A new £300 million “mega-project” – being compared to the planned redevelopment of Old Trafford – has been unveiled for Aberdeen beach.
Labour councillors are today expected to lift the curtain on a plan to pump money into the stalling seafront regeneration, including a new stadium for Aberdeen FC and new public leisure facilities.
It would also take in work to revive George Street, if it were ever to come to fruition.
But they are in opposition in the Town House chamber, with party sources acknowledging they’re destined to lose this vote.
They are hoping to keep the pledge alive as a way of kickstarting their election campaign for 2027, though.
Last night Aberdeen FC chiefs welcomed the ambition, hailing the promise as a way of attracting huge private investment in the beachfront facelift.
Aberdeen FC stadium talks no further forward
Talks between Aberdeen City Council and the football club have broken down over who should foot the multi-million-pound bill for detailed studies into a Pittodrie replacement.
Club bosses have reiterated time and again that it would be “more than a football stadium,” tied to community facilities and replacement leisure venues too.
On top of that, they predict a £1 billion economic boost, that the development is forecast to provide the city over its 50-year lifespan.
Old Trafford regeneration a ‘shining example’ for Aberdeen to follow
Now Labour are looking to break the deadlock – but only if they grasp control of the council in a couple of years’ time.
They’re looking to the red side of Greater Manchester for a blueprint, where mayor Andy Burnham says a new or revamped Old Trafford would make the city a “global capital of football”.
Manchester United could ultimately do up their historic home to fit in 87,000 supporters – or build a new 100,000-capacity ground.
Though Manchester United would pay for whatever option is chosen, the project is tipped to receive public funding as the UK Government and Trafford Council have committed cash to regenerating the area around the stadium.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves championed the Old Trafford project as “a shining example” of the government’s plans to promote economic growth, though some of her National Wealth Fund could soon be rediverted to defence spending.
Aberdeen Labour: ‘This will see beach masterplan become a reality’
And Aberdeen Labour leader M Tauqeer Malik told The P&J that’s something he’d look to emulate.
He said: “The £300m to kick start regeneration around Pittodrie will be a clear public sector/private sector collaborative project that will see the beach masterplan become a reality.”
Aberdeen FC chairman Dave Cormack has previously bemoaned a lack of financial support, saying that in America this would be celebrated with signs up declaring such construction projects as “your taxpayer money at work”.
Earlier this week, Aberdeen Conservative group leader Richard Brooks urged the SNP and Lib Dems to find the £4m needed to progress the work, but stopped short of making a £300m pledge in his “common sense” budget.
‘We will work out how to fund Aberdeen FC’s new stadium’
Later phases of the beach revamp were shelved last year, when the council’s £150m war chest was found to be about £290m short of covering all the costs.
Despite the 2025-26 financial year being the first Aberdeen City Council’s gross borrowing will breach £2bn, Mr Malik is unable to confirm where the money would be coming from.
“We have to work out how we will fund it,” he said.
“I am sure we will work it out with the UK Government and that we would get some support from its economic growth programme.
“But we have to do something for the city, we have to move forward with a new project and new plan as the SNP has no vision for the city.
“When we were in charge, we did it: Teca, Marischal Square, these kind of mega-projects are paying off now and this would be exactly the same.
“We would work with Aberdeen FC on the new stadium and facilities at the beach.”
Labour accused of plucking Pittodrie and George Street figure ‘out of the air’
But the lack of certainty of the source of the cheque Aberdeen City Council can’t cash for at least three years has led to claims it’s all electioneering.
SNP finance convener Alex McLellan accused the opposition of “plucking the figure out of the air”.
“I don’t think it’s serious or thought through,” he told us in the Town House press gallery, above the calm of the empty council chamber.
“They’ve not actually told us which parts of that they would do, or what the costs would be, or what the economic benefit of what they propose to do would be.
“We need to be really clear that this is just Labour Party trying to try to get their manifesto pledges for the next election in early.
“We have been quite clear that we’re delivering a transformational change in the city centre – and, you know, we’re actually delivering them.
“These projects will be completed in the next 12 to 18 months, and we will be putting in place finance for the next phase of that, in Union Street East, as well.
“But these things have to be properly financed and properly thought through.”
Aberdeen FC: ‘Stadium requires political will’
With little interest in political football, Aberdeen FC hasn’t changed its position on the stalemate with the council.
The club has already sunk £5m into plans for stadiums at three sites across the city, most recently on the western outskirts at Cormack Park at Kingsford.
Chief executive Alan Burrows told us last night: “Delivering such a transformational project requires ambition but also the political will.
“We will only commit to investing further if there are firm plans with widespread political support.”
Aberdeen FC ‘remains committed’ to beach stadium talks
But, he added: “We remain committed to working with Aberdeen City Council on an integrated leisure complex and community stadium at the beach.
“An independent economic impact study, commissioned jointly by the club and the council, revealed that a community stadium with associated leisure facilities would deliver more than £1bn plus into the local economy over fifty years.
“It would create and safe-guard jobs, as well as delivering a highly attractive destination at the beach that would serve our citizens and visitors to the city alike.
“This report underlined our belief that an anchor project is needed to be the catalyst for wider regeneration.
“To date, the plans for the beachfront have been scaled back and, without a centrepiece that stimulates economic activity, there is unlikely to be any return on the capital investment, only an increase in operational expenditure.
“We therefore welcome Labour’s stated ambition to invest capital funding that would, in turn, attract private investment along with the club’s share of the stadium costs to deliver a major piece of infrastructure that would enable the city to attract and retain the companies and people it needs to be at the forefront of the energy transition.”
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