Sea-facing Pittodrie is not the first place you might think to head for a heat on a winter’s night.
The century-old stadium, open to winds coming in off the North Sea, can get bitterly cold.
And yet, the Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT) believes the home of the Dons should be a beacon of warmth for those struggling with the cost of fuel.
If not at Pittodrie, where usable space is limited, then chief executive Liz Bowie is eager to offer that kindness at its successor.
Club bosses have made the economic case for a new beach stadium. But they have coupled it with the expansion of the work of its award-winning partner charity.
Framing the proposals as being a community ground, they have promised health, wellbeing and educational benefits if the arena is given the go-ahead.
In our interview, Liz also details:
- How she took inspiration from a scouting mission to an English ground
- Why “freezing cold” Pittodrie limits the club’s charitable aims
- And how having to build at Kingsford would be similarly unhelpful
More than warm words from Aberdeen FC Community Trust if new stadium goes ahead
That there may not be space at Pittodrie this winter to offer a warm place for those struggling seems a frustration for Liz.
She tells The P&J: “Sadly, there will be a need. And these are the kind of things a community trust should be able to do.”
Constraints at the home of the Dons, metres from the proposed site of its £80 million replacement, mean she is unsure what her charity can offer.
The club badge helps AFCCT with outreach and getting people through the door.
Particularly within men’s mental health – and the trust’s Changing Rooms programme – the stadium has removed stigma about coming for help.
And Liz hopes it could do the same with people in financial straits.
“I am not sure what will happen in the coming months at Pittodrie,” she adds.
“But I think a new stadium would lend itself to that sort of access.
“There is kind of a hook with the draw of the badge and the passion for Aberdeen FC. People want to come into the stadium.
“I do think, if someone is struggling financially, there is something quite neutral about coming to a football stadium.
“You don’t have to say you are going to a warm space. You’re going to Pittodrie or the new community stadium.”
The stadium remains on the drawing board, but the need for warm banks exists now. Have a look at our list of places offering help here.
Brentford Community Stadium: AFCCT chief’s pilgrimage to English top-flight club
The club has been drawing inspiration from other clubs around Europe.
Just now the project seems a bit of a pinboard, a collage of pieces cut out from some stadia catalogue or magazine.
But there is one example that club chiefs seem most interested in using as a blueprint: Brentford Community Stadium.
Liz travelled to the West London ground this spring, telling us: “It was the club I most wanted to go and see.”
The 20,000-seater is in a built-up area, surrounded by housing.
Despite the compact footprint, the club has expanded community programming, making the most of the green space nearby.
Employability, education and health and fitness has been boosted as a result.
Much like Liz’s warm bank plans, Brentford is opening up its doors on non-matchdays.
The latest proposal is for a drop-in community cafe, giving people space to come in and be together.
“We don’t have that here,” Liz admits.
New stadium would allow Aberdeen FC Community Trust to grow
Space for a warm bank is one option. But more room at a new ground – free of the limiting Richard Donald Stand pillars – would allow the trust to flourish in other ways too.
That “freezing cold” space inside the double-decker beach-end stand is unusable for playing football and other games to help people’s health.
Current offices at Pittodrie are upstairs and inaccessible to some.
The beach stadium could offer the trust its own front door too.
Liz hopes that would make her organisation seem more welcoming and approachable, insisting “it’s not an ego thing”.
“If we are talking about community, we are already excluding a significant proportion because of the space at Pittodrie,” she tells us.
“We are great at what we do but there are other people doing wonderful work that we would like space to partner with to expand the offering for the community.”
It’s all about location, location, location for Aberdeen FC Community Trust
Working with young people and the elderly, the beachfront location is important to Liz.
But club chairman Dave Cormack has warned he could still move the Dons to a stadium at Kingsford if Aberdeen City Council doesn’t match his ambitions.
Working with the young and old – some with health issues – the city centre location, with housing roundabout, is key for the trust’s chief.
She adds: “Cormack Park is a fabulous facility. But it is difficult to get to for people reliant on public transport.
“A significant proportion of people we work with don’t have their own transport.”
Predicting a £25m saving if the club proceeded with the already-approved Kingsford, Mr Cormack told The P&J: “We think we could build it for less out there.”
“We would put pillars in the stands, and lose open space for the community.”
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