The proposed beachfront stadium project
Featured image credit: Aberdeen FC
Scottish Premiership football club Aberdeen has shelved plans for a proposed beachfront stadium in favour of pursuing upgrades at its current home, Pittodrie.
Aberdeen provided an update on its latest stadium thinking at the club’s annual general meeting, with plans for a new stadium having stalled of late. In December 2022, Aberdeen welcomed a decision from Aberdeen City Council to keep a community stadium within its overall beach masterplan.
It came after the club had stepped up its efforts to secure a new beachfront stadium by releasing an economic impact report for the project, which outlined that a new venue would inject at least £1bn (€1.21bn/$1.27bn) into the local economy over the next 50 years and generate footfall of 38 million.
However, chairman Dave Cormack has now said: “Regarding the stadium situation, Aberdeen City Council approached the club a few years back about building a new community stadium as part of their ambitious beachfront masterplan, for which independent economists projected a £1bn upside for the City of Aberdeen as a result of the club being the anchor tenant.
“Between COVID construction inflation, a change in council leadership and their now significantly reduced plans for beachfront investment, along with highly depressed land values in the northeast, the club needs a period of time to reevaluate its options.”
Aberdeen’s plans have also been hampered by the realisation that the vision to use revenue from the sale of the Pittodrie site to help fund a new stadium has been hit by a reduction in the value of said land.
An Aberdeen FC spokeswoman told the Press & Journal: “We have to assume that should we sell Pittodrie in the current depressed property market, we would not get the best value for it. Getting the best possible price for Pittodrie is a key part of us being able to fund a new stadium.”
The spokeswoman added: “Given neither the plans for Kingsford nor the beachfront are likely to proceed in the short to medium term, we will be investing in improvements to the stadium and its facilities. This is in addition to the £500k we’ve already invested in the last 12-18 months.”
Aberdeen had previously agreed a deal to build a new stadium on the outskirts of the city but in August 2021 the club released a statement saying that it was supporting the Council’s new beachfront vision.
The plan for a 20,000-capacity stadium in Kingsford, where the club’s training ground is based, was approved in 2019, before councillors detailed plans for a stadium on the beachfront back in 2021.
Speaking at the AGM, Aberdeen’s chief executive, Alan Burrows, added: “Off the pitch, we are focused on further improving our facilities. We have been, and are, working on projects to improve and modernise Pittodrie, including across our hospitality lounges with the support of partners such as Frasers of Ellon, Fierce Beer and Sonomatics.
“Our strategic report stated that we will remain at this famous ground for the short to medium term, and that is unlikely to come as a huge surprise, as that was always likely to be the timescale given some of the economic challenges in the area.
“However, within that, we want to build on some of the improvements we’ve already carried out in 2023-24 for this season and beyond. But we know we need to continue to improve on all aspects of that when it comes to the stadium itself, and we will shortly complete an improvement plan that we hope will further enhance the gameday look and feel but, crucially, also increase revenues for the club.”
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