000

 

 

Our waiting list is going to be more than what most teams sell.

[Gorgi1874]

1 hour ago, Libertarian said:

Edinburgh s population is predicted to overtake the population of Glasgow by 2037. Midlothian and East Lothian have the fastest growing populations of all local authorities and West Lothian isn't far behind 

If building regs allow it would be good to see the corners closed off to increase capacity. Get round all these new builds and schools and offer concessions or free tickets. This is what Man City did and in ten years had a new fanbase going to games. Have to be ambitious imo, the potential is there

[PortyBeach]

51 minutes ago, BlueRiver said:

 

Me too. Even though it's an opinion that makes me as popular as ebola 🤣

🤣. I felt the Shed covered a “multitude of sins”.

This picture is a good illustration of the limitations imposed by the site, I think. 
It also goes to show what a good job the club made of the re-build.

 

[Poseidon]

15 minutes ago, Hesh said:

 

I'm not sure if you're suggesting rugby could be played at tynecastle, never happen, the pitch is too small

Yeah, had kinda forgotten about that, was focused on the capacity 😂

[Percival King]

1 hour ago, Bauld said:

People don't like it. But here is a fact.

 

Tynecastle is too small and not fit for purpose.

 

If we want to grow as a club. Increase our financial capability. 

 

Tynecastle isn't fit for purpose.

 

It is too small. It has no option for expansion. 

 

We have only just started our path towards becoming a bigger club in Scotland and already we've outgrown the stadium even with a new stand. 

 

5 years? 10 years? Are we supposed to just accept a 19k stadium as our ground as the biggest club in a capital city that is growing in size and population every year? 

 

It's not something a lot of people want to hear. But I can't see any other option other than moving to a new location where we have the ability to grow. 

It's not a fact, it's an opinion, which you're obviously entitled to. For me, Tynecastle is fit for purpose and hasn't demonstrated sufficiently, if at all, that it is so small that we need to spend a massive amount of money, which we don’t have, on a new stadium. We have what many fans, including non-Hearts fans, believe is the best, most atmospheric in Scotland. We had a huge game yesterday which I don't think anyone was locked out of i.e. Anyone who wanted to go could do so. Reading posts on Kickback, seems to me there's a split between fans who think we should speculate to get to the next level and those who believe our history tells us that we're unlikely to be regularly competing for the title without almost going bust. I'm in the latter camp, but that's just my opinion.

[Bungalow Bill]

Wonder if hosting the Conference League final is on the clubs radar? Only thing stopping it might be our dugout situation. Should be equal side of the half way line. 

[Bazzas right boot]

3 hours ago, Bull's-eye said:

Cut all the seats in half. 40k stadium, job done.

 

Cut in them in  3, - 60k!

 

[GorgieFifeLife]

11 minutes ago, Percival King said:

It's not a fact, it's an opinion, which you're obviously entitled to. For me, Tynecastle is fit for purpose and hasn't demonstrated sufficiently, if at all, that it is so small that we need to spend a massive amount of money, which we don’t have, on a new stadium. We have what many fans, including non-Hearts fans, believe is the best, most atmospheric in Scotland. We had a huge game yesterday which I don't think anyone was locked out of i.e. Anyone who wanted to go could do so. Reading posts on Kickback, seems to me there's a split between fans who think we should speculate to get to the next level and those who believe our history tells us that we're unlikely to be regularly competing for the title without almost going bust. I'm in the latter camp, but that's just my opinion.

The 5000 on the waiting list won’t agree with you that everyone who wanted to go got to go.  If we want to get bigger as a club and we can’t develop the current site then there will only be one outcome in the end.  That could be decades away though.

[Fejka]

3 hours ago, JimmyCant said:

I’ve thought for a while the club should do some research as to why certain sections have almost 100% fill every week whilst other sections, particularly bottom of the Gorgie stand, can be very sparse.

 

Just pick a section one week, note the empty seat numbers and email them and ask them to complete a short survey. No pressure, no penalty for not going or anything daft like that but something might be learned that we could do something about. 
 

It’s all very strange and it’s the same areas every time

The bottom of the Gorgie being empty might be in part due to people buying tickets there on the exchange as it’s the cheapest (around £19 I think) and then sitting in another part of the ground as there will still be empty seats. In this case it makes it seem concentrated to the one area. 

[Bazzas right boot]

We could have a ground the size of Easter road, but the problem is when there is 19k there it looks half empty.

