Aberdeen Football Club bosses have confirmed they are setting aside an extra million pounds to complete their training facilities at the new Kingsford Stadium.
Club chairman Stewart Milne said the budget for the pitches and academy had been increased from around £10.5 million to £11.5 million with extra investment for new pitches designed to rival those of the English premier league.
Money has also been set aside for the impending legal challenge on the development – although the club did not reveal how much.
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The entire cost of the Kingsford plan, which would be built on the city’s outskirts between Westhill and Kingswells, has been set at £50 million.
But the club face a legal challenge from the No to Kingsford (NKS) campaigners who have highlighted a number of concerns over the development’s impact on the environment, local infrastructure and more.
The organisation believes the city council “failed in its duty” to properly determine the application and launched a judicial review which will be considered at the Court of Session.
A procedural hearing will be held on December 19 before the substantive hearing between January 29 and 31.
The outcome will not be known for three months after that hearing. If the judges rule the challenge to overturn the council’s decision unsuccessful, stadium construction could begin immediately.
Last night a spokeswoman for the club said it is “well on its way to meeting its fund-raising targets” for this community sports centre and training facilities stage of the £50 million plan.
Dons chairman Stewart Milne said the “extra investment” would bring the facilities up to English premier league standards
He said: “We’re making further investment to ensure we deliver the best possible facilities with the highest design and technical specifications.
“This includes additional grass pitches for the community, an upgraded spec for the 3G pitches, complete with irrigation, and comparable with the new National Training Centre in Edinburgh, and a hybrid surface with undersoil heating on one of the professional pitches, equivalent to what is being installed by the top clubs in England.
“The extra budget also builds in provision for the costs which may be incurred as a result of the legal challenge.”
