January 24 – Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen look to be getting closer to approval for a new £50 million stadium and training complex to be built in the Kingsford area of the city.
Last October the plans were put on hold after objections were made to the planning officers at Aberdeen City Council. Now the planning department is reportedly recommending the council back the stadium at a meeting next week.
Objections made were over traffic congestion and loss of green belt land. Just over half of residents were found to be in favour of the development. A recent impact report on the plans said that “the proposal would have significant public benefits for the region – both economic and social.”
The stadium and training ground could create more than 400 jobs and bring millions of pounds into the local economy.
Aberdeen FC chairman Stewart Milne said: “We are very pleased that the planners are recommending approval of our planning application.” The target opening date for a new stadium is for the 2020 season.
To help overcome local objections it was recommended that the club would contribute money towards establishing “core paths”, and that a public transport steering group would be set up.
The planning report said: “It is considered that the proposal would have significant public benefits for the region – both economic and social.”
“Remaining at Pittodrie could present significant economic challenges in terms of the increased refurbishment costs this would involve and the difficulty in attracting additional major sporting events to the stadium. If this materialised, in turn it would have a negative impact on the reputation of Aberdeen city to compete for new and large scale events to the region that in turn contribute to the tourism/leisure objectives in the regional economic strategy,” said the planning department.
Aberdeen are currently in a European qualification place in second in the SPFL table, 9 points behind Celtic and three ahead of Rangers.
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