Leicester Tigers will play their final Guinness Premiership game of the season against Bristol at the Walkers Stadium to allow for the latest stage of the re-development of Welford Road.
The decision has been taken to switch the April 25 clash so that demolition work on the Caterpillar Stand can begin. The Leicester Mercury reports that work on the stand must begin by mid-April to ensure that the new stand will be ready for the start of next season so the Tigers have agreed a deal with Leicester City Football Club for the use of their ground.
Leicester have previously played three games at the Walkers, the last being their 15-12 Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat by Bath in 2006.
David Clayton, Leicester Tigers managing director, told the newspaper, "The construction and completion of the new Caterpillar Stand to be available in time for the 2009-10 season requires the existing stand to be demolished in mid-April. To have played the Bristol game at Welford Road would have meant reducing the ground capacity by at least 4,000
"To be able to switch the game to the Walkers Stadium has been very helpful. This will be Leicester Tigers' fourth appearance at the Walkers Stadium and many of our supporters will already know their way around."
"Over the next month or so we will be sending replacement tickets with seating details to all season-ticket holders and supporters who have already bought match tickets for the game. We would like to thank the officials of Leicester City for accommodating us. As the match is to be played at a stadium with a 32,000 capacity, we are also planning some special offers for season-ticket holders to bring friends and family, and allow us the opportunity to welcome more supporters for the final league game of the season."
The Tigers' Welford Road ground is currently undergoing a £60m multi-phase re-vamp that will eventually see the capacity raised to 30,000.