The club is exploring the possibility of constructing a “mini-Murrayfield” on the training pitches beside the home of Scottish Rugby.

It is understood that proposals for a 7000-seat stadium are at an early stage and no application for planning has yet been made – but with objections, it could be up to five years before the idea comes to fruition. With interest in Scottish Rugby at a 20-year high, some feel the timing is right for Edinburgh and the SRU to act and secure a purpose-built base for the team.

The move would prove a draw to many rugby fans in the east of Scotland, who have long hoped that Edinburgh could have its own stadium.

Sign up to our daily newsletter The i newsletter cut through the noise Sign up Thanks for signing up! Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

Edinburgh Rugby could build a new 7,000-seat stadium next to BT Murrayfield

BT Murrayfield is regarded as one of the finest stadiums in world rugby, but is only at capacity for Scotland international matches.

Edinburgh Rugby, one of two Scottish professional teams along with Glasgow Warriors, currently attracts crowds of under 5000.

It is hoped that a smaller stadium which would regularly sell out for home matches would provide a strong base for the team, which plays in the Guinness Pro14 league. The club has had several temporary homes across the Capital, including Meadowbank, Murrayfield and currently Myreside.

A source said: “If Edinburgh Rugby grow their crowds even by a modest amount then everyone knows Myreside will struggle to cope with that.

From left, Andy Irvine former SRU President, Jon Petrie, Edinburgh Rugby MD, and Melvyn Roffe, Principal of George Watsons College, at Myreside which is being prepared to host Edinburgh Rugby home games. Picture: Ian Rutherford

“The SRU could invest in Myreside [home of Watsonians] but what would be the point of investing in someone’s else’s land when there is spare land at Murrayfield and developers looking to get involved.”

The back pitches at Murrayfield have long been seen as ripe for some kind of development, especially as property values in the area are high.

But flooding of Murrayfield in 2003 and a subsequent public inquiry, together with the property crash, halted previous redevelopment ideas.

However, since then the property market has recovered, the hotel sector is buoyant and a tram stop has been built close to the stadium, significantly improving transport access to the site. Flood prevention work has also been completed at the site.

Edinburgh Rugby could build a new 7,000-seat stadium next to BT Murrayfield

Recently, proposals have been floated for a hotel and flats on the site by developer Murrayfield 2020.

A spokesman for Edinburgh Rugby declined to comment at this stage but indicated that more details would be revealed soon. No costings have been revealed, but it is understood that the stadium could cost in excess of £10 million.

Issues that need to be ironed out include the future of Murrayfield ice rink and Murrayfield Wanderers, whose clubhouse is on the site.

It is also understood that Miller Developments has an option on some of the SRU’s land and may need to be consulted before any construction goes ahead.

From left, Andy Irvine former SRU President, Jon Petrie, Edinburgh Rugby MD, and Melvyn Roffe, Principal of George Watsons College, at Myreside which is being prepared to host Edinburgh Rugby home games. Picture: Ian Rutherford

A similar set-up exists in Wales, where the 13,000-capacity BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park – home of professional team Cardiff Blues – is immediately adjacent to the Principality Stadium, where Wales rugby and football international matches are played.

The move comes shortly after it emerged that Murrayfield has been shortlisted alongside Hampden Park as the two potential venues for future Scotland international football games.

Legendary former Scotland and Lions prop and one-time SRU president Ian McLauchlan is a regular attender of Edinburgh home games. He said: “I quite enjoy going to Myreside, always have, and it is much better than the vastness of Murrayfield. It is a club ground, though, and would need to be developed. You can’t expect the pitch there to be perfect when it hosts school, club and Edinburgh games.”

Edinburgh have looked at many options for a permanent home over the past 20 years, including club rugby grounds Myreside and Meggetland, athletics stadium Meadowbank, football grounds Easter Road and Tynecastle, as well as plans for a purpose-built stadium to be shared with athletics at Sighthill.

The new complex would be visible from the main Edinburgh-Glasgow railway line and well served by public transport thanks to the tram line.

A rugby source told the Evening News: “The proposed stadium is a great thing for Edinburgh, but it should have been done 22 years ago when rugby turned into a professional sport.

“It will finally give Edinburgh Rugby an identity. It will also be a better commodity all round for presenting rugby.

“Edinburgh Rugby will become more attractive to fans and to investors when it has its own stadium.”

Although the ambitious project would be expensive, the Scottish Rugby Union’s finances are in a far healthier state than they were when the “mini-Murrayfield” idea was first floated – and quickly dismissed as unaffordable – in the early days of professional rugby when the game’s governing body carried a heavy debt of around £20m.

Last year the SRU’s annual turnover broke £50m for the first time, with the Union’s debt falling to just over £5m, following increases in ticketing revenue, broadcast rights payments and sponsorship – such as the lucrative £20m stadium naming deal at BT Murrayfield.

But the development proposals are likely to prove controversial in some quarters as they involve construction on green space within Edinburgh.