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The Aberdeen Mega-Hyper New Stadium Thread


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I'm not fussed about pittodrie but moving to the middle of nowhere is going to be a disaster.
Hibs fans did you know the distance between Pittodrie and the proposed Milnenium Stadium is double the distance between Tynie and Easter Road.

Easter Road and Tynecastle aren't that far apart tbf. Except metaphysically.
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8 hours ago, EdTheDuck said:

Aberdeen do not have the feelgood factor that currently buoys Hibs. We do not have the near-death of our club that has motivated the Hearts support to do what they have done over the last few years and continue to do with 16,000 attendances every other week. We don't even have the 'badge of honour' that sees 50,000 at Ibrox to watch a comparatively abysmal Rangers team.

Moving to Westhill would in the long term (and maybe even the short term) do far more harm than the expensive option of staying at Pittodrie. What if the McInnes' replacement is another Alex Miller or Mark McGhee or even Craig Brown? Bottom 6 ad infinitum and cup defeats to First Division teams or hammerings from our peers? The 9,500 average just a few years ago would seem like The Golden Age by comparison.

Whichever way you look at it the club is facing substantial, long term debt and the only thing they might keep it in the credit column is the goodwill of the (majority) city based fans

It's your opinion and you're entitled to it but it's just that, opinion. Please don't pass it off as fact.

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8 hours ago, PauloPerth said:

But redevelopment of Pittodrie could be done over a number of years, one stand at a time.  

The Merkland Road End and South Stand could be cleared completely and steel structure stands put in, completely covered with facilities underneath, the roof could curve round and join up. 

As both were just seats bolted onto terracing, you could make them steeper, move a couple of metres closer to the pitch behind the goal to fit more rows in. Higher stands, but not necessarily further back onto the road. The Merkland Stand could also curve round and join onto the Main Stand.  The Main Stand could sit in its existing footprint, or if being really ambitious build a second tier over the road like in the photo of Athletico's ground below. 

The info the Dons fan provided from the project manager about funding suggests, even with the sale of Pittodrie there will be a shortfall of £15-20m I think (haven't looked back). So why not allocate this amount to re-developing The current ground instead?

If cost makes it impossible, fair enough...  but I don't believe for one minute that modern stadium architects couldn't design a cracking ground for over 20,000 fans on the current site.

IMG_0481.JPG

Strange example given Atletico have literally just moved out of that ground to one on the outskirts of Madrid cos they couldn't build a new on that site...

Edited by shootingboots
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Serious question - don't most big German clubs have out of town stadiums with a focus on getting fans there early, catering for pre / post match activities incl. family stuff, drinks, food etc. and having the game itself as a focal point of a day out at the stadium. Seems to work well. It's the model Man City have worked on as well since their move from Maine Road and seems to have worked well.

If organised properly it could make Aberdeen a great day out, if totally different from the traditional away trip that involves beers in the town before walking to the ground. And it could drive much more of the match day spend into AFC's pockets.

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9 hours ago, PauloPerth said:

But redevelopment of Pittodrie could be done over a number of years, one stand at a time.  

The Merkland Road End and South Stand could be cleared completely and steel structure stands put in, completely covered with facilities underneath, the roof could curve round and join up. 

As both were just seats bolted onto terracing, you could make them steeper, move a couple of metres closer to the pitch behind the goal to fit more rows in. Higher stands, but not necessarily further back onto the road. The Merkland Stand could also curve round and join onto the Main Stand.  The Main Stand could sit in its existing footprint, or if being really ambitious build a second tier over the road like in the photo of Athletico's ground below. 

The info the Dons fan provided from the project manager about funding suggests, even with the sale of Pittodrie there will be a shortfall of £15-20m I think (haven't looked back). So why not allocate this amount to re-developing The current ground instead?

If cost makes it impossible, fair enough...  but I don't believe for one minute that modern stadium architects couldn't design a cracking ground for over 20,000 fans on the current site.

IMG_0481.JPG

One of the main reasons for leaving the site is we need to make the pitch bigger and increase the runoff area around it to comply with UEFA. They give dispensation to teams with older stadiums to compete but  if you build a new one it has to comply. Each stand would have to be built on a slightly smaller footprint.

