Stadium Update from RedWeb

December 12, 200718 yr

Arena Community Stadium

A community stadium development (Arena) for AberdeenCity could be built near Loirston Loch, Cove.

Reports published today reveal partners investigating the possibility of creating a stadium and associated facilities in Aberdeen have made significant progress.

The Arena Project Team formed jointly by Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen Football Club will present an Outline Business Case for a stadium and ask Councillors to promote Loirston as the preferred site for development.

Members will also be asked to give the green light for further development work on the Arena project and back in principle a joint venture as a means of delivery.

If built, the Arena would become home to Aberdeen Football Club, a proposed venture partner as well as lead tenant. Officers recommend a 22,000-seat stadium, potentially rising to 30,000 seats, depending on the availability of financial support from the Scottish Government.

Officers say sports and leisure developments, such as a community stadium, can play a major role in the successful future of both the city and region.

In her report to next week's Council meeting, Head of Planning and Infrastructure, Margaret Bochel, writes: "Development of the Arena Community Stadium will ensure that Aberdeen is acknowledged as a competitive, dynamic and vibrant place to live and work.

"The stadium could provide the opportunity to deliver objectives in the Regeneration Strategy, such as developing priority social, economic and environmental projects.

"Such a facility would be a major addition to the infrastructure of the city, helping increase participation in sport and encouraging a healthy lifestyle across all sectors of the community."

The report will go before Council on December 19.

Aberdeen FC's social, economic and cultural role

The benefits Aberdeen enjoys as a result of being home to a top division professional football club cannot be underestimated.

An economic impact analysis completed in 2006 determined that Aberdeen FC contributes at least Â£6 million per year to the local economy. The club also supports a total of 350 full time equivalent jobs.

Meanwhile, the Dons' community programme is recognised as the best in Scotland - having won the Community Club of the year award every year it has been judged.

Shell, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils, The Scottish Football Association, Grampian Fire and Rescue Service, npower, Macdonalds and the Food Standards Agency all support the programme, demonstrating an existing successful partnership between the club, business and the public sector.

Pittodrie Stadium

Redevelopment of Pittodrie Stadium to meet future needs is not viable.

The pitch width and run off areas currently do not meet UEFA standards and the pitch fails to comply with International Rugby Board specifications, meaning it cannot host regular full internationals.

As the ground is landlocked, with the exception of the Richard Donald Stand, the best way these issues could be accommodated at the present stadium is to redevelop the Main and South stands to a smaller footprint. These stands, along with the Merkland Road end, are all in relatively poor condition and will require to be completely redeveloped over the next 5?8 years.

Taking all of the above into account, there would be a substantial reduction in the stadium's capacity and a major impact on corporate facilities and accommodation, reducing the club's capacity to generate revenue.

As the city has no alternative stadium available to Aberdeen Football Club, redevelopment would either take a number of years or require the club to play matches at a remote location - most likely Dundee or Inverness.

No European matches could be played within the City during this period of redevelopment and would have to be played in Central Scotland.

Eventually, Pittodrie would be left with a capacity of around 15,000, achieved at a cost of around Â£15million to the club.

This would preclude Aberdeen and the region from any involvement in hosting major European and international matches and the city would rule itself out of participating in the hosting of competitions such as the Rugby World Cup or the European Football Championship.

A redeveloped Pittodrie would also be unable to accommodate community facilities that would be a significant part of any new stadium.

Community Stadium model

A community stadium is a partnership-funded initiative that integrates sports and community facilities into a single high quality venue.

It should be the home to as many sports clubs and organisations as possible and provide a sport focus for the region whilst maximising the use of accommodation under stands.

In Aberdeen, it is suggested that any community stadium could be combined with a football academy for the North East of Scotland and complement the Regional Community Sports facility currently under development at Linksfield.

The case for a community stadium in Aberdeen

Reports due before members note that the effects of new stadia - and, in particular, community stadia - in British cities have been universally positive, providing major economic and social regeneration opportunities.

As with many of these projects, the Arena in Aberdeen is proposed to be much more than a sporting facility. If built, it would raise the city's profile in the eyes of potential investors; link to regeneration strategies in terms of employment, health and fitness, and enhance commercial activity.

The Arena also has the potential to deliver high quality architecture, adding to the cultural richness of AberdeenCity and Shire.

Officers say design should be of the highest quality - providing a lasting legacy for the citizens of Aberdeen and a development the city can take pride in.

In short, the aspiration is to create a facility that is much more than simply a football stadium and can be developed as an educational, training, social, recreational, employment and community hub in use seven days a week for the benefit of the region.

The venue would play a major part in further establishing the City and Shire on the national and international map.

The results of a City Voice questionnaire revealed overwhelming public support for a community stadium in Aberdeen. Nearly three quarters of those asked were in favour of the project.

Delivery

The current proposal has been developed in partnership with Aberdeen Football Club, which has provided 50% of all funding. It is envisaged that a joint venture between the club and Council would deliver the Arena, via a stadium management company.

The Arena would be home to the Dons, who would act as lead tenant. The development would also provide the opportunity for approximately 150,000 sq ft (14,000 sq m) of floor space for rent, which could include office, retail, hotel, sports, leisure and community facilities.

The capitalised rental from these uses would contribute to the overall cost of construction.

Capacity

The capacity of any new stadium should be sufficient to meet market demand and also allow for future growth.It is also essential that any new stadium be capable of expansion or conversion to host international events.

With this in mind, the outline business case has been developed on the principle of a capacity of 22,000 - in line with the present capacity at Pittodrie.

However, it is also recommended that the Scottish Government be approached to determine the likelihood of Scotland hosting international competition in the future.

If, for example, Scotland were to launch a bid to host the 2016 European Championships, it is likely that a minimum capacity of 30,000 would be required to allow Aberdeen to participate.

As neither the City Council or Aberdeen FC could justify the cost associated with providing 8,000 additional seats; it is suggested partners approach the Scottish Government to determine whether there is a real ambition to host such events and discuss the likelihood of contributions to fund the additional infrastructure.

Costs

The Outline Business case suggests the project could cost in the region of Â£53 million at today's prices - with suggested Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen Football Club contributions at Â£8 million each.

The remaining funding could be realised through stadium revenues, development and planning gain.

It must be stressed, however, that these figures are indicative only. Further detailed feasibility is required to ascertain the total level of investment required to deliver the Arena, including assessment of other users and potential partners.

Site

The Arena Project Team originally looked at four potential locations - at King's Links, Bridge of Don, CalderPark and Loirston.

The Outline Business Case eliminates the Bridge of Don site due to existing commitment, site capacity and access issues.The CalderPark site is also eliminated due to existing power lines and pylons running along the south side of the site.

The sites at King's Links and Loirston remain as options, with officers recommending Loirston following a detailed comparison of planning issues, site assessment, access and deliverability.

Commenting on the above, AFC's Managing Director Duncan Fraser said, "There has been a huge amount of work undertaken behind the scenes by the partners in the Arena initiative in recent times, particularly in the last six months and it's a true example of a partnership working towards the greater good of the City & Shire.

"Now that a preferred site has been identified and a vehicle to deliver the project outlined and funding options, the hard work now begins.

"We look forward to working closely with the Council and other key stakeholders over the coming period, during which time there will undoubtedly be difficult decisions to make and massive challenges to be met. However the end goal here must surely be to overcome any difficulties we face and deliver a community stadium that will showcase the area as the most forward thinking in the country."