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Aberdeen FC’s new stadium could be next door to Pittodrie

Scottish Premiership team Aberdeen could have a new home by the beachfront, after originally securing permission for a new ground on the outskirts of the city.

It had been agreed that a new ground could be built at Kingsford on the outskirts of Aberdeen, near to where the club’s training facilities are already located. However, the Scottish club’s new home could now be closer to its old haunt, Pittodrie Stadium (pictured), on the beachfront. 

Plans for a £50m stadium with a 20,000 capacity in Kingsford had been approved in 2019, but now local councillors are close to agreeing on the new stadium and leisure plans at the beachfront. The hope is to strengthen links between the city centre of Aberdeen and the beach. 

The club said in a statement that it “remains supportive of the council’s ambitious vision” for the stadium, city centre and beachfront. 

The statement continued: “We’re really impressed with both the scale and pace of the work to date. A new stadium at the beach, as part of an integrated approach to leisure and community amenities, is very exciting and we will continue to input constructively to the various consultations and studies which will inform the final plans.” 

Plans from Aberdeen City Council outline that Pittodrie Stadium “is in need of major modernisation and repair, and in terms of main stand hospitality facilities is woefully inadequate compared to many of their rival teams in both the Scottish Premier and English Premier Leagues”.

It also outlines how retaining the football club and stadium close to the beach will “continue to bring social and economic benefits for generations to come”. 

Initial conversations on the beachfront plans took place in January this year, with Pittodrie earmarked for a new housing development. The club said at the time: “We remain committed to a new stadium, sports and community facilities at Kingsford, albeit our plans to progress to the next stage have stalled due to the financial challenges we are facing as a result of the pandemic.”

Aberdeen originally faced issues over the Kingsford site when the potential plans were announced in 2018, after a No Kingsford Stadium group had raised a judicial review into the planning process. This was because the group claimed the site that had been chosen for the new stadium ventured in green belt land. This was later thrown out by a judge in 2019.

Image: Braveheart/ CC-BY-SA 4.0/Edited for size