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27 minutes ago, Mediocre Pundit said:

Serious question - don't most big German clubs have out of town stadiums with a focus on getting fans there early, catering for pre / post match activities incl. family stuff, drinks, food etc. and having the game itself as a focal point of a day out at the stadium. Seems to work well. It's the model Man City have worked on as well since their move from Maine Road and seems to have worked well.

If organised properly it could make Aberdeen a great day out, if totally different from the traditional away trip that involves beers in the town before walking to the ground. And it could drive much more of the match day spend into AFC's pockets.

Exactly, and something that may not be seen as traditional in this country but something that works well in Germany as you say. I would welcome it. It could open up AFC to a different group. Again, getting away from the 'lad' culture many who are against it think an out of town ground would lose, but think the club itself would happy to be seen to be more family focused (£££££££).

 

Football's not like it was in the 70/80's. Move with it or be left behind. 

Edited by shootingboots
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I'm not fussed about pittodrie but moving to the middle of nowhere is going to be a disaster.

Hibs fans did you know the distance between Pittodrie and the proposed Milnenium Stadium is double the distance between Tynie and Easter Road.

The distance between Aberdeen and Cardiff is a bit more than double that, I think.

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totally different from the traditional away trip that involves beers in the town before walking to the ground


This is the problem right here and one of the biggest problems in our entire game. For some reason Scottish football fans are incapable of trying something different purely because it's not tradition.

A new stadium that will take my club to the next level, nah f**k that, my grandad and his dad went to this stadium and had 4 pints before the match in said bar. No way can I only have 2 pints instead of 4 before going to the match.

If fan zones and bars can be incorporated into the stadium then home and away fans can get there early and enjoy a full day out at the stadium. Baffles me that any Aberdeen fan doesn't want this.
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Serious question - don't most big German clubs have out of town stadiums with a focus on getting fans there early, catering for pre / post match activities incl. family stuff, drinks, food etc. and having the game itself as a focal point of a day out at the stadium. Seems to work well. It's the model Man City have worked on as well since their move from Maine Road and seems to have worked well.

If organised properly it could make Aberdeen a great day out, if totally different from the traditional away trip that involves beers in the town before walking to the ground. And it could drive much more of the match day spend into AFC's pockets.

Most German clubs with out of town stadiums also have abundant subsidised public transport links. A shuttle bus service isn't going to be able to service 20,000 people. If it's taking half an hour to get there you'd need about 200 buses to transport that number of people who'd have to be arriving about 2 hours before kick off. In Aberdeen. During winter. And obviously the same amount of time after the game to get them back. That seems implausible.
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Serious question - don't most big German clubs have out of town stadiums with a focus on getting fans there early, catering for pre / post match activities incl. family stuff, drinks, food etc. and having the game itself as a focal point of a day out at the stadium. Seems to work well. It's the model Man City have worked on as well since their move from Maine Road and seems to have worked well.

 

If organised properly it could make Aberdeen a great day out, if totally different from the traditional away trip that involves beers in the town before walking to the ground. And it could drive much more of the match day spend into AFC's pockets.

 

You had me up until "if organised properly."

 

That's the difference, they have great infrastructure that's affordable to use. There would be a shuttle train from Aberdeen station out to Kingsford being built as we speak if this was in Germany.

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24 minutes ago, Tartantony said:

 


This is the problem right here and one of the biggest problems in our entire game. For some reason Scottish football fans are incapable of trying something different purely because it's not tradition.

A new stadium that will take my club to the next level, nah f**k that, my grandad and his dad went to this stadium and had 4 pints before the match in said bar. No way can I only have 2 pints instead of 4 before going to the match.

If fan zones and bars can be incorporated into the stadium then home and away fans can get there early and enjoy a full day out at the stadium. Baffles me that any Aberdeen fan doesn't want this.

 

I agree with you, and the bulk of ST holders I think will just adapt and get on with it.

The problem for us is too big a % of our fanbase are the fickle 'it's too cold', 'I'll stay in the pub and watch Jeff and the boys' type that will be put off even more by having to travel out of the city.

We have a very good fanbase but not enough of it is a 'hardcore' of a support that will go out of their way to come week in, week out.  It's extremely frustrating.

Hopefully I'm wrong.

