Niall Quinn calls for GAA-scale investment

johnos

http://bohsnews.crispynews.com/article/show/12601

This is important. I can't remember a recent instance of someone this high-profile putting it up to the the government over the blatant neglect of domestic football.

Mossy Monk

it makes sense. why cant Irish soccer get similar investment

Villain

The GAA control more votes than Soccer ever will it's all about politics. Nice to hear someone saying it though and to be fair the government are putting a fair few quid in for Lansdowne road although that is for rugby too.

gimmick

Putting money into Lansdowne is all well and good, but the fact is, investment is needed from a grrass roots level, up to international level, taking in the SLs and the eL along the way.

When you look at the money that Bertie was going to throw into some white elephant in Adamstown, and you think what that kind of money could do throughout the country. Training facilites, and proper stadia are needed. The latter was hit home last season when there was no good venue available for the FAI Cup between Drogs and City. It was either Tolka - too small, or Lansdowne - too big.

An example of how to do this right would be Holland - look at clubs like RKC, NEC Nijmegen etc - small clubs with state of the art 12000-15000 seater stadiums which are fully up to UEFA standards.

johnos

I agree that it's all about politics. Too many people, the FAI in particular, have shied away from this -- witness the grovelling thank-you from Delaney in response to the last few crumbs. But Quinn is free to speak his mind. It'd be wonderful if a few more of the great and good of Irish football had the courage to speak out on this scandal.
I don't think that at this stage the debate should be bogged down in Lansdowne v local facilities. At any level you care to choose, the performance of the Government, in comparison with it support for GAA, is dismal.

Töpher

Dismal is too weak a word!

The Rooster

But when the annual grants come out the FAI get a similar amount to the GAA.

Capital grants are a bit different in that the person/body making the application have to have a certain percentage of the funds to make a successful application. There is no such thing as 100% government funding for a building project. The GAA and the FAI play under exactly the same rules. No extra favours. If a club can raise €100,000 then they might get another €100,000 from the govt (or whatever the figures might be). The key thing is you have to get off yer ass first and raise money and come up with a decent plan - things the GAA is generally good at the FAI is generally bad at.

Lansdowne Road government grants will cover a higher percentage of the construction costs than Croke Park received, and a substantialy higher cash amount. So I can't see how the government can be accused of GAA bias.

patmac

Pity he didn't invest some of the millions he's investing in Sunderland into an Irish team.
The GAA is a hugely voluntary organisation that generates a lot of its own income at club level, if Irish soccer fans invested as much in their own game as they did in following clubs abroad i.e. merchandising and flying in and out to the Uk every second week then it would be in a much healthier state.

FatherTed

That's a little ironic coming from Quinn who has just ploughed a ton of money into an English club.

johnos

I think the irony is there all right. But there's a lot that's bizarre about Irish attitudes to football: I don't think anyone can defend taking money out of this island and ploughing it into Sunderland, but, tragically, it's par for the course.
At least he's doing some straight talking on the subject - and that is new.

KdjaCL

FatherTed wrote:

That's a little ironic coming from Quinn who has just ploughed a ton of money into an English club.

Indeed, the amount going into Sunderland would get all PL teams a decent ground (based on the group who building Drogs ground 7 million for 6k fully seated stadium).

A parting shot as he finishes his job of selecting teams for the PL? Until hes back over here getting us all to fly to sunderland to watch our local team.....




kdjac

Guy:Incognito

The GAA will probably demand half of whatever is given to football as it's the "right", losers.

They're such a militant bunch of extremists. I know people who are banned from playing gaa as they wanted to play both but were given a choice to drop soccer or be kicked off the gaa teams. Because the gaa were the only ones that demanded they play their sports only the lads dropped them like a hot stone.

