ABERDEEN chairman Stewart Milne has reassured supporters that Derek McInnes’s football budget will not be affected as the club attempts to raise £40 million to build their new stadium.
A bid by the No Kingsford Stadium (NKS) campaign group to halt the construction of a 20,000 seater ground, training facilities and community sports hub was dismissed by Lord Tyre at the Court of Session last Friday.
That has allowed the Dons to push ahead with phase one of the project - the training facilities and sports hub - at the site eight miles to the west of the city.
Milne admits the Pittodrie outfit now face a challenge trying to raise finance for the phase two - the stadium.
However, the successful businessman admits money will not be diverted away from the playing squad to help fund the state-of-the-art ground.
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He said: “The funding for phase one is all lined up, we still have some things to work on but the £12 million or so is lined up.
“The challenge will be to find the money to deliver phase two. The biggest challenge is going to be raising the cash that’s required.
“The fans need to appreciate that we have been having to fund, moving forward this project for the last two or three years.
“We’ve been able to do that without any funds being diverted from the football operation and in that same period of time we’ve been able to grow substantially the investment into the whole football operation and that is very much our plans going forward.
“We know the catalyst and driving force for everything that happens at the club is what happens out on the football pitch, we wouldn’t have been where we are today if it wasn’t for he success that the football operation has delivered over the last five, six years.
“We recognise the major challenge ahead over the next two, three or four years is to deliver a stadium and if we can’t keep that momentum going in the success on the football front then it’s going to be even more challenging to deliver the stadium.
“So, we are very conscious of that fact that ongoing investment into the football operation is fundamental.”
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While NKS could appeal about the outcome of the Judicial Review, Milne is hoping the coaching staff and the players will be able to move into their new training facility this summer.
Speaking to Red TV, he added: “It might not be the final chapter, they may choose to appeal the decision. It’s a fairly definite conclusion that the judge has come to, he has set out very clearly that the council handled the application in the right way.
“I would hope this is the final chapter and we can now push ahead.
“The manager asks on a fairly regular basis (when it will be ready), which you would expect him to do.
“He has waited a long time for it, as have a lot of the players.
“Phase one is pretty much on track, they have the started to construct the pitches, a lot of the drainage work is done and the aim is to have phase one complete late summer.”
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