Aberdeen and Dundee United have announced their upcoming league clashes have been moved to a Saturday night slot.
The Premiership fixtures on October 8 and November 12 will now take place at 6pm instead of the traditional 3pm start. The Dons have previously pushed for kick-off time changes and their visit to Dens Park last season was moved to Saturday evening to open the fixture up to greater international TV exposure.
The later kick-off is now being trialled again for next month's game at Tannadice - and in the reverse fixture at Pittodrie - after both clubs agreed to the changes. Aberdeen commercial director Rob Wicks hopes the trial will improve atmosphere and permit more supporters to attend. He said: We have stated previously that we would like to trial new kick-off times to help boost attendances and over the past few months we have been working alongside fellow SPFL clubs to make this happen.
“We are particularly excited to have the opportunity to try this kick-off time for a home match as we look to improve atmosphere and increase the opportunity for our wider supporter base, including families, many of whom struggle to make a 3pm kick-off on a Saturday, to come along and enjoy an exciting derby fixture.
“Feedback from fans will be welcomed and the club will use this data to inform any future changes.”
And United chief-executive Luigi Capuano added: “The idea is to boost attendance and allow wider access from our supporter base, including families. There are other positives factors including greater commercial and media exposure and maximising revenue generation for local businesses, but our main priority was in creating opportunity for greater spectator access. After this fixture, we will review the success of the event.”
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