HEARTS chairwoman Ann Budge has revealed the Edinburgh club will play their home matches at BT Murrayfield until November due to the redevelopment of Tynecastle falling behind schedule.
Hearts had hoped to have their new 7,290-seat main stand opened early next month - but Budge has admitted its construction has hit some unforeseen snags.
The Ladbrokes Premiership club will play their games against Aberdeen on Saturday, September 9, St. Johnstone on Saturday, September 21, and Rangers on Saturday, October 28, at nearby Murrayfield.
Their match against Partick Thistle, which was due to be played at their Gorgie ground on Saturday, September 23, will now go ahead at Firhill.
A statement from Budge on the official Hearts website said: "As those of you who have visited the stadium over the last few weeks will have seen, work is continuing at quite a pace on the new stand.
"The bulk of the structure is now in place and the roof is scheduled to be fitted by the end of next week. The curtain walling is already looking fantastic and is currently on target to be completed by the middle of August.
"The internal walls are being constructed and the fit-out has started and is running ahead of schedule in many areas, although there is a large amount of work involved here.
"Pitch-side, too, the demolition work and ground works were completed on schedule and our steel work is well underway.
"In short, the construction teams have been working tirelessly to deliver our superb new stand.
Budge added: "Unfortunately, however, there are some things we cannot control and as such, despite the mammoth effort that has gone into the construction project up until now, we are not going to make our targeted “open for business” date of September 9, 2017.
"The wettest June/July in years, coupled with the late delivery of seating from the Far East, due to shipping issues, means we will have to invoke our contingency plan and play our first few home fixtures at BT Murrayfield.
"While this is disappointing, the cooperation of the management and staff at the SRU means we can accommodate all, indeed even more, of our supporters in fine style at the national rugby stadium."
All three games are schedule to kick-off at 3pm, but the meetings with St. Johnstone and Rangers may change if they are chosen to be shown on television by either BT Sport or Sky Sports.
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