Breaking News - New Stadium and Training Facilities

[curvasud]

That's a visually great stadium, loving the terracing. Is that allowed in the sanitised UK. Redèvelop Pittodrie to a similar set up.

It's entirely legal in Scotland.

UEFA require temporary seating.

[redstarfk]

That's a visually great stadium, loving the terracing. Is that allowed in the sanitised UK. Redèvelop Pittodrie to a similar set up.

Looks like it's only half done to me.

[curvasud]

The thing that people still don't get is that banks are no longer lending to Scottish football clubs having had their fingers burnt so many times (including by us to the tune of a £10M loss to the Bank of Scotland). Just stop and reflect for a minute what sort of security a bank gets by lending a huge sum to us to build a football stadium. If we go into administration due to that mountain of debt how does the bank get its money bank? It's not like lending to you to buy a house where there are plenty of buyers to help get their money back if you default on your mortgage. There is only one possible buyer if AFC go bust given there is no planning permission for houses on the land and that is whatever successor club to AFC and they won't be paying much to take over the stadium. I know that's all doomsday scenario stuff but that's how a bank will be looking at any possible loan to AFC when they apply their risk assessment procedures. The bank will provide a modest loan at most (£5M maximum I would guess).

I'm going to keep saying it until I bore everyone stiff and that is the only way the stadium gets built is if the majority of the funding is provided by Milne and/or Cormack and I for one won't be holding my breath for that to happen.

So how much do you think we can't find?

£40m
Minus Pittodrie = £24.75m
Minus your bank loan = £19.75m (club estimate would make it £17.75m)
How much do you think a share issue will raise?
How much from sponsorships, debentures?
How much funnelled from player sales or whatever?
And therefore how much will Cormack or other rich locals have to dip into their foundations? Is that figure completely unfeasible?

[thebeachend]

Looks like it's only half done to me.

Haha, I can see that to. Liking the standing areas.

[Jussi]

Looks like it's only half done to me.

Probably built by Milne GmbH

[redstarfk]

Haha, I can see that to. Liking the standing areas.

Aye , some proper old-style terracing , should be part of the plans , whether that's re-developing Pittodrie (my preference) or at Kingsford.

And nae that safe-standing pish. Just proper terracing.

[Aldo1983]

The club won't die if/when we move. It'll just be really pish.

[Red Zone]

So how much do you think we can't find?

£40m
Minus Pittodrie = £24.75m
Minus your bank loan = £19.75m (club estimate would make it £17.75m)
How much do you think a share issue will raise?
How much from sponsorships, debentures?
How much funnelled from player sales or whatever?
And therefore how much will Cormack or other rich locals have to dip into their foundations? Is that figure completely unfeasible?

First thing's first, I doubt very much it will be built for £40M (a 2017 estimate for a project that will be built in 2020 or 2021) so factor in construction cost inflation. Plus for those of us involved in the oil industry - how many projects are completed on budget? alternatively look at all major projects in Aberdeen recently - how many are built on time and on budget?

Anyway I will park my significant doubts and play along with the club's £40M estimate.

Player sales - we will sell McKenna (I would guess £6M-£7M perhaps in Jan, certainly by next Summer) but the majority of that will be used to plug the gap to complete the training facilities (according to the club statement yesterday we have raised just over half of the £10M needed). I can't think of any other players we will sell in the next two to three years that would raise significant sums of money. Shinnie will go for next to nothing or nothing at all. Doubt we will sell Anderson/Campbell/Ferguson in next two years. Lewis - if someone was going to buy him for series money would have happened by now I think

Sponsorships/Naming rights - I have said before and will repeat, that will be paid over a number of years to maximise revenue

Debentures - for what exactly? - Murrayfield debentures guarantees a ticket in a sold out stadium - likewise Hampden for cup finals, internationals etc. What does a debenture buy you that a season ticket doesn't at Kingsford? so who will buy?

That then brings us back to the £20M gap (more if I am right on cost of stadium). Who is buying these shares? Certainly not any financial institutions as no money to be made in Scottish football. The ordinary fans? - doubt anyone will buy shares to any great extent as many already own shares and many others don't want to move anyway. Richer fans excluding Milne/Cormack e.g. Mike Loggie? Probably but would imagine it will be small millions as what do they get by being minority shareholders (and many already are).

Let me be generous and say we raise £5M from various sources, that in my mind brings us back to Milne/Cormack as having to fund circa £15M plus any construction overspend and I just don't see that happening given that Milne (a man worth more than £200Million) has unbelievably not put a single penny into the training facilities he says that he has been desperate to build for 20+ years

[redday1903]

First thing's first, I doubt very much it will be built for £40M (a 2017 estimate for a project that will be built in 2020 or 2021) so factor in construction cost inflation. Plus for those of us involved in the oil industry - how many projects are completed on budget? alternatively look at all major projects in Aberdeen recently - how many are built on time and on budget?

Anyway I will park my significant doubts and play along with the club's £40M estimate.

Player sales - we will sell McKenna (I would guess £6M-£7M perhaps in Jan, certainly by next Summer) but the majority of that will be used to plug the gap to complete the training facilities (according to the club statement yesterday we have raised just over half of the £10M needed). I can't think of any other players we will sell in the next two to three years that would raise significant sums of money. Shinnie will go for next to nothing or nothing at all. Doubt we will sell Anderson/Campbell/Ferguson in next two years. Lewis - if someone was going to buy him for series money would have happened by now I think

Sponsorships/Naming rights - I have said before and will repeat, that will be paid over a number of years to maximise revenue

Debentures - for what exactly? - Murrayfield debentures guarantees a ticket in a sold out stadium - likewise Hampden for cup finals, internationals etc. What does a debenture buy you that a season ticket doesn't at Kingsford? so who will buy?

That then brings us back to the £20M gap (more if I am right on cost of stadium). Who is buying these shares? Certainly not any financial institutions as no money to be made in Scottish football. The ordinary fans? - doubt anyone will buy shares to any great extent as many already own shares and many others don't want to move anyway. Richer fans excluding Milne/Cormack e.g. Mike Loggie? Probably but would imagine it will be small millions as what do they get by being minority shareholders (and many already are).

Let me be generous and say we raise £5M from various sources, that in my mind brings us back to Milne/Cormack as having to fund circa £15M plus any construction overspend and I just don't see that happening given that Milne (a man worth more than £200Million) has unbelievably not put a single penny into the training facilities he says that he has been desperate to build for 20+ years

Excellent post. And one thing you're absolutely correct about is that the building costs of a decent stadium will be well in excess of 40m. To get something half decent they'll need to spend north of 70m plus.

For 40 million you'll get a top of the range McDiarmid Park

[Aldo1983]

Maybe Milne is waiting to pump his own money into the new stadium?