‘Still a building site’
But Budge confident Hearts v Partick will go ahead
Hearts are confident tomorrow’s match against Partick Thistle at Tynecastle will go ahead but admit areas of their new stand are still a “building site” after failing a safety check on Friday afternoon, writes Barry Anderson.
Edinburgh Council safety officers will decide today whether the ground can host the Ladbrokes Premiership match against Thistle.
Inspectors will assess the £12 million main stand again at noon after failing to award a safety certificate yesterday.
There are still several areas to be ratified before the required paperwork can be signed off. If builders cannot complete the work in time, Hearts will be forced to postpone tomorrow’s fixture.
The club are desperate to stage the match as planned and are hopeful
it will go ahead. Construction staff worked through last night in an attempt to get the stand ready, and Hearts owner Ann Budge is hopeful.
“I know every Hearts supporter, and indeed every Partick Thistle supporter, is awaiting the announcement that will confirm or otherwise, whether our upcoming game can be played at Tynecastle Park on Sunday,” she said. “I cannot, at this time, definitively say ‘yes’ but I can say that every indication points to the game going ahead.
“Following our meeting with CEC officials this [Friday] morning, there are a few elements of work still to be completed. Our construction management team is very confident that this will be achieved.
“A final visit will take place tomorrow [Saturday] at noon, following which I hope to be able to issue a ‘we are open for business’ message early tomorrow afternoon. However, no guarantees!”
Despite several inspections, the new stand does not yet meet safety regulations and Budge added: “Returning again to the fact that this is still a ‘work-in-progress’, I want to stress that the building is, in large part, still a building site.”
The council are keen to do everything possible to help Hearts and will make safety officers available up until the 3pm kick-off tomorrow if required.
That option carries the obvious risk of a very late call-off and Tynecastle officials would prefer a resolution today. Thousands of fans are awaiting the outcome, with many supporters having already booked travel.
Thistle manager Alan Archibald says a postponement would be a nightmare and insists he will not agree to a new date next month because Partick are already facing eight games in December. Archibald said: “If the game is called off then it would absolutely kill us in terms of fixtures because it would mean just one game in November.
“We helped Hearts out in the first place by reversing the fixtures. We’ve got eight games in December as it stands and if this game goes then having another one is no use to us.”
The new stand was originally due to open on 9 September. That date was revised to 5 November and then tomorrow.