Pittodrie Stadium

Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they were formed in 1903. Prior to then, the ground hosted the original Aberdeen F.C. from 1899 until the merger that created the present club.

Pittodrie Stadium
Pittodrie
View from Broad Hill towards the stadium
Pittodrie Stadium
Location in Aberdeen
LocationPittodrie Street, Aberdeen, Scotland
Coordinates57°09′33″N 2°05′20″W
OwnerAberdeen F.C.
Capacity20,866 (Football)[1]
Field size109 yd × 72 yd (100 m × 66 m)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Broke ground1899
Opened2 September 1899
Renovated1993 (Richard Donald Stand opened)
Construction costGB£4.5 million (Richard Donald stand)
Tenants
Aberdeen F.C.
(1899–1903)
Aberdeen F.C.
(1903–present)
Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C.
(2004–2005)

With a seating capacity of 20,866;[1] Pittodrie is the fourth largest stadium in the SPFL and the largest stadium in Scotland outside the Central Belt. Pittodrie has been the location of a number of firsts in the field of stadium design, including the invention of the dugout, and in 1978 became one of the first all-seater stadia in the United Kingdom.[2]

As of November 2017, Pittodrie has hosted fifteen matches involving the Scotland national team. The ground has also staged rugby union, with four Scotland international fixtures being held there including a match against the Barbarians.[3] In club football, Inverness Caledonian Thistle temporarily shared Pittodrie during part of the 2004–05 season.

History

The original Aberdeen football club was formed in 1881. They played at various venues within the city, until a former dung hill for police horses was cleared and readied for football in 1899.[4] The land was leased from Mr Knight Erskine of Pittodrie,[4] with an agreement to construct a terrace on what is now the site of the Richard Donald Stand. The first game, a 7–1 win over Dumbarton, was played on 2 September 1899.[4] The club was merged on 18 April 1903 with two other local clubs, Victoria United and Orion, to form Aberdeen FC.[4] 8000 spectators turned up to watch the new Aberdeen FC play its first game at Pittodrie, a 1–1 draw in the Northern League against Stenhousemuir on 15 August 1903.[4] The club joined the Scottish Football League in 1904.[4]

Increasing popularity of the team and rising attendances led to major developments at Pittodrie in the 1920s. The club purchased the ground, which they had been leasing, with the final payment made on 1 December 1920. The Main Stand, where the club offices, dressing rooms and trophy room are located, was constructed in 1925.[4] This was partly funded by the sale of Alex Jackson to Huddersfield Town.[4] Also in the 1920s, the dugout was introduced to football by Aberdeen coach Donald Colman, who was interested in sitting lower to the pitch in order to inspect the players' footwork.[4][5]

Old Beach End stand, which was replaced by the Richard Donald Stand in 1993.

The club won its first major trophy in 1947, when it won the Scottish Cup. With increased success came more additions to Pittodrie. The record attendance occurred on 13 March 1954, when 45,061 spectators turned up for a Scottish Cup match against Hearts. Floodlights were introduced at Pittodrie on 21 October 1959, when English league side Luton Town were beaten 3–2 in a friendly. By 1 August 1968, the Main Stand had become all-seated as part of a £100,000 improvement of the ground. This coincided with a change of name from Pittodrie Park to Pittodrie Stadium.[4] On 6 February 1971, a fire destroyed part of the Main Stand, and gutted the dressing rooms and club offices. The Scottish Cup trophy, which was held by Aberdeen at the time, had to be rescued by firemen.

In 1978, Pittodrie became the second all-seated stadium in Great Britain, after the south terracing was fitted with bench style seating.[4] (Clydebank had done something similar two years before as a response to being promoted to the Premier Division). This improvement pre-dated the Taylor Report on British football grounds by a decade and coincided with a distinct upturn in the fortunes of the home team, now managed by Alex Ferguson. The south side became the South Stand in 1980, following the installation of a cantilever roof which covered most of the seats.[4] A year later, the benches were replaced by individual seats.[4]

Both during the subsequent run in the 1980s and at numerous other times over the century the stadium has been in operation, there have been many memorable nights for the local fans. However, Pittodrie's greatest night is generally regarded as 16 March 1983. Aberdeen fought back from 2–1 down in a European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final second leg tie against Bayern Munich to win 3–2. A full house witnessed this victory, which took the Dons through to the semi-finals, and they went on to win the trophy by defeating Real Madrid in the final. The club installed 24 executive boxes in the Main Stand, and built a new roof over the Merkland Road End in 1985.[6] Undersoil heating was installed in 1987.[6]

Richard Donald Stand on a match day

The most recent development of the stadium came in the 1992-93 season when the Beach End stand on the east side of the ground was demolished, with the new Richard Donald stand - named after the club's long serving chairman - constructed in its place. On 1 August 1993, the new stand was opened with a League Cup tie against Clydebank. The official opening was carried out later in 1993 by Princess Anne. It is currently the only two tier stand in the stadium. The stadium has remained relatively unchanged since then, although some minor improvements, such as the introduction of an electronic stadium entry system for the 2006–07 season, have been carried out.

