Hibs give green light to rebuild Easter Road's East Stand

An announcement revealing a start date and anticipated timescale for the completion of the work was made this morning.

But with the club's directors keen to have the new stand, which will seat 6000 fans, in place for the start of next season – the first SPL matches are scheduled for 14 August – demolition work on the old East Stand is set to begin shortly.

The much-anticipated final piece of Easter Road's redevelopment, which started with the completion of the existing South and Famous Five Stands in the mid-90s and continued with the building of the West Stand in 2001, will take the ground's capacity to around 20,000. The news will also be welcomed by supporters, who have seen plans for the project put on hold over the past couple of years as the club investigated the feasibility of such an investment with the price of raw materials soaring, with steel alone rocketing by almost 70 per cent at one point.

However, in-depth consultations have taken place with fans, the result being the revelation that the East Stand will be a single-tier structure rather than "mirroring" the two-tier West Stand opposite.

Hibs chairman Rod Petrie said: "Today marks an exciting milestone in the club's history – the start of construction of a new East Stand, and the completion of Easter Road Stadium.

"Once the new stand is finished, Hibernian will have one of the finest football stadiums in Scotland and the largest, fully-covered UEFA-compliant football stadium outside Glasgow.

"The fact that the club is able to build a new stand during what is a very challenging time for football and the economy as a whole, is testament to the rock solid financial footing of the club created by returning a bottom line profit for five consecutive years.

"Saturday's match against St Johnstone will be an emotional day for many supporters and all of us at the club, as we say goodbye to the old East Terrace.

"Despite its shortcomings, thousands of supporters have a deep affection for the East Terrace.

"I am sure that the new East Stand will soon find a place in their hearts as its essential characteristics were debated and agreed with supporters at fans forums.

"We all look forward to completion of the new East Stand, and with it, completion of an impressive and modern arena for the Hibernian Family to come and cheer on their team."

The consultation process, though, will continue with season ticket holders currently housed in the East Stand set to be decanted for the final few home games of the season, the most likely decision being to cut the number of tickets for visiting supporters to allow them to sit in the South Stand.

A new East Stand would complete a remarkable transformation of Hibs' infrastructure, leaving the club not only with one of the most modern, and biggest grounds in Scotland, but with a state-of-the-art training centre at East Mains with the 5 million cost of that development having already been paid for.