Long time lurker, first time poster... signed up to reply to the above comment.
I used to work for WMD for 6 years, you will have seen their blue vans with yellow writing at nearly every major piece of house building or infrastructure work from in the AB and DD post codes.
Willie and Elaine run the firm on a day to day basis, and are both very genuine and decent people, who run a family business, which they started very successfully and prudently over the last 30+ years. Indeed they have been match and ball sponsors in the past. They also have advertising boards at Pittodrie and a lot of the highland league teams.
They and their family are all season ticket holders and attend all home matches when they are home. With regards to the being guaranteed the future stadium works this is unlikely. WMD specialises in housing and light industrial estate substructures along with associated sewers and roads. They may well be in the mix for parts of the works.
Obviously I have no details as to how the current debt payments will be utilised in the future, but, I would imagine seen as they have taken 20% shares in the firm along with giving shares to the community trust any substantial repayment would only be if/when they decided to sell their share.
Has the preferred bidder for Pittodrie not been announced yet, I thought it was a new sports science campus shared between RGU and AU? The previous prices expected was £15-20m, so any shortfall will be negligible now for a new stadium, notwithstanding investment from other local companies far more likely with club in the black.
I believe there is a very real possibility we could be in a new build stadium and still be debt free before turn of the decade. If I was a betting man, I would be putting my money on the old AECC site as the new home of the Dons.
Stand Free