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2 hours ago, shootingboots said:

Strange example given Atletico have literally just moved out of that ground to one on the outskirts of Madrid cos they couldn't build a new on that site...

Yes it was more to show what is possible with a bit of creative architecture.

I just don't believe the physical constraints on the site mean it can't be developed to a 20000 capacity.  But, ultimately, as long as Dons fans are happy with the plan then that's all that matters.  

I think good on the club for a sensible capacity though; quite often clubs go way over what they need, thinking they will pick up thousands of new fans, and after the initial buzz for a couple of seasons, you're back to your core support sitting in a huge empty stadium. 20,000 sounds spot on for Aberdeen.

 

 

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11 hours ago, lubo_blaha said:

It's worth also saying that we'd seriously struggle to fund 3 new stands without the sale of Pittodrie. The £50 million total figure includes £10 million for training facilities, £15-20 million from the sale of Pittodrie and £6 million saved from co-location of stadium and training facilities. Assuming the same finances were in place, this would leave approximately £15-20 million to redevelop three stands. For context, Hearts' new Main Stand has ran over its initial £12 million budget. 

£15-20 million for the sale of the land at Pittodrie? What sort of fantasy land stuff is this? It's hardly a prime location.

37 minutes ago, Bully Wee Villa said:

Are there pubs near the proposed stadium?

There is nothing near the proposed stadium.

This stadium project will never happen, just like Kingswells and Loirston before it. Nothing ever gets done in Aberdeen unless it's ruining a square containing two of the city's few architectural landmarks.

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Most German clubs with out of town stadiums also have abundant subsidised public transport links. A shuttle bus service isn't going to be able to service 20,000 people. If it's taking half an hour to get there you'd need about 200 buses to transport that number of people who'd have to be arriving about 2 hours before kick off. In Aberdeen. During winter. And obviously the same amount of time after the game to get them back. That seems implausible.

They won't all come from the same place though - some will come from city centre post-pints, some will come from other parts of the City, some will come from outside town. Lots will drive if there is suitable parking. You're right that adequate transport needs to be arranged, however that's a requirement for making the plan successful rather than a reason to be against it.
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17 minutes ago, HibsFan said:

 

You had me up until "if organised properly."

 

That's the difference, they have great infrastructure that's affordable to use. There would be a shuttle train from Aberdeen station out to Kingsford being built as we speak if this was in Germany.

I was out in Germany about a month ago, and I was struck with the sheer amount of construction. The only place I've seen with that much building work going on was China. Rich country = great infrastructure. Shitey wee poor regions = shuttle bus service. 

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Redeveloping Pittodrie is a complete non starter for me. The south would probably have to be done first as the main stand has all the hospitality and the inner workings of the club (offices, dressing rooms etc). Losing the south would mean putting away fans in the merkie, essentially making the home capacity of Pittodrie 9,000 while redevelopment takes place.

As has also been mentioned previously. Not having cash from the sale of Pittodrie would leave serious holes in the financing of any redevelopment and we'd also need to find cash for training facilities.

I'm not convinced about Kingsford and have my reservations like everyone else. However Pittodrie is falling to bits and is likely costing us a disproportionate amount in maintenance. Get the damn thing built at Kingsford and get out there and get behind the team.

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31 minutes ago, Tartantony said:

 


This is the problem right here and one of the biggest problems in our entire game. For some reason Scottish football fans are incapable of trying something different purely because it's not tradition.

A new stadium that will take my club to the next level, nah f**k that, my grandad and his dad went to this stadium and had 4 pints before the match in said bar. No way can I only have 2 pints instead of 4 before going to the match.
 

 

You've just made that up Tony. Nobody is arguing they don't want it because it's something new. Most fans will have experienced out of town stadia with little in the way of facilities nearby, and if some are saying they don't like them then fair play. Most people I know, their favourite away games are the likes of Tynecastle, Tannadice, Dingwall. How many fans in Scotland list McDiarmid Park, St Mirren, Inverness, Clyde etc as a favourite away trip?

I've been to Dortmund and Wembley and other big arenas watching Scotland, and had the nightmare of waiting ages for a train back into town. They were soulless shells in industrial estates.

Lets be honest, if we all watched football just for the quality of play, we'd just stay at home and watch Barca, Real Madrid etc. The whole match day experience is a massive part of going to a game.

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