Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

, 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. With a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

of ; Pittodrie is the fourth largest stadium in the SPFL and the largest stadium in Scotland outside the

Central Belt The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including Gre ...

. 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. , Pittodrie has hosted fifteen matches involving the Scotland national team. The ground has also staged

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

, with four Scotland international fixtures being held there including a match against the Barbarians. In club football,

Inverness Caledonian Thistle Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle, is a professional football club based in Inverness, Scotland. The team currently competes in the Scottish Championship, the second tier of the Scottish Professional Fo ...

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. The land was leased from Mr Knight Erskine of Pittodrie, 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. The club was merged on 18 April 1903 with two other local clubs,

Victoria United :''Victoria United is also the name of a defunct Scottish soccer team, see Victoria United F.C.'' Victoria United is a Canadian soccer team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. With lineage to clubs founded in 1904, the team plays in the ...

and Orion, to form Aberdeen FC. 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. The club joined the Scottish Football League in 1904. 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. This was partly funded by the sale of Alex Jackson to Huddersfield Town. 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. The old Beach End Stand, Pittodrie

The club won its first major trophy in 1947, when it won the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,Hearts. Floodlights were introduced at Pittodrie on 21 October 1959, when

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

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. 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. ( 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 A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

roof which covered most of the seats. A year later, the benches were replaced by individual seats. 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 Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. The club installed 24 executive boxes in the Main Stand, and built a new roof over the Merkland Road End in 1985. Undersoil heating was installed in 1987. 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 Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...

. 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 The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

, 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

for their home matches during the early part of the 2004–05 season. This was required because Inverness CT's own

Caledonian Stadium Caledonian Stadium is a football ground in the Longman area of Inverness, Scotland, near the banks of the Moray Firth. It hosts home matches of Scottish Professional Football League club Inverness Caledonian Thistle. History Inverness Caled ...

did not meet the requirements for entry into the Scottish Premier League until improvements were carried out and the

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. Aberdeen PittodrieStadium

Structure and facilities

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 A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

, 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 Richard MacNaughton Donald (20 February 1911 – 30 December 1993) was a Scottish footballer, businessman and football administrator. He is best known for his time as Chairman of Aberdeen Football Club during the club's most successful period i ...

. Completed in 1993, it houses over 6,000 fans, although this is a reduction on its Beach End predecessor. It is a

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 A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

constructed from

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

, 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 Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

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, was 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. During the late 2010s, construction began at Kingsford on the western edge of the city which led to the completion of a new training facility, Cormack Park, in 2019;Sir Alex Ferguson: Cormack Park can help Aberdeen to 'highest level'
BBC Sport, 31 October 2019 however, the proposed stadium on the same site was put on hiatus due to economic issues, and in 2021 alternative designs at the city's beachfront close to Pittodrie were released.

Other uses

Since its construction, there have been fifteen

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

international matches staged at Pittodrie. Normally the national team's home matches are played at Hampden Park in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, 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 1–0 loss to

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on 9 November 2017. North stand, a snowy Pittodrie stadium - geograph

Rugby union

Since 2005, Pittodrie has hosted four

internationals.

Concerts

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

References

; Sources *

External links

Pittodrie at Google Maps
{{coord, 57, 09, 33, N, 2, 05, 20, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Aberdeen F.C. Football venues in Aberdeen Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. Sports venues in Aberdeen Rugby union stadiums in Scotland Scottish Premier League venues Scottish Football League venues Scottish Professional Football League venues Scotland national football team venues Sports venues completed in 1899 1899 establishments in Scotland