 

 

[Hmfc1965]

9 minutes ago, GorgieFifeLife said:

The 5000 on the waiting list won’t agree with you that everyone who wanted to go got to go.  If we want to get bigger as a club and we can’t develop the current site then there will only be one outcome in the end.  That could be decades away though.

Any of the 5000 could have bought a ticket on the exchange.

For whatever reason they chose not to.

[WASTREL]

4 hours ago, Nessjambo67 said:

I’m sorry I can’t get my head round this oh there’s 2500 waiting to get a ST . There has not been a game this season when we have actually not seen hundreds of empty seats in the Hearts end ! Where are these people ? 

I have been in my same seat since the New Main Stand was opened and beside me are 4 empty seats that are only ever filled on Cup Ties.  Crazy I know but somebody is paying for them and chooses not to put them on the Ticket Exchange for League games.

 

[jr ewing]

3 minutes ago, Disco Ball said:

I have been in my same seat since the New Main Stand was opened and beside me are 4 empty seats that are only ever filled on Cup Ties.  Crazy I know but somebody is paying for them and chooses not to put them on the Ticket Exchange for League games.

 

Maybe not computer literate. 

[SwindonJambo]

1 hour ago, Gorgi1874 said:

If building regs allow it would be good to see the corners closed off to increase capacity. Get round all these new builds and schools and offer concessions or free tickets. This is what Man City did and in ten years had a new fanbase going to games. Have to be ambitious imo, the potential is there

Man City are significantly richer than us and play in the richest league in the World.

 

Tynecastle is landlocked. If we come into money and we want to significantly increase our capacity then we’ll have no choice but to move to somewhere that isn’t. The club will be well aware of what’s possible in our current home and I can’t see it being much more than a couple of thousand extra seats in the Wheatfield and even that would be extremely expensive.

 

We’re not long into our growth phase and a few bad seasons and crowds fall again and we end up giving the OF the full Roseburn again. I want the club to grow as much as anyone but it has to be done sustainably and with sound finances. Taking on huge debts is not the answer. Are people’s memories really that short?

[ramrod]

53 minutes ago, Fejka said:

The bottom of the Gorgie being empty might be in part due to people buying tickets there on the exchange as it’s the cheapest (around £19 I think) and then sitting in another part of the ground as there will still be empty seats. In this case it makes it seem concentrated to the one area. 

That's a good point,  did seem to be a lot of empty seats in both lower sections behind the goal where as the Main and Wheatfields looked pretty full 

[TurboT]

There's some valid points on the thread.  Andrew McKinley stated earlier this season that the only game that had completely "sold out" was the Hibs game, for all other games there were tickets available on Ticket Exchange.

 

Every week, there are hundreds of empty seats, I'd guess because a lot of people don't put their tickets on the exchange.  I recall Man United and other clubs in the EPL make it a requirement that you resell your ticket if you can't make it, could we look at something similar?  May not go down well with a lot of season ticket holders.

[GorgieFifeLife]

1 hour ago, Hmfc1965 said:

Any of the 5000 could have bought a ticket on the exchange.

For whatever reason they chose not to.

The exchange won’t allow enough notice for a lot of people to be able to go.  I don’t think there were many left available on exchange.  A lot of the empty seats would have been left by those who didn’t put them on exchange.

[Jambo-Fox]

1 hour ago, Luckies1874 said:

Any Hearts fan who wanted a ticket for yesterday and “could not get one” is a total numpty. There were loads available and it would have taken them 2-3 minutes to purchase one. 

Well said!! Kills the argument of the ‘empty seater’ brigade! Current demand is such that if you want to buy a ticket you can!

[Fort Vallance]

4 hours ago, Libertarian said:

With a bigger capacity the club could have generated another £250,000 from yesterday's game. It'll be the same next week against Hibs. Hearts are probably losing at least £2million per-season. Any outlay would be an investment which would soon pay for itself.

With the ticket exchange,  anybody that really wanted a ticket yesterday could have got one. Spending a fortune to increase capacity for half a dozen games a season. And empty seats for the rest. Not for me.

[chrystaf]

3 minutes ago, Fort Vallance said:

With the ticket exchange,  anybody that really wanted a ticket yesterday could have got one. Spending a fortune to increase capacity for half a dozen games a season. And empty seats for the rest. Not for me.

And on the capacity issue, we were supposed to have extended the ground to seat 20,000.  But even on "sold out" matches, we have never matched 19,000 let alone 20,000.  I can't think that the seats taken off for segregation amount to 2,000ish.

[Gorgi1874]

33 minutes ago, SwindonJambo said:

Man City are significantly richer than us and play in the richest league in the World.

