In light of recent press coverage of the AFC Supporters Trust’s stadium questionnaire, the Trust wish to further clarify and explain certain points.

The Trust confirms that they are neither for nor against the Loirston option as the planned site for a community stadium. The questionnaire circulated amongst Trust members and fans was partly to gauge opinion and partly because the Trust had been receiving requests from fans unhappy that the club had not knowingly or visibly been seen to be canvassing amongst those they call the ‘twelfth man of the team’, the fans themselves.

The questionnaire was set out with fair and objective questions aiming to ascertain what fans felt regarding the different scenarios associated with either moving or staying put.

The Trust was delighted with the response of over 1100 and would like to thank all those who took time to complete the questionnaire. The findings were surprising conclusive on certain areas such as:

• 81.2% of the responses favour Kings Links for the location of the stadium
• 62.8% say they will attend fewer matches at Loirston
• 84.1% feel AFC should have consulted with the fans about the preferred location.

The results including all optional comments are now available for download at the following link: http://www.afctrust.com/docs/Community_Stadium_Questionnaire_Results.pdf

A selection of these results are included at end of this release.

In conclusion, the questionnaire has only served to highlight the passion shown by fans regarding the stadium issue. The fans are evidentially eager to have a say in any new plans and were clearly unhappy that the club had seemingly disregarded their feelings and concerns. The Trust now hopes that they can work with the club as they continue to find a resolution to the stadium issue and wish to publicly offer any support to the club and fans alike as we move forward following today’s council meeting.

The AFC Supporters Trust is united to help in achieving success on and off the pitch.

Some Quotes from the Questionnaire

“The board should have purchased land around Pittodrie (gasometer and timber yard) when they had the chance years ago - allowing Pittodrie to be redeveloped. The new stadium should be at the Kings Links and any training facilities should be located at Loirston.”

“Close reading of the report (I've read it) indicates that the evidence cited would actually indicate that Kings Links is the better site (if not Pittodrie, which would be my preferred option). For example, the report points out that transport links to Loirston Loch would be "challenging". Such wording is not surprising, but disappointing. A solution to the club's difficulties should be found which has the interests of the club, the supporters and the community of Aberdeen at heart. Not the property development interests of Chairman Milne.”

“This is the right move for the club. Its about time AFC showed some ambition. My hope though is that it is real and not just flannel. If consultation about the new stadium is genuine, I will be pleased to give a view. However the club must also make sure that the new stadium ambition is supported with ambition on the pitch. New stadium packed for European ties? Yes please. New stadium half empty for repeats of the Dunfermline shambles? No thanks.”

“I can see no reason why a new stadium cannot be located at the Kings Links. I wonder if the feasibility study looked at the impact on local businesses if the stadium is moved.”

“I feel the most important factor in the decision of the new stadium has been overlooked, I feel the fans that will be parting with their hard earned cash have been given absolutely no input whatsoever. I can hardly see First bus or stagecoach having the ability to manage the logistics to ferry fans to and fro the stadium if it were to be built at Loirston. If the fans were consulted the cold hard truth would be known and I feel if the stadium were to be built at Loirston the club would be brought to its knees as gates would barely break 9k.”

Ends.

Contact
Bill Ellis on 07957 864289
Gordon Duncan on 07816 824954
Jeremy Wood on 07790 492327

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