The Insider

Irish people with money just don't see the league as a good investment. We as a country have never had it so good and most likely never will again, there are thousands of Irish people who have money available to invest in football but they are all going across the water to clubs such as Celtic, Man Utd, Sunderland even Aston Villa!! It’s such a pity that Dermot Desmond and the likes can't be bothered with Irish clubs. I find the statement from Quinn very rich coming from a guy who got a consortium together to invest in Sunderland and then expects the Irish government to prop up the league. Put your money where your mouth is Quinn.

Chucky the tree

KdjaC wrote:

Indeed, the amount going into Sunderland would get all PL teams a decent ground (based on the group who building Drogs ground 7 million for 6k fully seated stadium).

A parting shot as he finishes his job of selecting teams for the PL? Until hes back over here getting us all to fly to sunderland to watch our local team.....




kdjac

Why would he do that though?

why give the EL team all a decent stadium with 6k capacity when only about half that will actually turn up?

KdjaCL

Chucky the tree wrote:

Why would he do that though?

why give the EPL team all a decent stadium with 6k capacity when only about half that will actually turn up?

Doesnt matter if its full or not up the team to perform and fill it, its a 4 sided stadium fully seated cheap, gives people a decent ground to go watch a game.

Having been in all but one EL ground the above is valid for them all.


kdjac

The Rooster

Stekelly wrote:

The GAA will probably demand half of whatever is given to football as it's the "right", losers.

Nonsense, in more ways than one.

Stekelly wrote:

They're such a militant bunch of extremists. I know people who are banned from playing gaa as they wanted to play both but were given a choice to drop soccer or be kicked off the gaa teams. Because the gaa were the only ones that demanded they play their sports only the lads dropped them like a hot stone.

I doubt you know anyone who is banned from playing GAA because the play soccer. If you do, then name and shame the GAA clubs and the team within the clubs that they've been banned from.

You may know people who were playing GAA at a relatively high level and who were asked to give a committment not to play soccer on the same weekends. The same would go for soccer clubs. My best mate runs the first team of a good junior soccer club, who's ambition each year is a good run in the FAI Junior Cup and Leinster Junior Cup. Anyone playing for a GAA side on the same weekend as a soccer match, would be dropped from the soccer team "like a hot stone". Doesnt mean they're anti-GAA. A GAA team doing similar does not make them a "militant bunch of extremists". Amazing how often dislike or even hatred is born out of pure ignorance.

cournioni

Absolutely spot on Rooster. When I played both Gaelic and Soccer, I was given a choice by both teams because training was clashing with both sports and sometimes games would clash also. So I chose gaelic, because I enjoyed it more.

I find it quite funny how everyone attacks the GAA just because it has facilities that other sports envy. Someone made the point about fundraising, my local club had a fundraising night recently which made €6500 which goes towards the medical needs of the players, this was all in a weeks work for a town of roughly 650 people, that is €10 per head. It really was great work by everyone involved in the fundraising. That is not including all of the work that the club lotto ticket sellers do every week.

Now when I compare this to the amount of fundraising that the local soccer club put in... Well there is no comparison, the same amount of work is just not put in. A quiz night here, a dinner dance there... That is just about it...

Maybe if people from soccer clubs actually got up off their arses and put in the same amount of effort as GAA clubs do then they would have the facilities that GAA clubs have.

CiaranC

PORNAPSTER wrote:

I find it quite funny how everyone attacks the GAA just because it has facilities that other sports envy.

When you have GAA people brazenly, openly and deliberately sabotaging the efforts of clubs like Rovers to drug themselves out of the gutter come back and talk to us.

cournioni

I believe it was a couple of GAA clubs trying to get playing in Tallaght stadium, which is owned by South Dublin County Council. How is trying to play in Tallaght stadium "sabotaging the efforts of Rovers"? Rovers got themselves into that mess, if they had handled the construction of the stadium properly they wouldn't have to worry about GAA clubs or SDCC for that matter.

Now that it belongs to SDCC, the GAA clubs were well within their rights to apply to have their games played at Tallaght stadium.

Stop trying to make the GAA a scapegoat for EL clubs failures.

patmac

CiaranC wrote:

When you have GAA people brazenly, openly and deliberately sabotaging the efforts of clubs like Rovers to drug themselves out of the gutter come back and talk to us.

