A while back, I bemoaned the fact that Aberdeen were planning to move from Pittodrie - you can watch the lachrymose action replayed here. There are obviously some pretty good arguments against staying at Pittodrie, however, and some of them were outlined in a recent article (02/02/2012) in The New York Times (of all places). It's maybe a sign of the times that the word "old" may be used as a pejorative term. When did that happen? But that's not the point. To highlight the fact that Pittodrie is "crumbling" is also to highlight the deficiencies and/or (very deliberate) negligence of those in control of its upkeep. But not to worry. I'm not here to pick holes. So that's that. There will also be "state of the art" training pitches, of course, which will apparently tempt young players to move to Aberdeen. This is all going to happen really soon and everything will go exactly to plan.
From the BBC: Aberdeen FC's move to a new stadium has been delayed by a year. The club had hoped to move into the new 21,000-seat stadium, at Loirston Loch on the southern outskirts of the city, for the start of the 2013/14 season. However, there have been delays over land ownership and negotiations are continuing. The club said it now hoped to be able to move in time for the start of the 2014/15 season, giving it a further two years at Pittodrie. Negotiations are continuing with developers over the sale of Pittodrie, which already has outline planning permission for 350 homes.
Like the bypass I don't think it will happen. I mean what's the point of a brand spanking new stadium with attendaces struggling to reach 3000? And you're right Psycho, yet more condemnation of successive boards who have done bugger all for the stadium, pretty much since the sad demise of Dick Donald.
The whole thong leaves me cold. (Jesus. I'll just leave that typo in place. I meant "thing", of course, but I'm reluctantly comfortable with the alternative.) Our attendances are a well-deserved joke - says the guy in Ireland who rarely gets to the stadium these days, but still - and the notion of a swanky new stadium seems like a form of self-deluding madness on many levels. We can only really hope that the board have had the foresight to implement a scheme whereby the players have dual contracts and the club avoid paying the bulk of taxes due. If they've been on their game, we should have a nifty wee nest egg tucked away by now and should embark on a very brazen, very public spending spree. Horrible weather today, ER, summer is a thing of the past.
