FOOTBALLING legend Sir Alex Ferguson has returned to his old club Aberdeen to help mark the official opening of Cormack Park, the club’s new community sports hub, training facilities and football academy.
Sir Alex was guest of honour at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the £12 million campus. He was joined by former player Bobby Clark, current manager Derek McInnes, chairman Stewart Milne, and vice chairman Dave Cormack, who the facility is named after in honour of his contribution to the project.
Features include a training pavilion, groundsman’s accommodation, three training pitches, two floodlit 3G pitches and two grass pitches. There is also outdoor and indoor space for community-based sporting and recreational activities.
Sir Alex said, “I am greatly honoured to officially open these magnificent facilities which are part of AFC’s broader ambition for the future of the Club, its players and its fans. The positive impact on performance and morale of best-in-class training facilities cannot be underestimated – and these facilities are up there with some of the best I’ve seen. There is no doubt that Cormack Park will help the club to attract, retain and develop the players and coaches it needs to compete at the highest level.
“The club has to be congratulated for pursuing the vision to develop these training facilities and taking on the significant challenge of building its new stadium on the adjacent land in order to derive greater benefits for the Club, its players – particularly the future generation – and the wider community. This will be the envy of many other clubs, not just in Scotland.”
Stewart Milne expressed his delight at having completed phase one of the two-phase £55 million development at Kingsford. He said, “Cormack Park will provide the best environment to inspire, motivate, attract and retain today’s and tomorrow’s players, coaches and management. Our community facilities will be the cornerstone on which the Trust will be able to deliver even more for local communities in Aberdeen and across the Shire.
“On completion of phase two, we will have a complex that will act as a catalyst for greater sporting achievements and events in the region and will aid our quest to be a UEFA Top 100 Club.”
