Pittodrie for sale

[Gatecrasher]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15188146.stm

I (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15188146.stm) still dont understand how they can afford a new ground :confused:

[CraigHibee]

it baffles me too! they dont have a bolt?

[MSK]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15188146.stm

I (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15188146.stm) still dont understand how they can afford a new ground :confused:


it baffles me too! they dont have a bolt?Think the answer is in this paragraph ..

"While the sale of Pittodrie is the key element of our funding model for the new stadium at Loirston Loch, progress has also been made regarding the securing of naming rights," said Fraser.

"The other elements are the raising of fresh equity and, on the back of that, securing a mortgage."

[Albion Hibs]

I dont know much about where there new ground is, I would imagine up there Stewart Milne would be able to get his hands on some cheap stuff. In addition the sale of the land from the stadium is bound to make a big difference. Further to that I am sure he will get some additional development up by the new place whether it be commercial or residential.

I cant imagine it would be happening if they were short of a the finance to do it, so somehow they have managed to get it all lined up.

Fingers crossed it wont be so sodding cold all the time, and exposed to the wind!

[stokesmessiah]

My understanding is Milne is funding a lot of it, however he will be recouping the money back on the sale of homes he is going to build on the current site. I understand there is a funding blackhole though....money they thought that Aberdeen City Council would plug but thats not happening, i am guessing thats why selling the naming rights are suddenly so important !

[Don Giovanni]

I dont know much about where there new ground is... ...fingers crossed it wont be so sodding cold all the time, and exposed to the wind! I wouldn't get your hopes up! The new site might not technically be in Eberdeen but it's no' that far outside of it! :wink:

[Kaiser1962]

Any stadium move/development will depend entirely on the largess of Stewart Milne.

[greenginger]

Any stadium move/development will depend entirely on the largess of Stewart Milne.


And on condition the supporters accept a ground share at Tannadice for a few years :aok:

[R'Albin]

I wouldn't get your hopes up! The new site might not technically be in Eberdeen but it's no' that far outside of it! :wink:

Far enough away that it will put off regulars from turning up(once the novelty of it wears).

Stupid move that could potentially put Aberdeen in a very bad way.

[StevieC]

And on condition the supporters accept a ground share at Tannadice for a few years :aok:

Sadly, with the decline of their once excellent support, the ground-share could be in Inverness.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

Sadly, with the decline of their once excellent support, the ground-share could be in Inverness. Ahm thinking maybe Cove Rangers.

[NOLA]

My understanding is Milne is funding a lot of it, however he will be recouping the money back on the sale of homes he is going to build on the current site. I understand there is a funding blackhole though....money they thought that Aberdeen City Council would plug but thats not happening, i am guessing thats why selling the naming rights are suddenly so important !
a dons pal reckons they are sounding out Donald Trump for the naming rights, The Trump Dump anyone?

[DAVE1875]

I've already put in a bid of a packet of Space Raiders & some Dairylea Dunkables :greengrin

Still waiting to hear back from Aberdeen....

[Hainan Hibs]

I'm pretty shocked they're wanting to put it where they plan to. More than a fair distance from the city centre and the transport links are no the best.

If they are struggling to pull 8k through the door just now I'd love to see how many they will get at the new location.

[Iain G]

I'm not sure if the math actually stands up:

Sale of Pittodrie + Sale of Housing Devloped on the Site needs to equal more than Price of New Land + Cost of New Stadium + Cost of Building Houses on Pittodrie to make it work and to get the club debt free while still making Stewart Milne Developments/Homes a profit out of the housing development....

:confused:

[Keith_M]

Not having any personal grudges against AFC, I hope it works.

It would be a pity if they had to ground share while it was being built though. Couldn't they just built the stadium in a staged manner, e.g. main and opposite stands built first, and play there while the rest is being finished?

[LeithBoozy]

Its to be known as the Milne will Fleece you stadium.:greengrin

[The Falcon]

Its to be known as the Milne will Fleece you stadium.:greengrin


Going by the sums that are being bandied about it looks like the Milne takes a bath Stadium :wink:

[marinello59]

I'm not sure if the math actually stands up:

Sale of Pittodrie + Sale of Housing Devloped on the Site needs to equal more than Price of New Land + Cost of New Stadium + Cost of Building Houses on Pittodrie to make it work and to get the club debt free while still making Stewart Milne Developments/Homes a profit out of the housing development....

:confused:

Selling the land will cover their current debt but only just. The profit from any houses built will belong entirely to the developer whether that be Stewart Milne or not. So they have approximately £35 million to find. They did make noises about making money from conferences etc but given that the existing AECC is returning huge losses I can't see that being a significant money spinner. Naming rights ain't gonna prove to be a massive source of income either. It's not as if anybody will be gaining worldwide exposure for their money.
These plans were drawn up hoping that the Council would pay for most of the costs. Now they have been told to bolt you would think that they would downsize things a bit which is what they will probably do. They really have no choice about leaving Pittodire though, the bank made them agree to it several years ago as part of a debt restructuring deal. Basically their failure to face up to economic reality sooner than they did is seeing them facing something more akin to an eviction than a planned move. I can't see a happy ending to this one at all for them.

