For a round of the World Rally Championship, the rally headquarters and Service Park must do more than sit near the competitive stages. It needs space, access, weather cover, room for teams to work, places for fans to gather and a base from which organisers can keep the whole rally moving. P&J Live gives Rally Scotland all of that, and more.

Set beside Aberdeen International Airport and close to the hotel capacity needed for thousands of fans and WRC personnel, P&J Live is one of Scotland’s major event venues and the largest event complex in the north of Scotland.

Opened in 2019, the £333 million venue replaced the former Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre and brought 48,000 square metres of multi-purpose event space to the city. It was built for scale: concerts, conferences, exhibitions and live entertainment. From outside, the modern arena buildings make an immediate impression. For rally fans, though, the key detail sits below ground.

P&J Live has a vast 33,000 sq ft subterranean car park, known as the Sub-T, with space for up to 1,100 vehicles. Unlike most car parks, it has the head height to work as a flexible event space. Offshore Europe turns it into a fully functioning exhibition hall every two years, while the World Clydesdale Show used it to stable 384 horses. For Rally Scotland, it will become the Service Park.

In WRC terms, that makes a real difference. The Service Park is where rallies breathe between stages. Cars come in, crews reset, mechanics get to work, and preparations for the next loop start to take shape. Putting that operation under cover gives teams a weather-protected base in a part of Scotland where conditions can change quickly. It also gives fans a sheltered place to get close to the cars and crews as they prepare to head back to the forest stages.

Above ground, the main building gives Rally Scotland the facilities needed for a modern Rally HQ and the wider programme expected to run alongside the main WRC event.

The main arena gives fans a place to watch cars in action, with space for STEM activations, hospitality, meeting rooms, rally showcases, business forums and more. It also brings together the core working areas: Event and Rally Control, multi-agency control rooms, an international media centre, scrutineering, offices and team workspaces. Together, these facilities give Rally Scotland a single, clear hub for the sporting operation, media activity, guests and fans.

What exactly can you expect to see there? We will reveal those plans nearer the time. For now, the message is simple: Rally Scotland has a base fit for a World Rally Championship classic, and we plan to use it properly!