THE recently launched 500 Club, which invited supporters of Hearts to

invest #500 with benefits totalling #600 returnable in six years, has

broken through the #250,000 mark.

The scheme is being administered by an independent committee chaired

by Mr Alex Kitson, former general secretary of the TGWU.

The first 500 recruits have been gathered during a December period

when the committee expected simply to be in the business of outlining

the details and answering any queries.

Hearts are committed to remaining at Tynecastle. Although the club has

consistently refused to set a target for refurbishment work, this early

flood of interest clearly makes a figure of around #1m attainable.

Work on Tynecastle was expected to start in early spring, and although

they will be unable to meet the timetable for the Taylor Report's

requirements, this encouragement will allow work to proceed apace.