The Aberdeen Mega-Hyper New Stadium Thread

[Sauzee#4]

4 minutes ago, lubo_blaha said:

We've shat all over the Edinburgh clubs for 5 years now. With their mishaps on the park, often in the lower tier, they've clung to the usual stadium arguments as a comfort blanket.

Regarding the out of town point: Hibs and Hearts are teams with ties to particular areas of their city. You wouldn't say any area of Aberdeen is more of a Dons stronghold than any other and 45% of season ticket holders stay outwith the city itself. AFC represents the whole of the North East as the only pro club in the area. We get criticised for not having a bigger support when we have a catchment area of 500,000 in the city and shire but with poor public transport infrastructure, many of these people have to fight through the 3rd most congested city in the UK to get to every game. The new ground will improve our attendances from these groups.

"Shat all over" but won no more in the way of domestic honours than either Capital club

Edited August 16, 2017 by Sauzee#4

[lubo_blaha]

"Shat all over" but won no more in the way of domestic honours than either Capital club

We've won as many trophies as both Edinburgh clubs put together in that time.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

Hold on, the self proclaimed 'Famous' don't even have their own training facilities ?

Where do you train atm ? Amongst the dug shite and broken glass on the public parks ?

[ecto]

34 minutes ago, tree house tam said:

I'd just like to say I couldn't give a flying f**k where Aberdeen play their football, that is all.

But bothered enough to tell everyone, just saying

[Sauzee#4]

5 minutes ago, lubo_blaha said:

 

We've won as many trophies as both Edinburgh clubs put together in that time.

 

So have you really shat all over both clubs?

[Captain_Imra7]

Hibees, what's with the flooding of this thread? 

Actually looks like there may be more posts in here from you lot than there are from us. 

We got dicked by our chairman 20 years ago, redeveloping Pittodrie (sadly) is not financially viable for us and would likely prove a logistical nightmare. Very few Dons fans, myself included, are happy about the fact the new stadium is going to be a bit outside the city but the fact of the matter is that we need a new ground and training facilities if we want to even have a chance of sustaining our current level of on field performance, let alone pushing on (if that's even possible). This is the only way we will be able to afford it and therefore I think it needs to happen.

I've noticed a few folk mentioning that Stewart Milne stands to profit from the sale of Pittodrie? I'm sure I was told the cash from that was to be put towards the mortgage for the new ground and that Stewart Milne Homes wouldn't be able to buy the land as that would present a conflict of interest; can anyone in the know confirm or deny that?

[lubo_blaha]

So have you really shat all over both clubs?

Yes

[Sauzee#4]

Just now, lubo_blaha said:

 

Yes

 

Your period of shitting all over us has resulted in one league cup victory. We won the Scottish Cup. 

Congratulations on your period of dominance you teuchter c**t.

[Captain_Imra7]

8 minutes ago, Henderson to deliver ..... said:

 

Where do you train atm ? Amongst the dug shite and broken glass on the public parks ?

Sadly this really isn't far from the truth and is the main reason we need to push on with the development of the training complex and stadium. It's a disgrace and there's no way anyone can try and claim otherwise.

[naegoodinthedark]

Hold on, the self proclaimed 'Famous' don't even have their own training facilities ?
Where do you train atm ? Amongst the dug shite and broken glass on the public parks ?

The ability to dodge dogshit certainly helped when we knocked the Hibeez out the cup last season.

[D Angelo Barksdale]

8 minutes ago, Melanius Mullarkey said:

Maybe Hibs should have tried that, that time they got relegated.

 

Tbf it sounds like something Terry Butcher would have made the players do.

 

[anotherchance]

New stadium looks fine too me, aye I guess it'll be more orientated towards a family day out (fan zones etc) but as with Pittodrie it'll up to the regulars to make a bit of atmosphere.

The training situation is an utter disgrace and there's no excuse for it not being sorted years and years ago.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Bambino7 said:

It's not anger mate it's baffling.

