Loirston chosen for new stadium

Aberdeen FC set to move

EXCLUSIVE

By Charlie Allan

 

Published: 03/04/2009

 

THE Evening Express can today reveal the preferred location for Aberdeen’s new community stadium.

 

The £38 million community facility, which will become home to Aberdeen FC, will be at Loirston Loch in the south of the city.

 

It follows a year-long series of feasibility studies to decide if the site at Nigg would be the best location for the stadium.

 

The report on the recommendation of the Nigg site will now go out to consultation and will be referred to the council’s policy and strategy committee on April 28.

 

A number of other potential sites across the city, including one at King’s Links, were examined by Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen FC and it was decided all of them were unsuitable.

 

Aberdeen FC managing director Duncan Fraser, who is also a member of the Arena Project Advisory and Monitoring Board created to advise of the best site and stadium design, said: “These recommendations have still to be approved and at the appropriate time, there will be a full consultation process with fans.

 

“Their feedback will be important.â€

 

For more on this story, and an exclusive image of the new arena, pick up today’s Evening Express or check back later

I would it make it as much like Tynecastle as possible 2bh 

2 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

I would it make it as much like Tynecastle as possible 2bh 

Fucking maroon? Corporate view of the sea? A fucking offset tunnel? Disgusting. 

Great ground though.

2 hours ago, tlg1903 said:

I would it make it as much like Tynecastle as possible 2bh 

 

32 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

Fucking maroon? Corporate view of the sea? A fucking offset tunnel? Disgusting. 

Great ground though.

I hope we don't make as big an arse of what they've made of their main stand though.

Projected to be £12m, has cost double that, is still not finished. I've stood in the tunnel and was notable there was damp  on the ceiling which you don't expect to see in a brand new stand.

Also has no executive boxes so presumably the club are missing out on a fortune there each matchday.

The idea of putting the media section at the front of the stand was also inspired, meaning people turn up with expensive recording equipment, laptops etc and get it all soaked by the rain.

But, to the average punter, it's a good ground. I also like Easter Road. 

15 hours ago, sheepheid said:

I like that, except for the roof pitch. The roof on the new stadium needs to not point up to the sky like the south stand and release any noise. It’s need to be a low roof that tapers down towards the pitch, holding in an atmosphere

…..and keeping us dry!! 

Funnily enough, the plans appear to show a roof that tapers down the way.

 

 

1 hour ago, Panda said:

Funnily enough, the plans appear to show a roof that tapers down the way.

Is that a downward taper? Looks more like an upward one with a hook on the end. Good for the rain either way.

That will work just fine. Will help to project the noise out of the front rather than lose it immediately upwards and like Rico says, good against the elements too 

3 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Is that a downward taper? Looks more like an upward one with a hook on the end. Good for the rain either way.

Nah, the thick black line is the cut through the stadium, so it looks to be tapering down. How they deal with the rain will be interesting, would lead to large down pipes cutting back under the roof.  I'm of the same opinion that 18k would sit well with me, maybe because it's an even number. 

2 hours ago, manc_don said:

I'm of the same opinion that 18k would sit well with me, maybe because it's an even number

Aye, I hate those odd numbers, like 17,000.

2 hours ago, RicoS321 said:

Aye, I hate those odd numbers, like 17,000.

Aye, I meant focusing on 17k   but yeah, fair enough.

https://www.afc.co.uk/2022/04/18/new-stadium-let-us-know-your-views/

Cormack saying the new stadium will now cost £75m.

If the council don't put any money towards it I really don't see any way Aberdeen raise that money.

He also pretty much said Kingsford is dead. Said it was "absolutely critical" Aberdeen stay at the beach, while also nodding in agreement when Graham Hunter said Kingsford would have led to a cut in attendances.

Edited April 21, 20224 yr by Panda

https://abzfootballpodcast.podbean.com/e/ep47-beach-stadium-interview-wrob-wicks-202122-season-review-pt3-wandy-murray/

 

👆Very good interview with Rob wicks about the new stadium

Good listen with Wicks,good interviewer too whoever he is.

   Nodded off during the sweary waffle thereafter....

On 16/12/2021 at 13:43, RicoS321 said:

Fucking maroon? Corporate view of the sea? A fucking offset tunnel? Disgusting. 