[Kaiser1962]

Selling the land will cover their current debt but only just. The profit from any houses built will belong entirely to the developer whether that be Stewart Milne or not. So they have approximately £35 million to find. They did make noises about making money from conferences etc but given that the existing AECC is returning huge losses I can't see that being a significant money spinner. Naming rights ain't gonna prove to be a massive source of income either. It's not as if anybody will be gaining worldwide exposure for their money.
These plans were drawn up hoping that the Council would pay for most of the costs. Now they have been told to bolt you would think that they would downsize things a bit which is what they will probably do. They really have no choice about leaving Pittodire though, the bank made them agree to it several years ago as part of a debt restructuring deal. Basically their failure to face up to economic reality sooner than they did is seeing them facing something more akin to an eviction than a planned move. I can't see a happy ending to this one at all for them.


Pretty much on the button. AFC are owned and their whole future depends on Stewart Milne whether their fans like it or not. He is the only one with the means of keeping, and to continue to keep, the wolves at bay.

[Spudster]

Far enough away that it will put off regulars from turning up(once the novelty of it wears).

Stupid move that could potentially put Aberdeen in a very bad way.
:agree:

A link to the railway line nearby is essential IMO

[weecounty hibby]

Have heard about the move many times now and seen their funding ideas and just can't see how it will work. Also I think they are guaranteed to lose fans. Where they plan to build is hardly easy to get to and will put off a lot of walk up fans who may chose to go on odd occasions

[Iain G]

Selling the land will cover their current debt but only just. The profit from any houses built will belong entirely to the developer whether that be Stewart Milne or not. So they have approximately £35 million to find. They did make noises about making money from conferences etc but given that the existing AECC is returning huge losses I can't see that being a significant money spinner. Naming rights ain't gonna prove to be a massive source of income either. It's not as if anybody will be gaining worldwide exposure for their money.
These plans were drawn up hoping that the Council would pay for most of the costs. Now they have been told to bolt you would think that they would downsize things a bit which is what they will probably do. They really have no choice about leaving Pittodire though, the bank made them agree to it several years ago as part of a debt restructuring deal. Basically their failure to face up to economic reality sooner than they did is seeing them facing something more akin to an eviction than a planned move. I can't see a happy ending to this one at all for them.

I am unsure of the exact debt figure the dandy Dons have accumulated, but I can't get this to work! They will still have the large debt of the cost of developing this new stadium, are they hoping this is just going to be less debt that they have at present!?!? :confused:

[Sylar]

I drive by the proposed new site on a daily basis on my way in to Uni and I can't fathom the logistics of having it located there at all.

Next to a busy dual carriageway, so dangerous to any fans walking to the ground
The land is entirely saturated owing to a low water table and saturated soils (not a stumbling block, but an expensive drainage operation required
MILES away from the city centre (though easy access for visiting fans from the motorway) - I guess not having it near a pub isn't entirely a bad thing, but there are those who can enjoy a drink and behave at the footie!
The road is horrible as-is for handling large volumes of traffic - despite the ease of access, if they don't put in a decent access route and traffic management system, you'll have cars backing up onto the A90 North and South, as traffic queues around both loops.
Public transport up to that part of Aberdeen isn't fantastic and will need improving
I guess for all of the above, the land should be relatively cheap for Milne to purchase and develop. Pittodrie is in a bad way, with some areas of the ground being very poor for a modern stadium. It's absolutely baltic during the winter, but it's unbelievably convenient for a lot of their fans and I can see them losing a few if they make the distance to the stadium unattainable by foot (as comparison to it's current proximity). In the day when the Scottish Government and Earth foundation charities are trying to encourage us to use our cars less, Aberdeen are almost placing both their own fans and travelling fans in a position whereby a car is the most feasible option!

Aberdeen F.C. were the club who refused to join in with the Universities and City Council by plunging money into the development of the Sport Village, just along from Pittodrie, which has an absolute state of the art indoor training facility and would have been a superb complex for their club to get behind. As such, in some degree of bitterness, I hope the council remembers this and leaves Milne and his board to find the money to buy the stadium without any large contributions from the city coffers.

[R'Albin]

I drive by the proposed new site on a daily basis on my way in to Uni and I can't fathom the logistics of having it located there at all.

