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2024 CORPORATE GOLF DAY
16th May 2024
Dundee United have unveiled the newly-crowned Ernest Robertson Suite.
United welcomed the Robertson family for a meeting with Chairman Mark Ogren, Chief Executive Luigi Capuano and Chief Operating Officer Joe Rice to pay homage to their long-service at the club.
The ER Suite will be located above the tunnel at Tannadice, a favoured vantage point for the late, great Jim McLean during his time as Manager and Chairman at United.
Ernest and Bruce served the club through nine decades between the 1920s and the early 2000s.
Ernest Robertson
Ernest was Chairman twice - 1931-1936 & 1948-1963 - and was instrumental in the implementation of the widely-succesful Taypools.
Taypools was a key financial driver for United during and beyond the 1950s and 1960s and contributed towards the redevelopment of The Shed.
The businessman was also recognised in 1996 by the late, great Jim McLean who stated: “Mr Ernie Robertson was, in my opinion, responsible for Dundee United surviving the late 1940s and early 1950s when his business paid the bills and wages at Tannadice.”
He sadly died in 1981, two years before Dundee United’s famous Scottish Premier League title win in 1983.
Bruce Robertson
His son Bruce inherited the family shareholding and took his place on the board alongside Jim McLean, Bill Littlejohn and Don Ridgeway. He represented the club during the golden era of the 1980s until 2002.
The family were also invited as guests to Saturday’s match with Motherwell.
Bruce passed away in July, aged 84, and there are plans to mark his service to the club with memorial items at Tannadice.
Bruce’s son Steven said: “We are very grateful to Dundee United for the reinstatement of the Ernest Robertson Lounge.
“It means so much to our family that he will be remembered within the Club and the lounge is in the perfect location for him - given his humble character and lifelong passion for the club.
“Both my father and Ernie were terrible for not taking any plaudits or having anything nice said about them. They were selflessly devoted to Dundee United Football Club.
Robertsons made decisions for 'the good of the club'
“Although my father did not have the same role as my grandfather, he definitely did go down the same route of choosing the betterment of the club over financial gain.
“No decision was ever made by them for anything other than the good of the club.
“The legacy left by Ernie for my father is something he took incredibly seriously and wanted to protect the club at all costs. It’s difficult to put his devotion to the club into words.
“We look forward to additional memorial items at Tannadice to pay homage to my father Bruce as part of his time with Dundee United.
“Thank you to Mr Ogren for his support in making it happen. We wish him and everyone else at Dundee United every success in the future.”
Chief Operating Officer, Joe Rice said: "We were delighted that the family accepted the club's proposal to rename one of our hospitality suites as homage to the part played by both Ernest and Bruce.
"It was truly fitting that the Ernest Robertson Suite is now located in the area that was home to both Ernest and Bruce for so many of their days at Tannadice.
"The impact that Ernest had in the history of Dundee United is well documented. To see and discuss how passionate each were about the club when we met the family was fantastic."
