quirie Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/1096722 New site for Aberdeen FC selected Decision by experts By Gavin Roberts Published: 26/02/2009 CONSIDERED: A site near Loirston Loch has been under review for the new stadium. More Pictures CONSULTANTS have selected a site for Aberdeen’s new community stadium. But they have refused to say where the Arena Community Stadium – where Aberdeen FC will be the main tenant – should go. A year-long study on where the new Aberdeen FC stadium would be built is only weeks away from completion. Experts have been weighing up whether Aberdeen Beach or a site near Loirston Loch would be most suitable for the new stadium. It was understood the Loirston Loch site was the favourite for selection. A final report – highlighting one of the sites – will go before representatives of the city council and the football club soon with a final decision expected in April. Manager of the Arena Project and member of the project board Peter Dennis said: “This report will be a pivotal point in the push to get Aberdeen a new community stadium as we will have a preferred site. “Both of these locations have been looked at in great detail, covering impact to the environment and transport, and the outline design for each. “We are eagerly awaiting the final report which will identify the preferred site.†The next stage will see the closely-guarded feasibility report shared with the stadium’s project board towards the end of next month. It will then go out to consultation to members of the arena project team, a partnership between the football club and the council. A spokesman for the board said: “The board will make a final decision, and agree that a report outlining the recommendation will be presented to the council’s policy and strategy committee on April 28.†Quote
dave_min Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 That all depends if I get hit by a bus on the way home or not. Quote
Guest swaddon Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 It will never happen. Ever. From now until the end of time, there will be all these feasibility studies, new sites looked at and so on, but no-one will be able to come to any decision as to where and when it will be built. Quote
Superstar Tradesman Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 It will never happen. Ever. From now until the end of time, there will be all these feasibility studies, new sites looked at and so on, but no-one will be able to come to any decision as to where and when it will be built. Pretty much my thoughts on the subject. Someone else touched on it earlier on in the week by saying something along the lines of - We'll continue to train on the same shite piece of ground that they've been training on since the 70s, whilst other teams train on their custom built training grounds. We'll do this because our training ground will be built alongside the new stadium and that will never happen. I wonder how many new Stuart Milne Homes will go up in that time? Quote
Kowalski Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 I wonder how many new Stuart Milne Homes will go up in that time? Has Milne got a brother building houses now? Quote
Guest fatshaft Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 I see the report saying the beach is the best option - but in typical AberdeenFC / Aberdeen Council fashion - they will reject the findings of the report and decide to go with Loirston. The stadium will then get bogged down by red tape and objections and will never get built - and neither will the proposed western peripheral route. Either that - or the western peripheral route will have been started when they build the stadium - but by the time the bypass is finished, they will have redirected it nowhere near the new stadium. I stand by my prediction that there will be no leisure facilities at the new stadium (hotels, bars, etc) and it will be done in the cheapest way possible at the expense of a long term vision. Anyway - roll on the publication of the report And yet some fans will criticise AFC for trying to build a proper stadium, and would rather we built a St Mirrenesque piece of tat. Quote
dave_min Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 With the state of the council finances and the construction industry - what makes you think this is not what we will end up with? I'm usually fairly upbeat as far as AFC is concerned but where Aberdeen City Cuntcil are concerned that is an entirely different matter. It's fairly obvious you've not been living in Aberdeen for a good while if you think Aberdeen Council are anything but incompetent career politicians riding the party political gravy train at the expense of the citizens. p.s. I'm in favour of a new stadium at the beach with hotels, bars, bells and buttons! But the cynic in me says Lego stadium, with a car park only, up at Loirston. And no bypass to help people to get there. You mean a field with no gate! Quote
kelt Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 I can't see any sort of a new stadium in my lifetime, and let's say I have maybe 50 years of life left in me. They've been talking about a new stadium for as long as I can remember, and thus far there's a drawing of a new stadium as the sum total of their efforts towards said new stadium. The club is blowing smoke up our arses any time they mention this, so I seriously wish they would shut the fuck up about it because by this point we know they're lying through their teeth. "Look at us doing feasibility studies, like a real organization." The club hasn't a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of. The city doesn't have the sort of money that would be required to build a stadium, even if they wanted to... and they've shown they don't. There's no-one banging on the door to invest in our club, and frankly I wouldn't want to risk some Lithuanian gangster taking over anyway. It's a pity, because Aberdeen really is a sleeping giant. A one club city where entertainment is few and far between compared to other cities... unless your idea of entertainment is getting pished and fighting on a Saturday night. A new stadium, run by people who know how to market a product would make a killing. Unfortunately I think we missed the boat when it comes to getting serious investment, so we'll stumble along with a giant debt, a board that doesn't give a fuck, smaller crowds than we should be getting, a stadium that costs hundreds of thousands to stop from falling down on an annual basis, and drawing s of stadiums that aren't going to amount to shit. Still, eh? Quote