Next to a busy dual carriageway, so dangerous to any fans walking to the ground
The land is entirely saturated owing to a low water table and saturated soils (not a stumbling block, but an expensive drainage operation required
MILES away from the city centre (though easy access for visiting fans from the motorway) - I guess not having it near a pub isn't entirely a bad thing, but there are those who can enjoy a drink and behave at the footie!
The road is horrible as-is for handling large volumes of traffic - despite the ease of access, if they don't put in a decent access route and traffic management system, you'll have cars backing up onto the A90 North and South, as traffic queues around both loops.
Public transport up to that part of Aberdeen isn't fantastic and will need improving
I guess for all of the above, the land should be relatively cheap for Milne to purchase and develop. Pittodrie is in a bad way, with some areas of the ground being very poor for a modern stadium. It's absolutely baltic during the winter, but it's unbelievably convenient for a lot of their fans and I can see them losing a few if they make the distance to the stadium unattainable by foot (as comparison to it's current proximity). In the day when the Scottish Government and Earth foundation charities are trying to encourage us to use our cars less, Aberdeen are almost placing both their own fans and travelling fans in a position whereby a car is the most feasible option!

Aberdeen F.C. were the club who refused to join in with the Universities and City Council by plunging money into the development of the Sport Village, just along from Pittodrie, which has an absolute state of the art indoor training facility and would have been a superb complex for their club to get behind. As such, in some degree of bitterness, I hope the council remembers this and leaves Milne and his board to find the money to buy the stadium without any large contributions from the city coffers.

Agree with this, I guess Milne is too worried about getting the land for Pittodrie to build houses than he is actually worrying about Aberdeen FC.

And I use the training centre every week, it's brilliant, but the roof is *****, it has caved in twice already!

[Albion Hibs]

Agree with this, I guess Milne is too worried about getting the land for Pittodrie to build houses than he is actually worrying about Aberdeen FC.

And I use the training centre every week, it's brilliant, but the roof is *****, it has caved in twice already!

Stewart Milne will have to bid for the land on the market, therefore not definate he will get it. I suspect that the new stadium will unlock some form of commercial / retail / residential development by the site for futher income to the club, whether it be short term i.e. the sale of land to help pay for things / longer term investment as an income stream to the club.

[Kaiser1962]

I am unsure of the exact debt figure the dandy Dons have accumulated, but I can't get this to work! They will still have the large debt of the cost of developing this new stadium, are they hoping this is just going to be less debt that they have at present!?!? :confused:


At the end of June 2010 the debt of AFC was just over £13m.

[hibsfan7]

hear that tynecastle is also up for sale as well
but who in their right mind would buy it

[banchoryhibs]

According to the local papers they have over 80% of the funding in place leaving them about £7m to find.
The funding is coming from the sale of Pittodrie (a figure of £17m has been quoted as the holding company also owns the car parks next to the ground), a mortgage and investment from the directors.
Aberdeen have a couple of very rich people on their board so this is not beyond them.

The irony is that the advert for the sale of the ground highlights how close it is to the center of the city ........ just where you'd want a football ground.

I've not yet spoken with anyone who is keen on moving to Loirston Loch, it's in the wrong place with no amenities and poor transport links. I wonder if the building of the stadium there will unlock more planning permissions.

[MSK]

hear that tynecastle is also up for sale as well
but who in their right mind would buy itIs it ..?

[R'Albin]

According to the local papers they have over 80% of the funding in place leaving them about £7m to find.
The funding is coming from the sale of Pittodrie (a figure of £17m has been quoted as the holding company also owns the car parks next to the ground), a mortgage and investment from the directors.
Aberdeen have a couple of very rich people on their board so this is not beyond them.

The irony is that the advert for the sale of the ground highlights how close it is to the center of the city ........ just where you'd want a football ground.

I've not yet spoken with anyone who is keen on moving to Loirston Loch, it's in the wrong place with no amenities and poor transport links. I wonder if the building of the stadium there will unlock more planning permissions.

It will no doubt be a load of ***** then.

[aberhibsfc]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15188146.stm

I (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/15188146.stm) still dont understand how they can afford a new ground :confused:

Milne's war of attrition finally paying dividends, the fans who would have gone radio rental regards this several seasons ago are now apathetic about the heritage and desperate for anything that MIGHT just free something up for the playing side.

Hearts take note.

[nortonhibby]

Milne's war of attrition finally paying dividends, the fans who would have gone radio rental regards this several seasons ago are now apathetic about the heritage and desperate for anything that MIGHT just free something up for the playing side.

Hearts take note.

nice plan but who in there right mind would buy 350 hooses in Gorgie:na na:

[Kaiser1962]

Milne's war of attrition finally paying dividends, the fans who would have gone radio rental regards this several seasons ago are now apathetic about the heritage and desperate for anything that MIGHT just free something up for the playing side.

Hearts take note.


Are you suggesting this is some sort of Stewart Milne masterplan to get his hands on Pittordrie?