The hopes of Aberdeen Football Club to move to a new stadium have been dashed after the city council threw out plans last night.

The Dons were hoping a new community sports centre at Cove would double as a training facility for the club, which wanted to open a new 21,000-seater ground nearby.

But councillors voted instead to take control of the land and look into other development opportunities in the area.

Aberdeen FC chairman Stewart Milne said the club's plans had been "killed off" by the city council.

Local authority leader Barney Crockett said he was confident a deal could still be reached with the club.

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The club had planned to move from Pittodrie to a new ground at Loirston Loch, on the southern outskirts of the city, for the start of the 2014-15 season.

Mr Milne, who said the use of a new Calder Park community sports centre to train was vital to the proposals, said in a statement: "Disappointment and frustration do not come close to how my colleagues and I are feeling right now.

"As was made crystal clear, the Calder Park development has been designed as part of the master planning exercise to be completely integral with the new AFC stadium at Loirston and this decision has effectively also killed off that development.

"Without wishing to scaremonger in any way, the implications of this completely illogical verdict could have major implications for both AFC and indeed Cove Rangers and right now, the Board require some time to discuss both the consequences of the judgment and what our next move is likely to be."

But Mr Crockett said: "There's no decision that directly pertains to Aberdeen Football Club that was made yesterday, and there's a lot of room for discussion and I'm very optimistic that we can produce an outcome there that can satisfy people."

(NE)