Great ground though.

In the plans according to Wicks 😆

Sounds like a decent idea, glass fronted either side Michelin starred restaurant on non match days etc.

Kinda off topic, but it's related to Aberdeen planning to cut capacity to 16,000.

Been having a look at the season ticket prices at Hearts, Hibs and ourselves. 

Hearts have sold 17,500, Hibs 10,000, and us 8,000. 

What is striking, is how much more expensive Aberdeen's are. Especially when you consider Hearts and Hibs are playing in better stadiums with less seats that have a restricted view.

Few examples:-

If you sit in the first seven rows at the side of the pitch, even if right on the halfway line, Hearts will discount your ticket down to £315. Aberdeen charge £437. So an extra £122 for an equivalent view. 

Behind the goals. If high up, Hearts are £360. 

At Aberdeen, the RDU (now family section) is £437. Platinum in lower deck is £528.  So £77 more for what is restricted view in RDU (you struggle to see goal line), or a whopping £168 more for a similar view.

In those first seven rows behind the goals at Tynecastle, it's £295. At Pittodrie, £409 at front of RDL or £368 in Merkland. Again, £114 more for RDL and even in our cheapest seats an adult is paying £73 more.

(Now, the club will tell you the 'Red Shed' is aimed more at the youths, and fair enough the U18 prices generally are cheaper than Hearts, and there is also a 18-21 price for that stand.).

Compare too the corners of the south stand in comparison to near the corner flag at Tynecastle. £360 at Hearts to £409 for Aberdeen.

Hibs too are cheaper than Aberdeen, though not as cheap as Hearts.

How do Aberdeen justify these prices when the stadium, by their own admission, is not fit for purpose? Likely their market research tells them season ticket sales won't change much depending on prices or how the team is doing, but it's similar too to their European own goal at the beginning of last season when Aberdeen were charging over £30 for one of the qualifiers, while Celtic, Hibs and St Johnstone all charged much lower for the same round.

You can't help but feel if Aberdeen limit the capacity of the new ground to 16,000, and crowds go up as a result of the new ground and/or the team doing well, they'll be taking advantage of the lack of availability by pushing the prices right up.

Edited June 27, 20224 yr by Panda

Could it be the same logic/ attitude that makes (or at least made) property in the grey city so expensive ie 'this is an oil city so everyone is minted and who cares that that we seem to be short of teachers  nurses etc whose wages are set nationally?

Seem to recall back in 1998 my RDL season tickets were £240 each. 

70% increase in 24 years

8 hours ago, Panda said:

Kinda off topic, but it's related to Aberdeen planning to cut capacity to 16,000.

Been having a look at the season ticket prices at Hearts, Hibs and ourselves. 

Hearts have sold 17,500, Hibs 10,000, and us 8,000. 

What is striking, is how much more expensive Aberdeen's are. Especially when you consider Hearts and Hibs are playing in better stadiums with less seats that have a restricted view.

Few examples:-

If you sit in the first seven rows at the side of the pitch, even if right on the halfway line, Hearts will discount your ticket down to £315. Aberdeen charge £437. So an extra £122 for an equivalent view. 

Behind the goals. If high up, Hearts are £360. 

At Aberdeen, the RDU (now family section) is £437. Platinum in lower deck is £528.  So £77 more for what is restricted view in RDU (you struggle to see goal line), or a whopping £168 more for a similar view.

In those first seven rows behind the goals at Tynecastle, it's £295. At Pittodrie, £409 at front of RDL or £368 in Merkland. Again, £114 more for RDL and even in our cheapest seats an adult is paying £73 more.

(Now, the club will tell you the 'Red Shed' is aimed more at the youths, and fair enough the U18 prices generally are cheaper than Hearts, and there is also a 18-21 price for that stand.).

Compare too the corners of the south stand in comparison to near the corner flag at Tynecastle. £360 at Hearts to £409 for Aberdeen.

Hibs too are cheaper than Aberdeen, though not as cheap as Hearts.