Come on you can't say the GAA are drugging soccer players now.

johnos

I think the wide-eyed innocence about the all-new new live-and-let-live Taliban, sorry, GAA, is touching. But that's another debate.
Quinn is the first prominent sports figure that I know of to point out the scandalous failure to fund football.
I agree that it'd be nice if he had perfect credentials to say what he said, and wasn't investing in Sunderland, but I don't see anyone else queueing up to state the obvious about the glaring bias against soccer. The FAI is too afraid of the Government to do it (its boss is virtually a Government appointee) our media is addicted to British football, our politicians don't care. So until the knockers come up with someone better, Quinnie will just have to do.
And, most important of all, in contrast to so much of the bull**** spouted on the subject of sports funding in this country, what -- he -- says -- is -- true.

The Rooster

You're talking through your hoop johnos - listening to too many eejits blaming the FAI and Irish soccer clubs failures on the GAA. Pure nonsense.

There is absolutely no facts to back up that the GAA is treated better than the FAI, because they're not. It all goes back to the funding of Croke Park, and the begrudgery that got, but everyone can see that Lansdowne will be funded to a greater extent, so you can't use that any more.

If you put in proper applications and get a certain level of your own funding, then you will get a grant. Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs. Here's an example of some funding soccer clubs and schemes have received recently:

Athlone Town €1,250,000
Bohemians FC €14,000
Bray Wanderers €375,000
Cobh Ramblers €150,000
Munster FA for Cork City €2,800,000
Drogheda United €30,000
Galway & District League for Galway United €500,000
Newbridge Town FC for Kildare County €200,000
Kilkenny City €100,000
Limerick FC €300,000
Longford Town €204,000
Monaghan Utd €200,000
Mayfield, Cork €300,000
Oscar Traynor Coaching Centre €1,800,000
Shelbourne FC €104,000
Sligo Rovers FC €1,500,000
Salthill Devon FC €2,200,000
Templeogue United FC €200,000
UCD €40,000
Waterford City Council for the Regional Sports Centre €500,000

"glaring bias against soccer" - complete and utter tripe.

johnos

The Rooster wrote:

You're talking through your hoop johnos - listening to too many eejits blaming the FAI and Irish soccer clubs failures on the GAA. Pure nonsense.

There is absolutely no facts to back up that the GAA is treated better than the FAI, because they're not. It all goes back to the funding of Croke Park, and the begrudgery that got, but everyone can see that Lansdowne will be funded to a greater extent, so you can't use that any more.

If you put in proper applications and get a certain level of your own funding, then you will get a grant. Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs. Here's an example of some funding soccer clubs and schemes have received recently:

Athlone Town €1,250,000
Bohemians FC €14,000
Bray Wanderers €375,000
Cobh Ramblers €150,000
Munster FA for Cork City €2,800,000
Drogheda United €30,000
Galway & District League for Galway United €500,000
Newbridge Town FC for Kildare County €200,000
Kilkenny City €100,000
Limerick FC €300,000
Longford Town €204,000
Monaghan Utd €200,000
Mayfield, Cork €300,000
Oscar Traynor Coaching Centre €1,800,000
Shelbourne FC €104,000
Sligo Rovers FC €1,500,000
Salthill Devon FC €2,200,000
Templeogue United FC €200,000
UCD €40,000
Waterford City Council for the Regional Sports Centre €500,000

"glaring bias against soccer" - complete and utter tripe.

Where are the figures for GAA? What are the figures over, say, the last two decades?

The Rooster

Jeezuz, johnos its like talking to a brick wall.

Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs.
Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs.
Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs.

That's three more times. Has it sunk in?

Some clubs have copped on to what needs to be done and are getting very good funding. Salthill Devon FC, who I know nothing about, get €2.2m. Fantastic for them. And I bet they put in a hell of a lot of work and got a lot of help from the community to do that. Its about getting off yerarse and making things happen, not trying to blame others for your incompetences.

