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Tynecastle is an all-seated stadium, split into four sections known as the Gorgie Stand, Main Stand, Wheatfield Stand and Roseburn Stand. The Main Stand was rebuilt in 2017, replacing an older facility designed by noted football stadium architect
Tynecastle Image Archive
London Hearts {{Football in Edinburgh Sports venues completed in 1886 Sports venues in Edinburgh Heart of Midlothian F.C. Football venues in Edinburgh Rugby league stadiums in Scotland Rugby League World Cup stadiums Gorgie Scottish Premier League venues Scottish Football League venues Scottish Professional Football League venues Scotland national football team venues 1886 establishments in Scotland
Tynecastle Park is a football stadium in the
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 Gorgie
Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the west of the city and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry.
Name
The name is thought to be Brythonic in origin. Early forms suggest it derives from ''gor g ...
area of Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, which is the home ground of Scottish Professional Football League club Heart of Midlothian (Hearts). It has also hosted Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
international matches, and been used as a neutral venue for Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup semi-finals. Tynecastle has a seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of , which makes it the sixth-largest football stadium in Scotland. Hearts have played at the present site of Tynecastle since 1886.
History
After Hearts was formed in 1874, the club played at sites in the Meadows, Powburn and Powderhall. Hearts first moved to theGorgie
Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the west of the city and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry.
Name
The name is thought to be Brythonic in origin. Early forms suggest it derives from ''gor g ...
area, in the west of Edinburgh, in 1881. This pitch, known as "Tynecastle Park" or "Old Tynecastle", 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
A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
replaced the old ground and Hearts moved across Gorgie Road to the present site (also known as "Tynecastle Park", or "New Tynecastle"), 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
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
against Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. 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. In 1895 Tynecastle hosted a "World Championship" match between the winner of the English Football League First Division, Sunderland, and the Scottish league champions, Hearts. The trophy was won by Sunderland, who beat Hearts by a 5–3 score. Tynecastle hosted another "World Championship" game in 1902, when Hearts beat Tottenham Hotspur 3–1.
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
Archibald Keir Leitch (27 April 1865 – 25 April 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout Great Britain and Ireland.
Early work
Born in Glasgow, Leitch's early work was on designing ...
. To partly fund the cost of the new stand, Hearts sold Percy Dawson to Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
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 and sold 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
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report is the report of an inquiry which was overseen by Lord Justice Taylor, into the causes of the Hillsborough disaster in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989, as a result of which, ...
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
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which ...
, however, 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 as it was also within the green belt area.
The collapse of the Hermiston proposal forced Hearts to redevelop Tynecastle instead. 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. That terracing was itself razed in 1997 and replaced by the Gorgie Stand. During this period of redevelopment, the ground was officially renamed as Tynecastle Stadium.
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
Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...
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
Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov ( rus, Владимир Николаевич Романов, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr nʲɪkɐˈlaɪvʲɪtɕ rɐˈmanəf, lt, Vladimiras Romanovas; born 15 June 1947)
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. Later 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, including a hotel and leisure facilities. A planning application was lodged with Edinburgh City Council
The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland.
In its current form, the counci ...
in February 2008. This development would have increased capacity to 23,000, but the proposal did not proceed due to the state of the club's finances.
The plans for redevelopment of the main stand were rekindled in December 2015, when Hearts owner Ann Budge said work on the new stand would commence as soon as possible. Hearts submitted plans in March 2016 to Edinburgh Council, proposing a new 7000-seat stand. The plans also include a nursery, alongside space for a club shop, ticket office and admin office. Construction began during the latter part of the 2016–17 season. In April, Hearts announced their intention to restore the original name of Tynecastle Park when the new stand is opened. The project was initially expected to be completed by September 2017, but construction delays meant that four home fixtures had to be moved to Murrayfield. Tynecastle re-opened on 19 November, for a league game against Partick Thistle.
Structure and facilities
Tynecastle is an all-seated stadium, split into four sections known as the Gorgie Stand, Main Stand, Wheatfield Stand and Roseburn Stand. The Main Stand was rebuilt in 2017, replacing an older facility designed by noted football stadium architect Archibald Leitch
Archibald Keir Leitch (27 April 1865 – 25 April 1939) was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadiums throughout Great Britain and Ireland.
