City council yesterday unanimously approved the plan to demolish the lower south-side stands of Frank Clair Stadium.

The demolition will cost $1.2 million, and the proposed rebuilding of the stands will cost $5 million.

The stadium will use temporary bleachers if the seating is required, until the long-term fate of the arena and Lansdowne Park is decided.

The move follows an engineers' report released two weeks ago recommending that the 46-year-old seating area in Lansdowne Park's main stadium be torn down and rebuilt, instead of simply repaired.

The report said the new stands would last for roughly 50 years; in comparison, the repaired stands would last for only about eight years but would cost almost the same amount as it would to rebuild them.

Engineers found stress cracks in the concrete of the structure last month and have closed the stands to the public.