Back to the topic, Quinn has some cheek. A man who knows his audience, and knew his comments would go down great. As has been said by many on this thread already, if he has such an interest in Irish soccer.......

johnos

The Rooster wrote:

Jeezuz, johnos its like talking to a brick wall.

Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs.
Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs.
Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs.

That's three more times. Has it sunk in?

Some clubs have copped on to what needs to be done and are getting very good funding. Salthill Devon FC, who I know nothing about, get €2.2m. Fantastic for them. And I bet they put in a hell of a lot of work and got a lot of help from the community to do that. Its about getting off yerarse and making things happen, not trying to blame others for your incompetences.

Back to the topic, Quinn has some cheek. A man who knows his audience, and knew his comments would go down great. As has been said by many on this thread already, if he has such an interest in Irish soccer.......

I heard you say that the first time. We are not talking about the rules. We are talking about the application and outcome, in hard cash, of the rules.
I don't know Salthill Devon either, and fair play to them for scooping that, but I would have thought that sorting out the national league should have been a priority. Instead, what we seem to have is a fund-raiser contest and a patronage game, so I'd still be interested in how those figs stack up in comparison to the mighty GAA.

Guy:Incognito

PORNAPSTER wrote:

Absolutely spot on Rooster. When I played both Gaelic and Soccer, I was given a choice by both teams because training was clashing with both sports and sometimes games would clash also. So I chose gaelic, because I enjoyed it more.

I find it quite funny how everyone attacks the GAA just because it has facilities that other sports envy. Someone made the point about fundraising, my local club had a fundraising night recently which made €6500 which goes towards the medical needs of the players, this was all in a weeks work for a town of roughly 650 people, that is €10 per head. It really was great work by everyone involved in the fundraising. That is not including all of the work that the club lotto ticket sellers do every week.

Now when I compare this to the amount of fundraising that the local soccer club put in... Well there is no comparison, the same amount of work is just not put in. A quiz night here, a dinner dance there... That is just about it...

Maybe if people from soccer clubs actually got up off their arses and put in the same amount of effort as GAA clubs do then they would have the facilities that GAA clubs have.

These people are in Wexford. Maybe it's more millitantg down there. I dont know because I dont play gaa.

As for the facilities. If the Gaa have it so good and are such nice people, why are they demanding to be let play in rovers new Tallaght stadium?

Guy:Incognito

PORNAPSTER wrote:

Now that it belongs to SDCC, the GAA clubs were well within their rights to apply to have their games played at Tallaght stadium..

Why are they well within their rights? They have their own pitches and stadiums that they have no intention to share with anyone. SDCC decide who they want to play in it, the gaa have no right to be demanding anything. They got/get huge grants that helped build croke park and other facilities.

cournioni

Stekelly wrote:

Why are they well within their rights? They have their own pitches and stadiums that they have no intention to share with anyone. SDCC decide who they want to play in it, the gaa have no right to be demanding anything. They got/get huge grants that helped build croke park and other facilities.

They are well within their rights because it belongs to SDCC, not Shamrock Rovers. They didn't demand anything, they asked for a share of it, which they didn't get, and from what I've heard (or not heard as the case may be) they are not making a song and a dance about it.

To put you straight on one thing, it was two Dublin clubs looking for the use of the stadium. Not the GAA! You'd think money grew on trees for GAA clubs the way you are going on. I can assure you that it most certainly is not the case. My own gaelic club have got feck all in grants, and we are badly in need of a new pitch. The one we have is extremely dangerous as it is, and I don't see grants flying about anywhere to go towards a new pitch.

If our club was in the same situation, we would be looking for the use of Tallaght stadium also, now you please tell me what is wrong with that?

KdjaCL

Pornapster where did your club get the land and funding to build a club house from which to fundraise from? Round Towers GAA in D22 and they were given the land and now share it with Moyle Park and the clubhouse was built for them , they added to it over time. Fact is they were giving a clubhouse and licence practically for free. Pats paid 2.2 million for a pub the other week, will they get anything back off the goverment?

