Edinburgh's rundown Meadowbank Stadium on track for a revamp
The cost of replacing the rundown sports complex would be around £41m.
Edinburgh's dilapidated Meadowbank Stadium could be bulldozed and replaced with a brand new sports centre.
A report for the city council recommends pushing ahead with the development which is estimated to cost £41.1m.
If the funding can be worked out, work will begin in late autumn 2017 and be complete by summer 2019.
Much of the cash could be raised by selling off surrounding land for housing but it's thought a funding gap of £5.98m would still remain.
The council is now expected to put together a detailed design which would allow the project to be tendered and the report will now be discussed at a meeting next Thursday.
Council Leader Andrew Burns said: “This report sets out quite clearly the funding required to turn one of our flagship facilities, which everyone agrees is at the end of its useful life, into a sports venue fit for the 21st century.
“While it is a significant investment for the Council, creating a detailed design would give us greater clarity about how much money we need to invest.
"Not only would we see a new Meadowbank but more homes would be built to meet the city’s housing needs".
A new Meadowbank would include: • An outdoor athletics track with seating for 500 • An indoor 60m six lane athletics track with jumps area • An outdoor throws area • A 3G synthetic sports pitch or grass pitch in the centre of the outdoor athletics track for football, rugby and other pitch sports • An additional outdoor 3G synthetic sports pitch • An eight badminton court sports hall with 500 permanent seats plus bleachers (the same size as the current Meadowbank Hall 1) • A four badminton court sports hall with 500 permanent seats (the same size as the current Meadowbank Hall 2) • A gymnastics hall, gym, studios, changing facilities, café, meeting rooms.