How do Aberdeen justify these prices when the stadium, by their own admission, is not fit for purpose? Likely their market research tells them season ticket sales won't change much depending on prices or how the team is doing, but it's similar too to their European own goal at the beginning of last season when Aberdeen were charging over £30 for one of the qualifiers, while Celtic, Hibs and St Johnstone all charged much lower for the same round.

You can't help but feel if Aberdeen limit the capacity of the new ground to 16,000, and crowds go up as a result of the new ground and/or the team doing well, they'll be taking advantage of the lack of availability by pushing the prices right up.

If only we had someone in the BBC that could write up an interesting article about this for their website. I expect most fans - me included - have nae idea the cost of a season ticket at other clubs. It'd be nice to see some pressure on them from the media!

Do the club even class the various seats in our stadium as restricted view? Ideally I'd have a season ticket with a side on view, but the options in the south and main give you an absolutely pap view of the game, where you can't see corners and throw ins in the far corners of the same side of the pitch. I like the view from the upper deck and never really found the view restrictive. 

It's an interesting point you make about the new stadium, although I'm not sure it holds true. I think the biggest factor would be build cost. I think that there will always be a ceiling on season ticket prices. I think the European fixtures were indicative of a change in pricing regardless of a new stadium. Cormack will always see those as opportunities to cash in. That's because they're a rare commodity. If we got lots of Euro fixtures via the loser league in successive seasons then we'd likely see high prices become unsustainable. As we were in Europe for many seasons (unlike saints or Hibs) there was no need to offer a low price for a one off event. Obviously that lack of goodwill backfired slightly as we had an atrocious season and failed to get into Europe. That said, an 18k seater stadium would sit better with me. 

18 minutes ago, RicoS321 said:

If only we had someone in the BBC that could write up an interesting article about this for their website. I expect most fans - me included - have nae idea the cost of a season ticket at other clubs. It'd be nice to see some pressure on them from the media!

You mean, like what gets published on the BBC pretty much every summer?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57666360.amp

 

37 minutes ago, Panda said:

You mean, like what gets published on the BBC pretty much every summer?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57666360.amp

 

Yes, where's this season's one? The standards are slipping. It'd be more useful in April too, we'll have forgotten about it by next season. But really I was looking for something Aberdeen specific like you've provided here!

48 minutes ago, Panda said:

You mean, like what gets published on the BBC pretty much every summer?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57666360.amp

 

Articles like this would perhaps be more informative if they did mention the quality of things such as restrictive views, toilet facilities, legroom, lack of a roof etc.

For 400 quid you will get to see 3/4 of the pitch (less if yer short), have access to about 4 snack bars serving up to 6000 people, a wall to piss against (hate to think what women get), and "theoretical' cover from the rain

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63329255
 

So Aberdeen are hinting to the council they need some money.

The council will say no, as per usual.

Great fun.

44 minutes ago, Panda said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/63329255
 

So Aberdeen are hinting to the council they need some money.

The council will say no, as per usual.

Great fun.

Luckily no American based businessman has ever promised a £1bn economic boost from an expensive development in Aberdeen before.

“Pittodrie generates around 400,000 visits every year but the report suggests that bigger and better facilities could bring an additional 350,000 visitors per year for major events alone.”

Is the council still not on the hook for knocking down the AECC and building TECA to attract more visitors for major events?

Knocking down a beachside stadium, leisure centre and skating rink to build a beachside stadium and “community leisure complex” about 100 metres away doesn’t seem like something that will almost double the amount of visitors, especially if they’re relying on the increase coming from major events which would seriously disrupt the TECA business case.

That said, I’m now an Aberdeenshire Council tax payer so let them crack on.

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/5131300/new-aberdeen-fc-stadium/
 

Council announcing they won't be putting a penny towards the new stadium at the beach. Which was predicted by everyone.

Good news in disguise to be honest. The beachfront plans look shite and building that close to the sea on that particular land was surely going to add extra millions to the cost. And I wouldn't want the club being involved with the council on anything that they don't need to.

Perhaps a chance now to look at building where the old Hilton Hotel site was, which was originally muted a year or two ago.

 

I reckon you’d fit a stadium on the Broadford Works site, that could be decent especially if we re-use the red bricks into the design. Plenty of pubs on all sides. Possibility of sticking a rudimentary train platform on the existing track with 100 metres. More footfall for George Street businesses.