Rooster "Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs." Yes they do the GAA have received over 120 million of taxpayers money to fund Croke Park alone not even going to think about how much the land they have been given over the years is worth, the FAI have received a swift kick in the nads over Eircom park, a headbutt over the bertie bowl and about to royally shafted over lansdowne.

To say what GAA does not get X when all the land they occupy was giving to them, all the licences for their bars are at a reduced rate is nonsense. Thomas Davis in Tallaght have an ulterior motive for that ground. Afaik they do not want to play there but they do want a grant to ease the pain of not playing there, the goverment said no so the song and dance continues. A rovers fan would be more aware of what stage the case is in court.




I dont want the FAI to get money off the goverment as they would waste it, what i would like is tax breaks for the clubs who PAY their players and officials within the club.

kdjac

Blackjack

KdjaC wrote:

Pornapster where did your club get the land and funding to build a club house from which to fundraise from? Round Towers GAA in D22 and they were given the land and now share it with Moyle Park and the clubhouse was built for them , they added to it over time. Fact is they were giving a clubhouse and licence practically for free. Pats paid 2.2 million for a pub the other week, will they get anything back off the goverment?

Rooster "Different rules do not apply to GAA clubs vs soccer clubs." Yes they do the GAA have received over 120 million of taxpayers money to fund Croke Park alone not even going to think about how much the land they have been given over the years is worth, the FAI have received a swift kick in the nads over Eircom park, a headbutt over the bertie bowl and about to royally shafted over lansdowne.

To say what GAA does not get X when all the land they occupy was giving to them, all the licences for their bars are at a reduced rate is nonsense. Thomas Davis in Tallaght have an ulterior motive for that ground. Afaik they do not want to play there but they do want a grant to ease the pain of not playing there, the goverment said no so the song and dance continues. A rovers fan would be more aware of what stage the case is in court.


I dont want the FAI to get money off the goverment as they would waste it, what i would like is tax breaks for the clubs who PAY their players and officials within the club.

kdjac

Who gave who what land?.

Club licences and Public house licences are 2 very different licences and have 2 very different sets of rules and application processes. Club licences are cheaper, but why are Pats buying a pub?.

As regards the cost of Croke park, the total estimated cost of re-development was 265 Million. The Government contribution was in the region of 110 Million, including the National Lottery Grants.(Source)

For Lansdowne, the total estimated cost is 365 Million, with the Government contributing 191 Million (over half).

Damn those bloody amateurs in the GAA getting their larger capacity stadium - even when you exclude the terrace at the Hill end- sorted out for a lot less money.

I agree with you on the Tax breaks for clubs paying players and officials etc, and also about not giving the money to the FAI, they would not have a clue how to spend it properly.

The Rooster

It was mostly lottery funding the Croke Park received, only a small amount of taxpayers money. Lansdowne Road's proportion of taxpayer's money is substanitally more, and overall funding will be substantially more. Lottery funding vs taxpayers funding may be little different, but people have a choice whether they play the lottery, and they know a lot of the funds go to sports.

The amount of myths beign perpetuated in some of your posts are totally laughable. I'll leave you to wallow in your self pity, and reminisce on how the FAI and Irish soccer in general has wasted so much of its resourses over the years. Poor old soccer, its only the most popular sport in the world.
Blame the GAA and the government

cournioni

KdjaC wrote:

Pornapster where did your club get the land and funding to build a club house from which to fundraise from? Round Towers GAA in D22 and they were given the land and now share it with Moyle Park and the clubhouse was built for them , they added to it over time. Fact is they were giving a clubhouse and licence practically for free. Pats paid 2.2 million for a pub the other week, will they get anything back off the goverment?

It was given to the club by a gael in the late 70's in exchange for their old pitch just a little bit down the road. I'm not too sure how the clubs first pitch was obtained, my guess it that it was purchased. We have had little or no grants for the pitch, no club house or nothing. Everything had to be done through whatever money the club raised for itself.

