Annwon’tcry whenstand comesdown
ANN BUDGE won’t shed many tears over the demolition of the Tynecastle main stand but she can understand the emotions of those who will.
The Archibald Leitchbuilt structure will play host to the last game in its 103-year existence tomorrow when Aberdeen come calling and Jambos owner Budge is adamant it had to go to give Hearts fans the stadium they deserve.
A new £12million main stand, hoisting the overall capacity to almost 21,000, will be built and Budge has no regrets about signing off on the project.
But she said to STV: “It certainly will be emotional. I can understand exactly where the supporters are coming from because I’ve spoken to so many of them over the last couple of years.
“The truth of the matter is if you want to move on we all know what we have to do – 103 has been good service but no, I’m not as emotionally attached to it. Before I took over the club I had only been in this stand twice.
“The first time I came in I was really quite horrified. I suffered from the same miscomprehension as a number of supporters thinking, ‘This is wooden, it must be a danger’. I know it’s not but I didn’t at the time.”
Budge is adamant Hearts fans will love the new stand. She added: “Being able to give them the best instead of the worst is going to be good. We’ll lose nothing.
“The stadium will continue to have the atmosphere it has and we will have what I genuinely believe are facilities that are second to none.
“From a hospitality perspective what we’re trying to do is at all times say we want this to be the equivalent of a five-star hotel.”
Budge has offered her total backing to head coach Ian Cathro. She said: “At the end of the day, I’m totally confident the supporters will stick with us.
“Yes, we get grumbles when things don’t go right but we’ve got a new management team and you have to give people a chance. I think it’s going okay.”