 

Tynecastle is landlocked. If we come into money and we want to significantly increase our capacity then we’ll have no choice but to move to somewhere that isn’t. The club will be well aware of what’s possible in our current home and I can’t see it being much more than a couple of thousand extra seats in the Wheatfield and even that would be extremely expensive.

 

We’re not long into our growth phase and a few bad seasons and crowds fall again and we end up giving the OF the full Roseburn again. I want the club to grow as much as anyone but it has to be done sustainably and with sound finances. Taking on huge debts is not the answer. Are people’s memories really that short?

Fair enough 

[jr ewing]

11 minutes ago, chrystaf said:

And on the capacity issue, we were supposed to have extended the ground to seat 20,000.  But even on "sold out" matches, we have never matched 19,000 let alone 20,000.  I can't think that the seats taken off for segregation amount to 2,000ish.

370  yesterday.

[graygo]

3 hours ago, Thomaso said:

You know that the empty seats had been paid for by ST holders?

 

I do, 7 people told me before you did. 👍

[Bauld]

1 hour ago, Percival King said:

It's not a fact, it's an opinion, which you're obviously entitled to. For me, Tynecastle is fit for purpose and hasn't demonstrated sufficiently, if at all, that it is so small that we need to spend a massive amount of money, which we don’t have, on a new stadium. We have what many fans, including non-Hearts fans, believe is the best, most atmospheric in Scotland. We had a huge game yesterday which I don't think anyone was locked out of i.e. Anyone who wanted to go could do so. Reading posts on Kickback, seems to me there's a split between fans who think we should speculate to get to the next level and those who believe our history tells us that we're unlikely to be regularly competing for the title without almost going bust. I'm in the latter camp, but that's just my opinion.

 

I consider it to be a fact because the clubs ambition is to grow.

 

We have a large waiting list and no wiggle room.

 

Imagine if we had a 30k stadium. Would it be full every home game right now? No it wouldn't.

 

Would if be full to capacity on derby days? Yes

 

Would of be full on a European night under the lights against a famous club like someone from the EPL? Yes

 

Would we be able to fill it during certain cup games? Yes. 

 

It isn't always just about every league game. We could generate some massive income from more season ticket sales and 6-8 big games per season where we pack it out.

 

On top of that. It gives us room to grow. In 15-20 years time Edinburgh population is probably going to be near double what it is now. That's a lot of potential for more fans and more money. 

 

If we want the future to match the ambition we can't just cling on to the past we love. We have to love the past and embrace the future.

[Phil D. Corners]

We rebuilt the main stand, don’t see why we can’t rebuild the Wheatfield. 

 

Thanks to The FoH we have additional funds to support this. There is community pitch and Gerard’s yard behind the Which gives some good space to build on/over. 

[Howdy Doody Jambo]

Maybe just do away with season tickets and sell games on an individual basis first come first served ? 

[Canscot]

5 hours ago, Bull's-eye said:

Cut all the seats in half. 40k stadium, job done.

😳😳😳I have to grease my arse up so I can fit in the seats at the moment!

 

[davemclaren]

9 minutes ago, Phil D. Corners said:

We rebuilt the main stand, don’t see why we can’t rebuild the Wheatfield. 

 

Thanks to The FoH we have additional funds to support this. There is community pitch and Gerard’s yard behind the Which gives some good space to build on/over. 

We don't own the community pitch and don't think that the distillery currently want to sell it.  I agree that the only 'feasible' expansion that I can see is on that land but it won't be easy to deliver or even justify. 

[Thomaso]

32 minutes ago, graygo said:

 

I do, 7 people told me before you did. 👍

Just making sure 😊

[WheatfieldWarrior]

12 minutes ago, The Maroon Pound said:

Maybe just do away with season tickets and sell games on an individual basis first come first served ? 

 

Club really prefers to have the money for a season up front - this makes it much easier to workout what the budgets (including playing staff) are. (and for a host of other reasons)

[Phil D. Corners]

2 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

We don't own the community pitch and don't think that the distillery currently want to sell it.  I agree that the only 'feasible' expansion that I can see is on that land but it won't be easy to deliver or even justify. 

I understood Hearts have a good relationship with the distillery. So we could make them offer that would work with them. Not sure what they use it for. 
 

I would still like the community pitch to be used. So some how extend the pitch to the west and put down Astro. The extend wheatfield could offer facilities to enhance the pitch use. Changing rooms, cafe/bar with observation on the pitch etc.