I can't honestly tell you anything about Round Towers, because I don't know anything about them. My guess is that Pats won't get anything back from the government for it because it was already owned by another club, all be it from a different sport.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Benedict XVI

The Rooster wrote:

I'll leave you to wallow in your self pity, and reminisce on how the FAI and Irish soccer in general has wasted so much of its resourses over the years. Poor old soccer, its only the most popular sport in the world.
Blame the GAA and the government

Brilliant, well said Rooster, sums it up perfectly

johnos

The Rooster wrote:

The amount of myths beign perpetuated in some of your posts are totally laughable. I'll leave you to wallow in your self pity, and reminisce on how the FAI and Irish soccer in general has wasted so much of its resourses over the years.

The legendary incompetence of the FAI is incessantly trundled out by people who seek to avoid any close examination of sports funding in this country. Maybe the FAI are incompetent - it is said so often that perhaps there is something in it. Maybe they are more incompetent than most sports administration organizations, who seem to have an amazing propensity for screwing things up. Maybe they are just a bunch of geezers doing the job because they are the best that an underfunded sport struggling is a deeply hostile environment can rise to. That's still only part of the story.
It's hardly by chance that we still have not seen in this thread hard figures on GAA funding, although we have chapter and verse on a few lucky football clubs. Let's get past the cute hoordom and the favouritism and the politics. Let's have a clear breakdown on public funding, of any kind, of GAA v football, that disproves the bricks and mortar evidence that we see before our eyes every day and that shows that Quinn is wrong.

Big Ears

Blackjack wrote:

but why are Pats buying a pub?

Two big reasons I would guess , 1. Pubs make a lot of profit and over a not too long space of time Pats will not only have gotten back their 2.2million but will be starting to make a nice profit on it .
2. it's a place for their fans to socialise outside of games .

Finally these allegations of Rovers players in conjunction with the GAA using performance enhancing drugs are very serious .

[Jackass]

http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/ireland.shtml

22 of the biggest 24 stadiums in Ireland belong to the GAA including the 5 biggest grounds in Ireland.....

Then look at the EL grounds...you'll find them near the bottom of the list...I think the funding is slightly lob-sided....

[edit]
About Pats buying the pub, another reason is because the club was founded in that pub...

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

johnos

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

Part of the rest of the thread attempted to divert the discussion into a fund-raising/back-slapping contest. It doesn't wash, because of the evidence before our eyes. We still don't have any breakdown on the outcome of this mysteriously equitable process.
Don't keep spouting on about internal effort and initiative, when that is no more than a vehicle for goverment handouts.
Show.Us.The.(GAA).Money.

Benedict XVI

johnos wrote:

We still don't have any breakdown on the outcome of this mysteriously equitable process.
Don't keep spouting on about internal effort and initiative, when that is no more than a vehicle for goverment handouts.
Show.Us.The.(GAA).Money.

If your so convinced this mysteriously equitable process exists why don't you go and find the proof.

The reason why soccer is in such a sorry state in this country has more to do with the way they spend the money than the amount they get.

On, and Quinn should shut his hole, as it has been satted before if he is that interested in investment in Irish soccer why did he plough millions into a medium sized English team.

johnos

Not hard to find:rolleyes:
On a local scale, walk across a sports field and you're sure to bump into it. It's big, with concrete and glass. Mind your nose.

John_C

There's no point in asking for investment into soccer when big chunks of the money previously invested has been wasted. Noone in their right mind would invest money into a league where two clubs have gone bankrupt in two years and another two have been treathened with winding up by the revenue.

Only when the National League starts taking itself seriously will it be taken seriously by anyone else. The same people who gave Shamrock Rovers a license last year were in charge of licensing this year and (surprise!) Dublin City got a license that they had no entitlement to. That's the type of rubbish which would have to stop before the league can taken seriouly by anyone with money.

