Pittodrie for sale as club plans move to outskirts

PITTODRIE Stadium, the home of Aberdeen Football Club since 1903, is going on sale as part of a plan to move to a new arena at Loirston Loch on the outskirts of the city.

It will be marketed through property consultant CBRE in a major step on the road to the Dons’ relocation to a new £38 million home at Altens.

A club spokesman said: “The site consists of Pittodrie Stadium, together with two car parks accessed off Pittodrie Street and Golf Road.

“Aberdeen City Council granted planning in principle to a masterplan for the residential redevelopment site in April 2011. The development will comprise of a total of 350 residential units, consisting of 260 town houses and 90 apartments.”

Derren McRae, associate director of CBRE’s Aberdeen office, said: “Aberdeen continues to benefit from a buoyant local economy, and we are witnessing a strong level of demand.

“Given the site’s prime location in the city we anticipate keen developer interest from both a local and national level.”

Duncan Fraser, club chief executive, said it was aiming to move to its new home in time for the 2013-14 season.

He said: “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. The other elements are the raising of fresh equity and securing a mortgage.”

“To that end, the major shareholders remain totally committed to contributing additional equity and … we would hope that the sale value of Pittodrie together with the naming rights and a secured mortgage will mean that we will be more than 80 per cent there in terms of raising the £38m required for our new home.”

He added: “I am confident the sale of Pittodrie will attract interest from both national and local developers. ”