Breaking News: Meadowbank to be demolished

Published on Thursday 13 March 2008 19:00

COUNCILLORS have tonight voted in favour of demolishing Meadowbank Stadium to replace it with a smaller £25 million arena.

The decision followed a mammoth full council meeting.

It means the capacity of the stadium is likely to be reduced from its original 16,500 to around 5000.

The move also involves selling off 8.5 acres of land at the west of the site for housing, with the stadium demolished and rebuilt to the east, resulting in the loss of the velodrome.

Originally, plans were drawn up to dispose of most of the Meadowbank site, with the proceeds put towards a new national stadium in Sighthill, capable of hosting major rugby and athletics events.

But the controversial idea of selling off land for housing became a major issue at last year's elections, leading to months of uncertainty when the Lib Dem/SNP administration took control of the city.

Officials say providing the equivalent of the Sighthill brief at a new Meadowbank Stadium would cost 57.9m, while a full refurbishment of the existing facilities has been priced at 42.7m.

Opposition politicians have already described going ahead with demolition would be a "massive U-turn" by the administration, after the stadium won a reprieve last summer.