(aside) Dublin GAA is behaving disgracefully in Tallaght. They're not 'applying to play' in Tallaght Stadium, they're appealing the planning permission to the High Court to try to prevent any stadium from being built there.

KdjaCL

John_C wrote:

There's no point in asking for investment into soccer when big chunks of the money previously invested has been wasted. Noone in their right mind would invest money into a league where two clubs have gone bankrupt in two years and another two have been treathened with winding up by the revenue.

Sorry but this is a really long list of things we did with our Lotto grant, phase 1 nearly complete, phase 2 awaiting planning permission extension.

Phase 1 (the work necessary for our Club Licence and the part for which we are waiting on final approval from the Department Of Sport):

The existing six turnstiles will be upgraded to include metering. Three additional turnstiles are to be installed at the back of 125 to be accessed through the archway. This will increase our entry points and enable us to take cash at the turnstiles instead of the archway, reducing queuing. The extra turnstiles will also allow us to provide segregation of supporters if required.

The pitch is to be widened by approx 4m and lengthened by approx 5m.
To accommodate the lengthened pitch half of the shed, that part nearest the stand, is being removed. The remainder is being left in place for the time being.

The existing toilet block at the shed end has been demolished and is being replaced by a new two storey building of similar dimensions. The ground floor section will accommodate gents toliets with the upper floor section accommodating ladies and disabled spectators' toilets, to be accessed by a new ramp from the back of the stand.

The back four rows of seats in Block A have been removed and replaced with a new podium for 5 persons in wheelchairs and their assistants.

The existing dugouts have been removed with the existing dugout wall demolished. The dugouts will now be placed along the first step on both sides of the dressing room entrance, with a clear perspex cover over them. The next row back will be reserved for additional players/technical staff from both sides. The third row which currently only has four seats will have a full row of seats available firstly to the people displaced by the new dugouts, then to 500 Club members and then to season ticket holders.

A new TV interview area is being installed at the front of the dressing room area.

A canopy is to be placed over the steps leading to the dressing rooms.

A new referee's room is being installed in the vacant space between the steps to the dressing rooms.

The existing referee's room will be upgraded to provide a new first aid room which can also be used as a separate lady referee's changing room.

Drug testing facilities are to be installed in the dressing room area.

New fire safety equipment is being installed.

With the lengthening of the pitch and in preparation for further work on the Inchicore end a main sewer pipe is being diverted.

At the Inchicore end, new toilet facilities for ladies and gents will be installed, a new retail unit will be constructed and is expected to accommodate Burdocks or similar, a space is also being made available for future use as a club shop and a new control room is being installed to provide a view of the whole ground and to house the CCTV.

On the Camac side the existing toilet block will be demolished.

With the widening of the pitch, the walkway at the front of the Camac terrace will no longer be there. Access from one end of the Camac side to the other will be by way of a new ramp around the back of the TV gantry. Access to the shed end will be by way of a new ramp in a position behind the current position of the boundary fence. The boundary fence is also being repaired.

Under the archway and at the "middle gate" the existing gates and doors are to be upgraded and/or replaced with roller shutter doors.

A new emergency lighting system is to be installed.

The PA system is to be upgraded.

A new CCTV camera system is to be installed.

Loose surfaces are to be tarmacced.

Signposting is to be upgraded.

Floodlighting is to be upgraded.


Phase 2 (we are currently trying to get approval from the Department Of Sport to use the remainder of our grant for this part of the work):

A new irrigation system is to be installed to prevent the pitch drying out during the summer.

Lightning protection is to be installed, assuming it is still required under future UEFA Licensing.

At the Inchicore end, the bank will be covered by concrete steps and approximately 1,500 seats will be installed, increasing the seating capacity of the ground to 3,300, suitable for UEFA matches. The new stand will not be covered in this phase, we will look to apply for further Sports Capital Grant funding for this prupose.

John_C wrote:

Only when the National League starts taking itself seriously will it be taken seriously by anyone else. The same people who gave Shamrock Rovers a license last year were in charge of licensing this year and (surprise!) Dublin City got a license that they had no entitlement to. That's the type of rubbish which would have to stop before the league can taken seriouly by anyone with money.

