However, with the sale of the ground to a supermarket chain yet to go through, Saints have withdrawn their request and will now start to install the system next week. Undersoil heating is a requirement for playing in the SPL, although unlike the 6,000 seats rule is not subject to a March 31st deadline.
The decision to withdraw th request seems the right one. If the club don't know when the new ground will be ready, why should the SPL believe we'll only be undersoil heatingless for a season? Admittedly it is money going out of football, but it will kep Livingston chairman Pearse Flynn happy as the rules aren't being bent.
There seems to be some confusion over how much the system will cost. Some papers today claim it will be around £150,000, whilst others say it will be over £500,000. The plan is for the system to be moved to the new ground when it's ready, which could explain the increased cost in some papers. There is also expected to be some new turf installed at Love Street over the summer.
There is also some confusion over how it will affect Saints boss Gus MacPherson's budget for next season. He says it will be affected drastically, whilst Saints chairman Stewart Gilmour says it won't affect it at all! Gilmour had previously said they were hoping that the system could be installed without affecting the budget of the club, which could explain his current view.