Aberdeen FC chairman, Dave Cormack, and chief executive, Alan Burrows, have been invited to the Town House today (12 December) to meet with Council Leaders following recent media coverage about a new community stadium.
The Club will ask the Co-Leaders to commit to considering this offer which comes six years after Aberdeen City Council approached the Club to stay in the city centre.
It’s been five years since discussions took place about the Club being the anchor tenant for an Aberdeen City Council led regeneration project for the beachfront, where the Club would be the catalyst to attract and deliver best-in-class sports and leisure facilities, new events and socio-economic impact for the whole city region. As the lead tenant, the Club would lease and operate the Community Stadium over a 99-year period, be responsible for its upkeep and attract other tenants to generate further revenues.
As a partner in an Aberdeen City Council led multi-sports, community stadium and leisure complex, the Club will:
Contribute £100m in new revenues to the Council
Deliver a £3.2billion boost to the local economy
Safe-guard and create 1,100 jobs
Commit to securing private sector investment
Dave Cormack said: “Aberdeen stands on a precipice as uncertainty over our energy future grows. We must invest in capital projects which secure our prosperity, create jobs and wealth and, more importantly, make companies and people who no longer need to be here, want to be here.
“This meeting is crunch time. The Co-leaders cannot keep kicking the can down the road. We will be making a clear and compelling offer and asking the Co-leaders if they have the vision and ambition to get after a project that will give a much-needed boost to the economy at such a crucial time or whether they are resigned to simply managing the decline of Aberdeen City.
“We must come out of this meeting with a decision on whether, together, we drive this forward or leave it until the next local elections for others to pick up the baton – by which time it may be too late.
“Our offer is a win:win:win where the city and its citizens benefit, the Council benefits and the Club benefits.
“Labour and Conservative Councillors have indicated a willingness to work with the SNP and Lib Dems to deliver this project. With the political will, we can all work together to present a compelling case for funding to UK and Scottish Governments, as well as the private sector.
“With UK and/or Scottish Government funding and local authority capital borrowing, combined with investment from the private sector, including tens of millions in rent and rates from the Club, there is no reason this project cannot be delivered for the benefit of the region’s long-term prosperity.”