Shels should also be added tot he list of teams who got a licence can couldnt pay their players, shouldnt have happened, What should have happened to all teams who play the licence game and lie.

http://www.eurosport.com/football/european-leagues/2006-2007/sport_sto932228.shtml

Reuters - 26/07/2006 - 26/07/2006 09:05

Hungary's most popular club Ferencvaros was excluded from the first division on Tuesday after they failed to get a licence to compete in the top flight, national news agency MTI reported.

Tough but i bet its effective.


kdjac

finnpark

Goverment has basicaly ignored Irish soccer despite the fact that its more important than GAA due to its global coverage.

John_C

KdjaC wrote:

Sorry but this is a really long list of things we did with our Lotto grant, phase 1 nearly complete, phase 2 awaiting planning permission extension.

No problem but it takes more than one example of a somewhat well run investment to show that the eL isn't being badly run.

I'm not fully up to date with your clubs plans but my understanding is that you've not fully comitted to staying in Richmond. This raises the possability that the Government will have spent a few million building facilities, only for them to be demolished a few years later. Even if this doesn't happen in Richer it is certainly happening in Tolka and almost certainly in Dalymount.

There are isolated examples of clubs being run well in this league and Pat's may well become one of them but that doesn't negate the fact that they are being put at a disadvantage by clubs running big losses or that the FAI are doing nothing to put financal diciplin onto the league.

When the league sorts itself out it can put forward a propper business plan for investment but there's no sign of that happening.

johnos

Did someone say that there's no point in asking for money? It hasn't done the horsey set any harm!

KdjaCL

John_C wrote:

I'm not fully up to date with your clubs plans but my understanding is that you've not fully comitted to staying in Richmond. This raises the possability that the Government will have spent a few million building facilities, only for them to be demolished a few years later. Even if this doesn't happen in Richer it is certainly happening in Tolka and almost certainly in Dalymount.

Goverment and FAI want groundsharing as from the Genesis report Shels and Bohs us and Rovers. They wont give us any more money unless we sign up to that. Thankfully Shels ground issue strengthens our case to stay, Rovers issues also strenghtens our case to stay, Bohs new deal also strenghtens our case

Wouldnt say we are well run as we had our own tax and player paying issues not so long ago are about 800k in debt down from 2 million in under a year.

Fact is we are not getting any goverment money unless we move to Tallaght but tallaght isnt ready yet so the club as ever looks for investors and the one we found gave us a pub to stay in Richer


kdjac

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Benedict XVI

johnos wrote:

Not hard to find:rolleyes:
On a local scale, walk across a sports field and you're sure to bump into it. It's big, with concrete and glass. Mind your nose.

Well seeing as you you mentioned concrete, any chance of some concrete evidence rather than you own observations ?

And the Croek Park argument dosen't wash seeing as the gov. will be supporting the re-development of Lansdowne to a greater extend.

AthAnRi

DubGuy wrote:

http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/ireland.shtml

22 of the biggest 24 stadiums in Ireland belong to the GAA including the 5 biggest grounds in Ireland.....

Then look at the EL grounds...you'll find them near the bottom of the list...I think the funding is slightly lob-sided....

[edit]
About Pats buying the pub, another reason is because the club was founded in that pub...

Finnpark wrote:

Goverment has basicaly ignored Irish soccer despite the fact that its more important than GAA due to its global coverage.

Of course they are bigger. GAA Games are our national sports. In america I'd imagine that American Football Stadiums make up the vast majority of the largest grounds in America. Does this mean they should start constructing larger Soccer stadiums as it is a more globally important. Of course not it's all about supply on demand. There is no point in building a 35,000 all seater stadium in Terryland Park when they can't even fill the tiny stadium that they have. In fact I would like to know if it was ever full in it's history.

Also It's not the governments responsibility to improve soccer in Ireland it's the FAI's.