The site of the stadium is only 550 yards away from the North Sea, and with only the King's Links golf course between the stadium and the beach, the ground is one of the coldest football grounds in Britain.

As a result of a ground sharing agreement, Pittodrie was used by Inverness Caledonian Thistle for their home matches during the early part of the 2004–05 season. This was required because Inverness CT's own Caledonian Stadium did not meet the requirements for entry into the Scottish Premier League until improvements were carried out and the seating capacity increased. In 2005 the stadium size criterion for entry to the SPL was reduced to 6,000, thereby allowing Inverness Caledonian Thistle to return to their home stadium partway during the season.

In March 2020 the club announced plans to reduce the operational capacity of Pittodrie to 15,500.[7]

Pittodrie Stadium from the away section of the South Stand.

Structure and facilities

Map of the four stands
Rear view of the Dick Donald Stand
Detail of the granite façade of the Merkland Stand

The Main Stand was the original grandstand within the ground, and contains much of the staff and offices responsible for the day-to-day running of the stadium, from the boot room to the trophy room. Teams enter the pitch from a tunnel to the extreme left of this stand. As befits a main stand, this section of the ground includes both padded seating for club officials and VIPs, and several executive boxes at the rear. There are a number of pillars running along this stand, supporting the roof. As a consequence, views in some places are restricted. It remains, however, the most expensive stand from which to watch matches. To the east of the Main Stand is the club shop, which doubles as a ticket office.

The Richard Donald Stand is named after former club chairman Dick Donald. Completed in 1993, it houses over 6,000 fans, although this is a reduction on its Beach End predecessor. It is a cantilever construction with two tiers and a row of twelve executive boxes in between. It is commonly referred to as simply the "RDS". It was built by the present chairman's construction firm, the Stewart Milne Group, at a cost of £4.5 million. Within this stand are a number of banqueting rooms, which are used for corporate hospitality and outside bookings.

Taking its name from the street behind it, the Merkland Stand (also known as 'the Paddock' or 'King Street End') sits behind the goal, on the west of the ground. The Merkland is Aberdeen F.C.'s family stand, with reduced prices for under-twelves and families. There is also a section for disabled supporters near the pitch. The stand itself is a covered enclosure, with two pillars supporting the roof. The entrance to the stand is dominated by a façade constructed from granite, a local stone.

Named simply after its position within the ground, the South Stand was originally an undeveloped embankment which was later remodelled as a standing terrace. Seating and a cantilever roof were later added, although some of the 8,400 seats remain uncovered. Since 1993, the easternmost part of the stand has been used to house away fans. Sections P, Q and R are designated for this purpose. The television gantry and commentary positions are housed in this stand.

Future developments

Despite improvements and its ground-breaking past, it appears that the future of Pittodrie as a football stadium is uncertain. Plans are in action for the club to move to a New Aberdeen Stadium. The principle of a move, rather than a redevelopment of Pittodrie, has already been recommended by Aberdeen City Council. An earlier plan to move to the edge of the city, which corresponded with Scotland's failed joint bid for the Euro 2008 tournament, has been scrapped.

In June 2006, the club's two major shareholders agreed a plan to sell the land on which the stadium sits to clear some of the club's debt.[8]

Other uses

Since its construction, there have been fifteen Scotland international matches staged at Pittodrie. Normally the national team's home matches are played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, but during times of redevelopment of the national stadium, or matches which are expected to draw a low crowd, the Scottish Football Association has made use of other stadia in the country. Playing at Pittodrie, Scotland have won ten matches, drawn two and lost three. The most recent was a 10 loss to Netherlands on 9 November 2017.[9]

