Aberdeen Football Club's chairman has said plans for a new stadium are now likely to cost up to £75m - £30m more than previously estimated - blaming “construction inflation”.
Dave Cormack explained that the project was estimated to cost £45m five years ago, but that figure had gone up significantly due to wider economic inflation and increased material costs.
The Scottish Premiership club hopes to move into the new stadium on the city's seafront by 2025.
In an interview with football journalist Graham Hunter in a video shared by the club’s YouTube channel, Cormack said: "Two things keep me awake at night - performances and how we solve this issue.
"The cost for us to build a quality stadium where we can uplift our income, our turnover - because we've got better facilities, because we're landlocked at Pittodrie - is going to be between £70m and £75m.
"We can build a basic stadium for a lot less, but we have employed some of the best people that do new stadiums in terms of evaluating what we should have and what the turnover can be - but if we want to build a quality stadium where we can uplift our income by £3m or £4m per year because we have better facilities then that is what it is going to take."
The football club has planning permission to build a new stadium next to its training ground at Kingsford. However, the council recently proposed plans to include the club in a joint facility next to the new Beach Ballroom.
The new plans would see the new stadium built just 1,000 yards from its current home.
Cormack added: "We have to look at the cost of the land we get at Pittodrie, grants are going to be important for us as well; we have said all along we want this to be a net zero stadium."
Alongside the stadium, proposals for Aberdeen’s seafront also include an amphitheatre, a pier and an upgrade for the famous beach ballroom.
The plans are part of the city council’s wider £150m scheme, which includes pedestrianising the central part of Union Street and redeveloping the city market.
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