Tynecastle Stadium - History

History

After Hearts was formed in 1874, the club played at sites in the Meadows, Powburn and Powderhall. Hearts first moved to the Gorgie area, in the west of Edinburgh, in 1881. This pitch stood on the site of the present-day Wardlaw Street and Wardlaw Terrace. As this site was then regarded as being 'out of town', Hearts would sometimes stage two matches for the price of one, or set an admission price much lower than Edinburgh derby rivals Hibs. In 1886, with the city continuing to expand, tenements replaced the old ground and Hearts moved across Gorgie Road to the present site, which was leased from Edinburgh Corporation. Hearts played a friendly against Bolton Wanderers to inaugurate their new home on 10 April 1886. Tynecastle staged its first Scottish Football League match on 23 August 1890, when Hearts lost 5–0 to Celtic.

Hearts won the Scottish Cup in 1891, which provided the club with sufficient finances for a new clubhouse. Tynecastle hosted its first international fixture in 1892, a 6–1 victory for Scotland against Wales. Only 1,200 fans attended the match because a snowstorm had led many fans to assume that it would be postponed. 1892 also saw a roof constructed on the original "South" stand. Tynecastle underwent substantial changes in the early twentieth century. A small stand and pavilion were built in 1903. The banks of terracing were greatly increased in 1906, giving a total capacity of 61,784. In 1911, a covered enclosure was erected on the western "distillery" side. The two old stands and pavilion were replaced in 1914 by a pitch-length grandstand (the present Main Stand), designed by the renowned stadium architect Archibald Leitch. To partly fund the cost of the new stand, Hearts sold Percy Dawson to Blackburn Rovers for a British record transfer fee of £2,500. A number of items were omitted from the first estimate of the stand, which meant that its cost doubled to £12,000.

Hearts purchased the ground in 1926. Over the next four years, the terraces were expanded using ash from the nearby Haymarket railway yards. In 1927, Hearts gave the BBC permission to begin radio commentaries from the ground. New turnstiles were built on Wheatfield Street and subways created to allow access to the terraces. Tynecastle's record attendance was achieved in 1932, when 53,396 attended a Scottish Cup tie against Rangers. Tynecastle was now tightly squeezed on three sides, however, by narrow streets, Tynecastle High School and bonded warehouses of the North British Distillery. Hearts considered moving to Murrayfield Stadium, which had opened in 1925. There was also a proposal to move to a new ground in Sighthill. The start of the Second World War halted these schemes, however.

The terraces were concreted in 1951 and Tynecastle became Scotland's first all-concrete stadium in 1954. Following the modernisation of the stadium, the club architects said that the capacity stood at 54,359, but for safety reasons only 49,000 tickets were printed for big matches. Floodlights were installed at Tynecastle in 1957. A roof was constructed along part of the "distillery" side and in the north-west corner of the ground in 1959. This work was paid for by the sale of Dave Mackay for £32,000 to Tottenham Hotspur.

No further changes were made to Tynecastle until stricter ground safety regulations came into effect in the 1970s. Hearts also lacked the finances to redevelop Tynecastle, as the club were relegated from the Premier Division three times in five seasons in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Hearts began to perform better under the ownership of Wallace Mercer, who took control in 1981. The capacity was cut to 29,000 with the installation of benches on the "distillery" covered terrace and in the Main Stand paddock in 1982 and 1985 respectively. Also around this time, lounges and facilities were installed in the Main Stand.

The Taylor Report required all major sports grounds to become all-seated by August 1994. Hearts initially entered discussions with Hibernian and the local authorities, but none of the sites suggested were suitable for all parties. In March 1991, Hearts submitted their own proposal for a 30,000 all-seat stadium at Millerhill, in the south-east of Edinburgh. The development would have also incorporated offices, a hotel, supermarket, restaurants and a business park. The site was in the Edinburgh green belt and the proposal was rejected later in 1991. Hermiston was then suggested as a possible site for a new Hearts stadium, but this fell through in December 1992 due to its being within the green belt.

The collapse of the Hermiston proposal meant that Hearts had to admit that Tynecastle would have to be redeveloped. In 1994, the entire western and northern sides of the ground were demolished, allowing for the construction of the Wheatfield Stand that year and the Roseburn Stand the following year. Temporary 'bucket' seating was installed on the (southern) Gorgie Road end terracing. The Gorgie Road end terracing was razed in 1997 and replaced by the Gorgie Stand.

In 2004, then club CEO Chris Robinson announced plans to sell Tynecastle, which he claimed was “not fit for purpose”. Hearts would have rented Murrayfield from the SRU instead. The prime motivation for this move was to eradicate the club's debt of nearly £20 million. The plan was almost universally unpopular with supporters, and a campaign, entitled ‘’Save Our Hearts’’, was set up to try to block the move. In spite of this, Robinson and those supporting his actions controlled a slender majority of the issued shares and it appeared that a sale would be completed, particularly after a deal was preliminarily agreed to sell the site for just over £20 million to Cala Homes, a property development company.

The sale was cancelled, however, when Vladimir Romanov purchased the club in January 2005, invoking a clause in the initial agreement that allowed for its annulment upon the payment of a fixed sum of £75,000. Following the clubs January 2005 takeover by Vladimir Romanov, the club’s short-term future at Tynecastle was assured. The new ownership revealed that in the long-term capacity had to be increased – either by improving Tynecastle or moving to a new purpose-built home. In 2005, the pitch dimensions were altered to meet UEFA standards, necessitating the removal of the lowest rows of seating in the Gorgie and Roseburn Stands. As a result, the overall capacity was reduced from 18,000 to 17,420.

On 20 August 2007 the club announced they were “at an advanced stage” in plans for demolishing the aged Main Stand and replacing it with a 10,000 seat stand with a hotel and leisure facilities incorporated. A planning application was lodged with Edinburgh City Council in February 2008. This development would raise capacity to 23,000, but the proposal has been knocked back due to the club's large amount of debt and the current financial climate.