Why haven't you sorted the training out about 10 years ago when everyone else realised that sharing facilities on council pitches (aye the ones that don't like you) is shite? We built our own 10 years ago,  fantastic completed stadium too, why didn't Milne build you boys one? Our club did. 

f**k knows mate, I'm nae Chairman 

[lubo_blaha]

Anyway, despite Hibs' previous attempt to relocate to Aberdeen, there's far too much of their supporters on this thread. Lets get back on topic.

AFC own quite a lot of land around Pittodrie, as shown in pic below (no, I do not have Parkinson's) but not a lot if it is useful expansion wise. We've got plenty behind the RDS (the one stand not needing redeveloped), a public street behind the Main Stand, which already has a small footprint, with a car park across the road. There's another car park behind the away section of the South Stand but only a couple of metres of space behind two thirds of the stand with the added complication that the stand is effectively terracing built on a hill. The club could've purchased the land where the flats are years ago but it was deemed too expensive. The Merkland Stand also has a street behind it with little space between the road and back of the stand as it is.

Milne claims a redeveloped Pittodrie would have a capacity of 12,000. With the RDS behind the goals already holding 6100, it's hard to see how this could be the case but its probably safe to assume we couldn't match 20,000 on the current footprint with modern building regulations. We could maybe build three stands over the course of a decade or so to get a capacity of around 16,000 but it would be incredibly expensive and we obviously wouldn't have the benefit of the funds from the sale of the ground. Redeveloping Pittodrie is probably doable but it would be very difficult, both financially and logistically, and would leave us with an even more lop-sided ground.

A batshit crazy plan would be to flip the pitch 90 degrees, extend the RDS into a 9000 seat monster along the sideline, demolish half of the now behind the goals South Stand. Pittodrie Street could lead into a tunnel under the end of the pitch onto Golf Road and new stands could be built in the Main Stand car park and opposite the RDS. We'd probably only have to play at Tannadice for three years...

[Bambino7]

An Aberdeen fan who wants to stay in Aberdeen.  Well played  

[NorthernLights]

48 minutes ago, Henderson to deliver ..... said:

Hold on, the self proclaimed 'Famous' don't even have their own training facilities ?

Where do you train atm ? Amongst the dug shite and broken glass on the public parks ?

Albyn School Milltimber Playing Field, Countesswells Sports Field and the Aberdeen Sports Village (if the Hazelhead Academy's girls lacrosse team let us).

[EdTheDuck]

4 hours ago, gkneil said:

Unfortunately, this whole debacle (and it is a debacle) falls in line with how Aberdeen as a city has been run for the last 50+ years.

As has been said elsewhere, training facilities should have been built a generation ago. They can be built anywhere really. They are tied to the new ground this time so it's not even a cae where we can at least get on with that if the stadium is rejected.

The RDS should never have been built, each stand should have been upgraded over a period of years like Hearts/Hibs did. Those fans are well within their right to gloat over that. Land was available, but Milne had overreached with spending (£1m Paul Bernard etc), we had built a fucking white elephant and that was that.

If not in the city centre, some discussion should have been held about a new ground being built beside where the new AECC is being built, with a new rail branch being put in on that side of the airport to shuttle folk between Aberdeen train station and the airport, AECC and fitba ground. A small station with trains shuttling between it and the main Aberdeen one would see people commuting daily to businesses on that side of the airport, the airport itself, the ground and the AECC for all the events planned there. The ground would also still be serviced by the new bypass. I can't see how the city couldn't justify a new rail link with all those opportunities. I can't fathom how no-one considered this.

We're where we are because we're fucking teuchters and should never have been given the responsibility to run the UK's oil industry or look after a team who have a 100% record against Real Madrid. It was a sure thing we'd make an arse of it!!!

