Is the price still right for Hibs' new East Stand?

It's a question chairman Rod Petrie, chief executive Scott Lindsay and their fellow directors will anticipate with current planning permission due to expire in February.

One answer has already been provided, the new structure will be a single-tier stand rather than "mirroring" the two-tiers of the West Stand which was completed in 2001, the new 6500 seats taking the ground's capacity to just under 21,000.

But, two years on from the 2007 agm being told he club were to investigate the feasibility of completing the redevelopment of the stadium, the board are, it appears, no closer to announcing a formal date upon which work will commence.

Having built a state-of-the-art training centre at East Mains near Tranent, a 5million facility which has been paid for and is wholly owned by Hibs, the completion of a new East Stand remains the final piece of the infrastructure jigsaw to be put in place.

However, while Petrie and Co are well aware all Hibs fans, not just shareholders, are anxious to know when the green light for the project will be given, the directors have made it clear they won't press ahead until the finance is in place to complete the work.

Their stance, quite naturally, is that they don't want to find themselves in the position of having given the go-ahead only to find money running out leaving the stand half-finished.

Aesthetically, though, the case is overwhelming, the dated East Terracing, while beloved by many of those who occupy its seats, has primitive facilities, particularly for women.

Over the past two years a huge amount of work and effort has been undertaken not just by the club but architects, engineers and potential contractors, while the supporters have also been part of an extensive consultation programme.

Even so, however, finance remains the over-riding hurdle with Petrie admitting at last year's agm to having received "quite a shock" at just how much a new stand would cost with steel prices alone having rocketed by almost 70 per cent in the previous year.

While a new East Stand wouldn't need to house facilities such as dressing rooms, hospitality suites, kitchens and offices, which are positioned under the West Stand, it is understood that the cost of building it would still far outstrip the 6m widely thought to have been the price of completing what was phase two of Easter Road's redevelopment, the Famous Five and South Stands having been the first stage.

While the economic crisis has seen the cost of raw materials fall somewhat and left the construction industry "hungry" for work, Hibs are now having to deal with other unforeseen financial factors such as the collapse of the Setanta Television deal which has seen every SPL club lose broadcasting revenue.

Even before that blow, Hibs, while announcing a fifth successive year of profit – a performance they say is exceptional within Scottish football – had to rely on player sales for the second year in a row to do so, another signal of just how tough the financial outlook is for all clubs. While February may be fast approaching, Hibs aren't obliged to commit themselves to building the stand by then, as long as they have "materially commenced operations" by that date then the current planning permission, already amended to accommodate one tier rather than two, will suffice.

If not Hibs will have to reapply, a process which would be all the more complex given the hundreds of flats which have been built in the intervening period behind the East Terracing, raising the possibility of objections from their new neighbours.

The Hibs board, however, would probably be fairly confident of winning the argument given those living beside their ground bought in full knowledge of permission already being in place for a new stand.

Many, of course, would feel Hibs would be crazy to allow that situation even to arise.