Guest fatshaft Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 With the state of the council finances and the construction industry - what makes you think this is not what we will end up with? I'm usually fairly upbeat as far as AFC is concerned but where Aberdeen City Cuntcil are concerned that is an entirely different matter. It's fairly obvious you've not been living in Aberdeen for a good while if you think Aberdeen Council are anything but incompetent career politicians riding the party political gravy train at the expense of the citizens. p.s. I'm in favour of a new stadium at the beach with hotels, bars, bells and buttons! But the cynic in me says Lego stadium, with a car park only, up at Loirston. And no bypass to help people to get there. Don't get me wrong, I understand you're not one of the doom mongers, I just don;t think that's what we'll end up with, I think Wiggy would draw the line and go it alone rather than have a glorified shed as his legacy. If he did end up building something like St Mirren or the JJB stadium, I'd be disgusted, and also tbh for all the stick he gets, amazed too. I do think ACC will pull out though, they are miserable cunts who don't want to support something that should be at the very heart of the city. Quote
TENEMENTFUNSTER Posted February 26, 2009 Report Posted February 26, 2009 I agree with most of the posts so far. No money and the same noises over again, not likely to happen. Quote
dunblanedon Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Agree with pretty much everybody. The only grey point being whether or not Stewart Milne has done some sort of deal as was rumoured with Donald Trump which helped him secure some rights for the Mennie Estate (no seriously!). Wouldn't it be great to have more money than the Glasgow Mafia! Quote
Guest fatshaft Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Agree with pretty much everybody. The only grey point being whether or not Stewart Milne has done some sort of deal as was rumoured with Donald Trump which helped him secure some rights for the Mennie Estate (no seriously!). Wouldn't it be great to have more money than the Glasgow Mafia! Well as Trump is bankrupt again, that's not a good prospect either Quote
Guest fatshaft Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 I don't get the cynisysm that so many show towards this? Do you all want it to fail? We would be in a new stadium by now if it wasn’t for the Kingswells NIMBYs – not AFC’s fault that. Why not get behind the idea and show support, maybe the council would get off their arses and spend the money on this instead of a few new desks in their £70m headquarters if they thought there were votes in it, certainly more likely than when they’re faced with the cynical, “I told you so†negativity of the typical Aberdonian. We are on our second – just the second – plan, where obviously a lot of work was done behind the scenes to get it where it has now, and which all along has been going out to this feasibility study before anything more could be done. Vague comments like “for as long as I can remember†do nothing to help, and actually say nothing other than someone has a poor recollection. Well poor memory isn’t really the fault of the Dons I don’t think. I can’t recall any new stadium talk prior to Kingswells, and that was 2002, in fact we’d not long built the RDS at the time, so vague statements that give the impression that this has been going on since the war are nothing more than doom mongering. Do I hope this will happen? You bet your arse. Do I think it will happen? As a matter of fact I do, and yet by nature I’m a miserable Aberdonian as well. I could be wrong, but at least I’m prepared to give it a chance. Quote
glasgow sheep Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 I remember in the mid 90s the main stand was said to have a life-span of 5years. Maybe people weren't talking about a "new" stadium but they were certainly talking about ground development. 15 or so years later we're still in the same shitty situation having spent £100,000s on maintaining and patching up the main stand Quote
glasgowdon Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Is a refurbishment/expansion of Pittodrie impossible? Quote
bilbobaggins Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Is a refurbishment/expansion of Pittodrie impossible? Might have to get Colin and Justin involved. Quote
glasgow sheep Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Is a refurbishment/expansion of Pittodrie impossible? given that we have allowed every piece of land around the ground to be sold off over the years - timber yard, gas tower thingymajig - I would guess so. Presumably re-doing the SS, Merkie and Main would work out as not much less than a whole new stadium anyway, and wouldn't get rid of the biggest problem at Pittodrie, the atmosphere vacuum that is the RDS Quote
Jute Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Is a refurbishment/expansion of Pittodrie impossible? Doubt we have the money to do that. Sale of the ground is the only way we have of raising capital. Quote
Guest fatshaft Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Is a refurbishment/expansion of Pittodrie impossible? Part of the problem is that the playing surface and surrounds needs to be bigger to meet UEFA standards, and as we have no room to expand trhe footprint outwards, any replacement stands would be smaller than we have now. So Pittodrie is basically fucked. Quote
BobbyBiscuit Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 I also canna believe UEFA are actually going to start preventing teams play home games in Euro fitba due to pitch-stand distances. Well, they need something to talk about over their fat-cat lunches. Next they'll be demanding that the tape players wear to keep their shinguards in place is the same colour as their socks... Quote
Guest fatshaft Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Well, they need something to talk about over their fat-cat lunches. Next they'll be demanding that the tape players wear to keep their shinguards in place is the same colour as their socks... Good een min, naebody could come up with something that stupid though............. Quote
glasgowdon Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Part of the problem is that the playing surface and surrounds needs to be bigger to meet UEFA standards, and as we have no room to expand trhe footprint outwards, any replacement stands would be smaller than we have now. So Pittodrie is basically fucked. Is there not scope to lose a couple of rows at the front and build a small second tier that is elevated above the road? The upper tier would also raise the capacity enough if Scotland were to ever host something. ( ) Quote
glasgow sheep Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 Is there not scope to lose a couple of rows at the front and build a small second tier that is elevated above the road? The upper tier would also raise the capacity enough if Scotland were to ever host something. ( ) No Quote
manc_don Posted February 27, 2009 Report Posted February 27, 2009 I thought we either had to redevelop the main stand or move to a new ground within 5 years (due to the fire certificate running out) and the main stand not meeting the new fire safety requirements? Or did I just make that up Quote
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