HIBS today insisted they have every intention of completing the redevelopment of Easter Road despite the credit crunch and the soaring cost of raw materials worldwide.
The Edinburgh club revealed at their annual general meeting last October that they were to investigate the viability of building a new East Stand to take capacity at their ground to around 22,000.
Since then club officials have been in discussions
with supporters, the latest "listening group", chaired by finance director Tim Gardiner, focusing on the funding gap between which exists between club resources and what might be required.
Hibs do have planning permission which runs to February 2010 and, while the new stand need not be wholly completed by that date, significant work would have to be undertaken.
However, chief executive Scott Lindsay today insisted Hibs won't commit to the new stand, which will mirror that of the £6 million West Stand, although a decision has yet to be taken as to whether it would consist of one or two tiers, until "cost certainty" was secured.
But Lindsay admitted the rocketing cost of steel, which is up between 40 and 50 per cent in the past year with further rises in the pipeline, other raw materials and the credit crunch had "conspired" against the club leaving a funding gap which the Evening News understands amounts to a "seven-figure sum".
Among the topics under discussion were multiple-year season tickets, a Hibernian bond, fans paying to have their names placed on their seats, a "recognition" board along the lines of the Hibs 100 Club or bricks engraved with supporters' names.
Now club officials will work on those ideas and explore all the options open to them.
Lindsay said: "We said at the agm we were going to look hard to see if the economic case could match the emotional desire.
"Since then, events and circumstances have conspired to make that even more of a challenge but we continue to explore the possibilities. We are not shelving the project but we need to know before we start work that we can afford to complete it. We are keen to understand what the cost will be before we commit."
One problem confronting Hibs in the current global financial meltdown is the constantly rising cost of raw materials. Lindsay said: "Steel prices, for instance, are moving constantly. For example, if we were to build the West Stand again today it would cost substantially more than it did."
Simply borrowing to bridge the gap would, according to Lindsay, prove problematical. He said: "The economic climate in the world has changed. There's less money available for lending and that which is available is more expensive.
"Lindsay did, insist, however, that manager Mixu Paatelainen's coffers would not be raided, saying: "It's an entirely different thing to Mixu's budget."
Meanwhile, Paatelainen said he hopes to be able to unveil the identity of his next summer signing later this week although he described reports linking Hibs to freed Aberdeen striker Steve Lovell as "newspaper talk".
HIBS today revealed they'll play Cowdenbeath in a friendly at Central Park next Monday (kick-off 7.30pm). Tickets: Adults £10; OAPs £5; children under 16 accompanied by an adult free; unaccompanied children £2.
The full article contains 545 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