Early work
Born in Glasgow, Leitch's early work was on designing ...
. The three other stands were constructed between 1994 and 1997, with all having a distinctive goalpost roof structure made out of steel tubes. Unusually, the framework sits at the front of each stand, which means that the support towers sit within 10 yards of the corner flag, forming an arch over the stand. The stadium floodlights sit on top of the support towers, angled down towards the pitch, like the lighting rigs used at concerts. The Wheatfield Stand, which seats just under 6,000 people, slopes at just under 34 degrees, the maximum angle permitted. The Roseburn Stand (School
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
End) was completed in August 1995 and cost £1.4 million to build. The Roseburn Stand seated 3,676 when it was opened, but 280 seats were removed from both it and the Gorgie Stand when the pitch was lengthened in 2005 to meet UEFA requirements. The Gorgie Stand, which was completed in September 1997, contains the Gorgie Suite.
Other uses
Other football matches
Tynecastle has been a home venue for the Scotland national football team on nine occasions. It regularly played host to the British Home Championship match withWales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, which was considered to have the least box-office potential and was often played outside Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. After the Second World War, however, the Scottish Football Association favoured playing all home matches at Hampden Park, unless exceptional circumstances prevented Scotland playing there. More recently, Tynecastle has become the home of the Scotland women's national football team
The Scotland women's national football team represents Scotland in international women's football competitions. Since 1998, the team has been governed by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). Scotland qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup ...
.
Tynecastle has been used as a neutral venue for domestic cup semi-finals on numerous occasions, most frequently when these games involve teams from the east or north-east of Scotland (such as Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
or Hibernian). At one stage during the 1920s, Tynecastle hosted a Scottish Cup semi-final in four consecutive years. In total 19 Scottish Cup semi-finals (not including replays) and 11 League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
semi-finals have been staged at the ground.
However, since the advent of regular live television coverage caused semi-finals to be played at different times, it has been SFA policy to stage both Scottish Cup semi-finals at Hampden, where possible. League Cup semi-finals are still staged at smaller venues depending upon the participants. The last Scottish Cup semi-final hosted at Tynecastle was Aberdeen's defeat of Hibernian in 1992–93
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...
. The most recent League Cup semi-final was in 2015–16, when Hibernian won 2–1 against St Johnstone.
Tynecastle was a venue when Scotland hosted the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship. Initial group-stage matches were sparsely attended, however, on 20 June 1989, 28,555 spectators watched Scotland defeat a Portugal side containing Rui Costa and Luís Figo 1–0 in the semi-final. Scotland went on to lose the final to Saudi Arabia.
Full internationals
Other sports
The Gorgie ground has also hostedrugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
matches on four occasions. In 1911 a test match between England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and Australia ended in an 11–11 draw. Eight decades later, the newly created Super League again attempted to promote the sport in Scotland, moving two league fixtures to Tynecastle. The 1998 meeting between London Broncos and Bradford Bulls
The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...
drew over 7,000 fans, while the following year Gateshead Thunder met Wigan Warriors
The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League.
Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Northern Rugby Football Union followin ...
before a smaller crowd. In 2000, Tynecastle staged a sectional tie in the Rugby League World Cup between Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
and Samoa, which the Samoans won 20–12.
Music
On 2 August 2019, Tynecastle Park hosted the opening event of the 2019Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...
. The Los Angeles Philharmonic led by Gustavo Dudamel played a selection of Hollywood film scores, including Jurassic Park, Star Wars, E.T. and Jaws. Over 15,000 free tickets were issued and the concert was live-streamed on Facebook, and broadcast on Classic FM.
References
;Sources * *External links
Tynecastle Image Archive
London Hearts {{Football in Edinburgh Sports venues completed in 1886 Sports venues in Edinburgh Heart of Midlothian F.C. Football venues in Edinburgh Rugby league stadiums in Scotland Rugby League World Cup stadiums Gorgie Scottish Premier League venues Scottish Football League venues Scottish Professional Football League venues Scotland national football team venues 1886 establishments in Scotland