Home of Aberdeen FC
Opened 1899
Capacity 20,866
★★★★★
★★★★★
As a new resident to Aberdeen I bought a season ticket to the Dons in order to watch some live football. Due to my seats section being closed until the first league game I was not aware of the issue I would have with my view being blocked by the safety railing (a few inches taller or shorter it would have been fine). The club staff were fantastic in swapping my seat and for that reason they get five stars.
The stadium itself is a bit old fashioned but that gives it character! I can see why a new stadium is in the future club plans though.
Beware of seagulls when you visit!
7 months ago
From start to Finnish it is an enjoyable time being here, entry was via email ticket gate when not too busy and flowed well, plenty of food and drink outlets service is quick and efficient. The down point is with stadium being old and out date the seats are poorly maintained lacking oil/grease for easy stow and are a little tight. But that a small point. Was a great day and Aberdeen Fc pulled a win out of the bag 4-1 over Kilmarnock.
5 months ago
Our second trip up to Aberdeen and it doesn't seem to get any better.
Pittodrie Stadium is situated next to the coast, which involves having to drive through the city centre to get to.
Parking is non existent around the away side, though there is off street parking around 10 min walk. (which is monitored by Aberdeen Council parking enforcement).
Pittodrie Stadium is without doubt on its Last legs. Obviously during the 80s there was a lot of new oil money, which artificially propelled Aberdeen to success domestically and in Europe.
Unfortunately they didn't invest in the infrastructure.
Hopefully they get a new stadium, though if money was a issue up to now then I doubt very much that they will raise the money in the current climate (C19/Ww3/). Inflation alone will kill it off.
It's a shame, but is what it is.
The stadium is a mixture of different era stands, most sections are open at the sides to the weather or poorly protected, which even when it's sunny means there is a constant freezing wind straight from the North Sea. It did have a roof, though I suspect the rain would come in horizontally anyway!
The away section (around 1500 seats) is served by one little food counter and a small toilet block.
So rather than invest properly they put a temporary food outlet in the entrance along with outside toilet block.
The view from the away section is ok, around 80% -
Finally to top it off Aberdeen charges £28 for a adult ticket, its a shame that zero is reinvested in the ground or team, someone is making a buck!
I might return, though expectations will be very low indeed.
🖖
2/5
6 months ago
History (from Wikipedia)
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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