Edinburgh's Meadowbank stadium redevelopment has been put on hold until the value of land recovers, according to council officials.

In March Edinburgh City Council agreed a third of the land was to be sold off to help fund the new £25m arena. However the value of the land has dropped from an estimated £17m to £5m.

Gordon Mackenzie, Edinburgh City Council finance leader, said: "Edinburgh is feeling the effects of the credit crunch and we are adjusting our plans accordingly.

"The decision to postpone the Meadowbank project is difficult from a sporting perspective but financially it looks inevitable. We have experienced a significant drop in land values and the numbers simply don't stack up at this time."


"When the finances of the council are stronger we will look to move the project forward again."

Deirdre Brock, the council's sports leader, said: "Whilst we wait for economic conditions to improve we need to be sure that athletes have access to training facilities in the build up to the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.

"To do this we will aim to put maintenance funding in place to make sure Meadowbank is fit for use in the meantime but beyond that we will press ahead with a new facility. It is very clear to us that the Meadowbank, in its current form, is coming to the end of its life and it isn't meeting modern sporting standards."

The two-year- construction project had been due to start in 2011, now recommendations to postpone the Meadowbank project will be considered at the meeting of the full council on November 20.

(GK/JM)