Why tonight's Dundee derby at Dens Park could prove historic amid unanswered questions over stadium move

There's always something at stake when Dundee United visit Dens Park on Dundee derby duty. And that's certainly the case tonight in the latest meeting between the sides in a fixture dating back to 1925.

Dens Park in the foreground, with Tannadice beyond: The city of Dundee could lose its distinction of having two football grounds on the same street (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

It might not be an actual cup final, as was the case in 1980 when the teams vied to lift the League Cup. The Scottish title does not hinge on the outcome, as it did in 1983. And, unlike the last time Dens Park hosted a top flight derby, one of the sides are not desperately seeking to avoid suffering relegation at the home of their fiercest rivals.

But the clash, rescheduled from a month ago, is of potentially huge significance. It might even be the most momentous derby ever played at Dens Park for the simple reason that it could stand at the last to be staged at the venerable stadium.

It doesn’t require an enormous leap of imagination to propose a scenario where both sides are lodged in different halves of the league table when the split comes in April (Dundee are currently 11th, United seventh). That would mean no fourth derby of the season and Dundee being denied a second lucrative derby. And who knows when the next chance will come if it comes at all.

The main stand at Dens Park recently celebrated its centenary - it is one of only ten surviving Archibald Leitch-designed stands in Britain.

The Dens Park side are in the relegation mix and history suggests they are prone to slipping through the trap door – they are the most relegated top tier club since 1975's league reconstruction.

Their stadium’s prospect of survival is similarly up in the air. It remains standing – if only just – after the worst Storm Malik could throw at it. Images of damage sustained by parts of the ground circulated on social media yesterday though as one supporter remarked with reference to the rundown aspect of the stadium: “will anyone even notice?”

Indeed, it is impossible for any visitor to fail to observe how much Dens Park has been neglected in recent years. The club seem prepared to do only the bare minimum to keep the stadium operational amid long-held plans to move to a new home at Camperdown Park. A 29-acre site was purchased five years ago by club owners Tim Keyes and John Nelms in the name of a company called Dark Blue Property Holdings Ltd.

A project manager charged with delivering the proposal, which includes a crematorium as well as a 15,000-capacity stadium, was appointed last summer. Little else about the progress of the project is publicly known though no fresh planning applications have been lodged.

Dundee manager James McPake leads his players down to Tannadice for the first derby of the season in August. This practice of walking to the game could soon be a thing of the past if Dundee leave Dens Park (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Some details emerged at a public discussion held at Dundee Ice Arena shortly before the first planning application was submitted in 2017. For example, the current handsome boardroom at Dens will be recreated as much as is practical at the new stadium. The centre circle will also be transplanted.

Nelms reaffirmed the owners’ commitment to the project after Dundee secured promotion to the Premiership in May. However, precious little information surfaced until late last year when Keyes and Nelms were reported to be in negotiations to purchase Dens Park. Dundee have been renting their ground since its sale to local businessman John Bennett in 2009 as the club sought to relieve financial pressure that eventually led to a second spell in administration.

It is understood that a deal with Bennett is close to being agreed. Such news would normally be the cause of celebration. In a curious twist, the prospect of Dens Park being bought from a former Dundee United director by the owners of Dundee is instead prompting concern rather than delight among some supporters.

It was suggested that Nelms and Keyes would only be buying back the stadium so they can immediately sell it to a property company to help finance the move to Camperdown Park. However, there are real fears that this would be a major gamble. There are fears Dundee could be caught in a no-man’s land where Dens Park has already been sold and the Camperdown project has not been completed – or, worse, has collapsed – with the club committed to sharing a stadium elsewhere. St Johnstone and Arbroath have been mooted.

The Dee4Life Trust wrote to the club in November to express concern about speculation regarding Dens Park’s future amid groundshare rumours. The letter cited the case of Clydebank’s nomadic existence prior to their demise. No answers have been forthcoming to date.

Bennett’s stipulation that the ground’s primary use remains for football-reasons brought comfort to fans and Archibald Leitch devotees alike. On the matter of Dundee derbies, the Leitch-designed North stand has a unique claim: it has witnessed every one of them. Opened in September 1921, the distinctive structure shaped like a jack-knifed juggernaut celebrated its centenary last year.

The Scotsman has learned of a local initiative to have Dens Park listed by Historic Environment Scotland although this shouldn’t be interpreted as a crusade to save the stadium. It would simply ensure an appropriate record of the stadium and its history exists online should the wrecking ball swing. Ten Leitch-designed stands currently survive although one, at Everton’s Goodison Park, is on death row.

It is a delicate and divisive subject. Some Dundee fans are tired of Dens and welcome the promise of modern facilities though two relatively modern stands at either end of the stadium could still be the basis of a revamped stadium. But the back of the South Enclosure has long been an eye sore.

Fans are recruited from time to time to help tidy up the surrounding area but with so little dialogue from the top at Dens, why should they put their backs out for seemingly so little appreciation.

One seemingly obvious conclusion is that the ground is being rundown deliberately to help ease the pain of departure when and if that day comes. Whatever happens tonight, remember the date. The 93rd competitive Dundee derby held at Dens Park could prove historic.

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