Edinburgh taking a stand at Murrayfield for five years

Published on Wednesday 16 March 2011 15:58

THE Scottish Rugby Union and Edinburgh have agreed that Murrayfield will remain the professional team's home venue for the next five years.

But, in a tacit admission that the national stadium is not the ideal venue, a number of changes to its use have been proposed, including moving spectators from the West Stand to the East, where they are far closer to the pitch, and introducing standing areas for supporters.

Attendances at Edinburgh's Magners League and Heineken Cup fixtures have usually been low in comparison to those at most of the team's rivals, and have declined further this season. Believing that the poor atmosphere at Murrayfield has been one reason for this, Edinburgh have suggested those changes in a bid to improve it, while at the same time insisting that cost and lack of appropriate facilities prohibit a move elsewhere.

"Our starting point with these discussions is a desire to find ways of making Murrayfield an atmospheric home for our supporters and our players," an Edinburgh spokesman said.

"The main challenge we face at Murrayfield is the size of the venue, but we feel that accommodating supporters in the East Stand and offering them the option of standing pitchside on the West Stand touchline or at either end would give them a greater feeling of involvement with the match. We look forward to engaging with supporters in order to refine these plans ahead of season 2011-12."

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Although those plans could be modified or dropped altogether following consultation with supporters and other interested groups over the next two or three weeks, the stadium's safety staff have already discussed them with the City of Edinburgh Council's Public Safety Unit, who have raised no objection. Any change to the conditions of sale of alcohol, however, such as the introduction of pitchside bars, would be subject to the appropriate license.

The three standing areas would not be on banked temporary terracing, but would all be on the same (pitch) level. Edinburgh officials think that fans would welcome the chance to stand and watch a game, as they have long done at club matches, but tickets will not be solely for the East Stand or a standing area.

Instead, fans could decide where they want to go when they arrive at the ground - or, in the event of rain, for example, could move under cover from a standing area during a game.Crush barriers would keep spectators back, and all standing areas would be stewarded, but it is anticipated that those areas would be self-policing in the sense that people would simply move away if they became too busy.

It is a novel idea, which has already provoked some scepticism, but has one big advantage: cheapness. There are other options which might transform Murrayfield, such as the erection of a temporary stand on the running track, but they have been ruled out primarily because of cost. Similarly, other venues of more appropriate size have also been deemed unsuitable, in large part because of the financial commitment which would be required either to rent them or to upgrade them.

"Temporary stands are very expensive," Edinburgh chief executive Craig Docherty said when asked if that measure were not preferable to standing. "And because of Scotland's Autumn Tests and Six Nations games they'd be up and down like billy-oh.

"The biggest challenge we face at Murrayfield is the size of the stadium. But, if fans are sitting in the East Stand or standing beside the pitch, we feel they'd be much more likely to feel part of the event."

With a capacity of just over 67,000, Murrayfield is more than a dozen times bigger than the crowd which turns out to support Edinburgh. Other rugby grounds in the capital could hold that crowd with room to spare, but fall down in other respects according to Docherty and his colleagues. The existing commitment of venues such as Myreside and Goldenacre to their clubs and schools means that Edinburgh would not be guaranteed their use for every fixture, and the lack of undersoil heating is a distinct disadvantage compared to Murrayfield.

Those grounds, and the council-owned Meggetland and Meadowbank also fall short of the facilities stipulated by the Magners League and Heineken Cup authorities. Upgrading them would again prove costly. Tynecastle and Easter Road have undersoil heating, but Edinburgh argue that their hire for a season could cost around 100,000.

An alternative suggestion, for a new stadium at Sighthill, was first mooted several years ago, but nothing has developed.Even if a billionaire benefactor were to materialise today and offer to build a new ground, Edinburgh think such plans would take five years to bear fruit; hence the length of the commitment to Murrayfield which they announced yesterday.

The plan is to finalise arrangements of how the ground will look next season over the next two or three weeks, so that buyers of season tickets will know exactly what to expect.

l Edinburgh have announced the signing of talented youngster Tom Brown from the club's Elite Development Academy on a two-year contract.

The full-back, who turns 21 this month, has played for Scotland at age-grade level and represented the Scotland Club international side this season, while playing with Currie.

Nick Scrivener, Edinburgh's interim head coach, said: "Tom's a guy we've got high hopes for. He's a gifted player, and if he continues to show the same hunger, he'll have a lot to look forward to in the game."