Funding blow for new £80m Aberdeen stadium
02 Jun 2023
intra-power

Plans for a new £80m beachfront stadium for Aberdeen Football Club are set to be dealt a blow with Aberdeen City Council expected to rule out public funding for the venture.

Plans for a new £80m beachfront stadium for Aberdeen Football Club are set to be dealt a blow with Aberdeen City Council expected to rule out public funding for the venture.

Aberdeen FC had hoped for the local authority’s financial backing to relocate from current ground Pittodrie to a net-zero community facility near the city’s beach.

The planned facility, estimated to cost about £80m, would form part of a wider regeneration of the beachfront, potentially including a modernised leisure centre and ice arena, as well as a revamp of the historic art deco Beach Ballroom building. An outline business case indicated that the development could deliver wide-ranging financial and socioeconomic outcomes for the city and surrounding areas.

But the council is now likely to say the club must fund the stadium itself. In a report to be considered by city councillors next week, the chief officer for commercial and procurement, Craig Innes, said the proposals allowed sufficient capacity for a standalone stadium to be included in the development in future.

But he added: “This is dependent on the capital investment for the stadium being provided by Aberdeen Football Club.”
The report voiced concerns that a new beachfront stadium could “overlap” with the council’s plan for a leisure centre and included a suggestion that the two facilities could be combined.

“Decisions associated with the stadium impact the leisure facility,” it said. “Should the decision be reached to develop the stadium, the accommodation requirements of the new leisure facility may be adjusted to take account of overlapping facilities and shared areas.

“This includes a decision on whether the stadium and leisure facility become a combined facility.”
It is the latest twist in a long-running saga to find a home for the city’s football club. Early works for construction of a new Kingsford stadium at Kingswells, six miles to the west of the city centre, began four years ago after planning permission was granted, but work stalled during the pandemic and an alternative site was sought.

A report jointly commissioned by the football club and city council in October found a beachfront stadium could boost the local economy by £1bn over the next five years.

Aberdeen FC has been approached for comment.