Kingsford looks to be the only option. The costs associated with Pittodrie re-development are outwith what we can probably do compared to building on greenbelt land. We'll be another 5 years away from getting planning for a new ground somewhere else, and somewhere else will also have naysayers and as many cons as pros like Kingsford does.

However, if Kingsford is given the go ahead, I'll still get myself out there to games. Even if it's via the fucking cycle track.

Incredibly the monstrosity that is the replacement AECC is being built as we speak (after an allegedly listed building at the Rowett Institute was levelled without as much as a by your leave) promising to create a larger, more modern hole in the financial landscape even than the old AECC. Likewise the hideous Marischall Square is being built to obscure one of Aberdeen's most outstanding architectural buildings but does not actually look like an elephant, white or otherwise.

The same people who are building these without referral to the voters, of course, cancelled the referendum approved Union Garden  City Sqaure and will likely block Kingsford because of half a dozen NIMBYs and probably block any serious redevelopment of Pittodrie because nearby houses.

It is 25 years since Aberdeen built the ridiculous RDS and followed that up by doing the sum of absolutely f**k all to develop the rest of the stadium because, as you allude to, for probably 15 of those years the mismanagement of the club was bordering on criminal negligence.

We are fucked by incompetents within and wihout

Edited August 16, 2017 by EdTheDuck

[topcat(The most tip top)]

Anyway, despite Hibs' previous attempt to relocate to Aberdeen, there's far too much of their supporters on this thread. Lets get back on topic.
AFC own quite a lot of land around Pittodrie, as shown in pic below (no, I do not have Parkinson's) but not a lot if it is useful expansion wise. We've got plenty behind the RDS (the one stand not needing redeveloped), a public street behind the Main Stand, which already has a small footprint, with a car park across the road. There's another car park behind the away section of the South Stand but only a couple of metres of space behind two thirds of the stand with the added complication that the stand is effectively terracing built on a hill. The club could've purchased the land where the flats are years ago but it was deemed too expensive. The Merkland Stand also has a street behind it with little space between the road and back of the stand as it is.

Milne claims a redeveloped Pittodrie would have a capacity of 12,000. With the RDS behind the goals already holding 6100, it's hard to see how this could be the case but its probably safe to assume we couldn't match 20,000 on the current footprint with modern building regulations. We could maybe build three stands over the course of a decade or so to get a capacity of around 16,000 but it would be incredibly expensive and we obviously wouldn't have the benefit of the funds from the sale of the ground. Redeveloping Pittodrie is probably doable but it would be very difficult, both financially and logistically, and would leave us with an even more lop-sided ground.
A batshit crazy plan would be to flip the pitch 90 degrees, extend the RDS into a 9000 seat monster along the sideline, demolish half of the now behind the goals South Stand. Pittodrie Street could lead into a tunnel under the end of the pitch onto Golf Road and new stands could be built in the Main Stand car park and opposite the RDS. We'd probably only have to play at Tannadice for three years...

You could presumably build the new North stand before demolishing the old one so if that was 4,000 and The existing RDS (6,000?) along with most of the old south stand (3,000?) and a temporary structure along the west side you could pretty much match Tannadice's capacity with temporary arrangements until the RDS was monsterified

If you do then remember to order the seats nice and early. It's an easy mistake to make

[lubo_blaha]

8 minutes ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

 

You could presumably build the new North stand before demolishing the old one so if that was 4,000 and The existing RDS (6,000?) along with most of the old south stand (3,000?) and a temporary structure along the west side you could pretty much match Tannadice's capacity with temporary arrangements until the RDS was monsterified

If you do then remember to order the seats nice and early. It's an easy mistake to make

 

It would also involve demolishing and clearing a stand and laying one end of the pitch over the rubble/Pittodrie Street. Not sure that could be done over the short pre-season that we now have. Alternatively we could just lay astroturf over the street and where the stand used to be and use the lampposts as goalposts.

[resk]

Westhill Dons.