3 February 1900 Scotland  5 – 2  Wales 1900 British Home Championship
Bell  2'
D. Wilson  7', 35'
Hamilton  37'
Smith  60'
T.D. Parry
W.T. Butler
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: C.E. Sutcliffe (England)
12 February 1921 Scotland  2 – 1  Wales 1921 British Home Championship
Wilson  11', 46' D.J. Collier Attendance: 20,824
Referee: J. Mason (England)
21 November 1935 Scotland  3 – 2  Wales 1936 British Home Championship
Duncan  23'
C.E. Napier  46', 85'
C. Phillips  72'
D.J. Astley  88'
Attendance: 26,334
Referee: S. Thompson (Northern Ireland)
10 November 1937 Scotland  1 – 1  Ireland 1938 British Home Championship
Smith  48' P. Doherty Attendance: 21,878
Referee: A.J. Jewell (England)
10 November 1971 Scotland  1 – 0  Belgium 1972 European Championship qualifier
O'Hare  5' Attendance: 36,500
Referee: Bostrom (Sweden)
16 May 1990 Scotland  1 – 3  Egypt Friendly match
McCoist  73' Youssef  15'
Hassan  28'
Hamid  83'
Attendance: 23,000
Referee: Pedersen (Norway)
2 June 1993 Scotland  3 – 1  Estonia 1994 World Cup qualifier
McClair  16'
Nevin  27', 72' (pen.)
Bragin  57' Attendance: 14,307
Referee: Ouzounov (Bulgaria)
8 September 1993 Scotland  1 – 1   Switzerland 1994 World Cup qualifier
Collins  50' Bregy  69' (pen.) Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Quiniou (France)
7 September 1997 Scotland  4 – 1  Belarus 1998 World Cup qualifier
Gallacher  7', 58'
Hopkin  54', 88'
Katchouro  74' (pen.) Attendance: 20,160
Referee: van der Ende (Netherlands)
14 October 1998 Scotland  2 – 1  Faroe Islands 2000 European Championship qualifier
Dodds  21'
Burley  45'
Petersen  86' (pen.) Attendance: 18,517
Referee: Kapitanis (Cyprus)
17 April 2002 Scotland  1 – 2  Nigeria Friendly match
17:45 Dailly  7' Report Aghahowa  40', 69' Attendance: 20,465
Referee: Øvrebø (Norway)
22 August 2007 Scotland  1 – 0  South Africa Friendly match
20:00 Boyd  71' Report Attendance: 13,723
Referee: Atkinson (England)
16 November 2010 Scotland  3 – 0  Faroe Islands Friendly match
20:00 Wilson  24'
Commons  31'
Mackie  45'
Report Attendance: 15,064
Referee: van Boekel (Netherlands)
6 February 2013[10] Scotland  1 – 0  Estonia Friendly match
19:45 Mulgrew  39' Report Attendance: 16,102
Referee: Turpin (France)
9 November 2017 Scotland  0 – 1  Netherlands Friendly match
19:45 Report Depay  40' Attendance: 17,883
Referee: Buquet (France)
The Scotland national rugby union team playing at Pittodrie in November 2008.

Rugby union

Since 2005, Pittodrie has hosted four rugby union internationals.

Date Country Score Country Victor
24 May 2005  Scotland 38 9 Barbarians  Scotland
22 November 2008  Scotland 41 0  Canada  Scotland
27 November 2010  Scotland 19 16  Samoa  Scotland
24 November 2012  Scotland 15 21  Tonga  Tonga

Concerts

Pittodrie has been used for concerts; both Elton John[11] and Rod Stewart[12] have played at Pittodrie.

References

  1. "Aberdeen Football Club". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  2. "Profile". Aberdeen Football Club. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  3. Stuart, By Lewis (23 March 2005). "Aberdeen hosts Barbarians to aid World Cup bid". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  4. Inglis 1996, p. 424
  5. Bauckham, David (2003). Dugouts. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. ISBN 1-84537-478-9.
  6. Inglis 1996, p. 425
  7. "Aberdeen: Pittodrie capacity to reduce as club target better atmosphere". BBC Sport. BBC. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  8. "BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Aberdeen | Dons rescue package eyes new home". BBC News. 13 June 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  9. "Scotland 0-1 Netherlands". BBC Sport. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
  10. "Scotland set up Estonia friendly in Aberdeen". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  11. "26,000 pack Pittodrie as Elton John's world tour rolls into Aberdeen's sell-out gig". The Scotsman. 19 June 2004. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  12. "Rod Stewart wows fans at Aberdeen concert". Evening Express. 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
Sources
  • Inglis, Simon (1996). Football Grounds of Britain. Collins Willow. ISBN 0-00-218426-5.

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