Lansdowne Road Redevelopment Thread

[Noelys Guitar]

Not a great time to be trying to shift a load of 10 year tickets.

If this article is correct then the FAI will have sell 10,000 ten year tickets at 9,000 euros a pop. And fairly soon. Not going to happen in this current climate. A spokesman for the FAI said it was "assessing options". Not good.

[OwlsFan]

John Delaney was on the TV3 News last night pouring cold water on the rumours that the FAI were thinking of pulling out of the Lansdowne deal.

[Greenforever]

If this article is correct then the FAI will have sell 10,000 ten year tickets at 9,000 euros a pop. And fairly soon. Not going to happen in this current climate. A spokesman for the FAI said it was "assessing options". Not good.


I believe the FAI have cash reserves at the moment of c €30m, they could also borrow €30m leaving just €30m required from box and premium level sales. You will probably see 5,000 tickets sold off for €6k per ticket, a much more realisitc number and a certain number of boxes. The rest will be sold on a match by match or tournament basis as per demand.

[SUB of the day]

The old lady is rising, phoenix like from the ashes.I really can't wait to get back.Croker will never be a home fixture:ball:

[Nipper]

Great. Another three-sided stadium.

[Scram]

The old lady is rising, phoenix like from the ashes.I really can't wait to get back.Croker will never be a home fixture:ball:

Are you having a laugh!!! More atmosphere at Croker than has been at Lansdowne for years...what's wrong do you get a nose bleed when you visit the Northside or a bit envious that the GAA have a real stadium?

[Greenforever]

Are you having a laugh!!! More atmosphere at Croker than has been at Lansdowne for years...what's wrong do you get a nose bleed when you visit the Northside or a bit envious that the GAA have a real stadium?

You must be at different games than I have been at Croker, athmosphere has been crap at most, probably because its a northside GAA stadium;)

Fantastic stadium but too big for a soccer pitch, crowd are too far away.

[NeilMcD]

Yeah atmosphere has been **** at Croke Park. Would not blame it all on the stadium, its our fault too.

[Noelys Guitar]

According to the Sunday Indo Landsdowne is not going to happen.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/fai-lacks-cash-to-pay-for-stadium-1436182.html

[Greenforever]

According to the Sunday Indo Landsdowne is not going to happen.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/fai-lacks-cash-to-pay-for-stadium-1436182.html


It doesnt say Landsowne won't happen, it qurstions the FAI's ability to pay it's share and suggests they are about €50m short. If they sell 10,000 corporate tickets at €5,000 that gives them €50m. They were looking for €12,000 pere ticket which wonlt happen but with corporate boxes and premium level seats they should raise a minimum of €30m leaving €20m to be borrowed.

IF the FAI do not come up with the money as has been previously said, the IRFU have the assets to finish the stadium and will do so leaving the FAI as tennants, which is no worse than the FAI have been before construction started.

[Noelys Guitar]

It doesnt say Landsowne won't happen, it qurstions the FAI's ability to pay it's share and suggests they are about €50m short. If they sell 10,000 corporate tickets at €5,000 that gives them €50m. They were looking for €12,000 pere ticket which wonlt happen but with corporate boxes and premium level seats they should raise a minimum of €30m leaving €20m to be borrowed.

IF the FAI do not come up with the money as has been previously said, the IRFU have the assets to finish the stadium and will do so leaving the FAI as tennants, which is no worse than the FAI have been before construction started.

You must be reading a different article from me. Here is the opening paragraph.

THE redevelopment of Lansdowne Road appeared last night to be in jeopardy, as a major cash crisis emerged in the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

Renting fom the IRFU leads us back to square one (thats assuming the IRFU have the funds to complete the stadium). Crap pitches. Dates defined by the IRFU. And no home of our own.

[Wolfie]

There was a depressing inevitability to reports emerging that the FAI are struggling to meet their end of the bargain.

The article attributes quotes to a source that is still insistent that they could "write the cheque tomorrow" however.

The Government aren't going to bail them out - the taps are being firmly shut off there.

[jbyrne]

You must be reading a different article from me. Here is the opening paragraph.

THE redevelopment of Lansdowne Road appeared last night to be in jeopardy, as a major cash crisis emerged in the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

Renting fom the IRFU leads us back to square one (thats assuming the IRFU have the funds to complete the stadium). Crap pitches. Dates defined by the IRFU. And no home of our own.

who ever pays for a stadium upfront with cash? they will borrow a part of the money and pay it off over many yrs like croke park did. there is absolutely no way that the redevelopment will be allowed fall through. even just staging something like the uefa cup final or part hosting the rwc would have a huge benefit to the country in financial terms

i was looking forward to our games in cp but id agree the atmosphere is far worse than lansdowne. the large number of part time fans in attendance just looking to be entertained, the carlsberg band, pop music after goals, the corny pa, the distance from the pitch and our poor form have all contributed to this

[gspain]

The article was a disgrace.

If you read the facts it says the FAI have only 21 million i nthe bank and are earning 4 million a year. That is before a single corporate box or seat is sold and before the naming rights are sold. That is hardly a big risk for a mortgage is it?

Can the IRFU pay up front for the stadium?

The GAA took out a loan for the bit of Croke Park too that didn't come out of the public money.

[amaccann]

It's one of the largest, most public building developments in Dublin city at the moment; of course it's going to attract all sorts of muck-raking by journalists out for the latest "scoop". As people have mentioned, loans have been taken out to cover the costs & it'll go ahead, one way or the other. Recession or no recession, sport remains popular throughout & the FAI / IRFU should have no trouble keep their finances in check.

Besides, the Indo is a rag pretending to be an established paper anyway, who pays the slightest bit of attention to it?

[bawn79]

It's one of the largest, most public building developments in Dublin city at the moment; of course it's going to attract all sorts of muck-raking by journalists out for the latest "scoop". As people have mentioned, loans have been taken out to cover the costs & it'll go ahead, one way or the other. Recession or no recession, sport remains popular throughout & the FAI / IRFU should have no trouble keep their finances in check.

Besides, the Indo is a rag pretending to be an established paper anyway, who pays the slightest bit of attention to it?

Have to agree with all the above, the piece in the Indo was a disgrace. As above if the FAI cant sell all the ten year tickets it can take a loan for the balance.
Also Ireland have had only one real home international this year bringing in money. They will make some nice money from the World Cup Qualifiers next year which will boost the FAI bank balance. None of that is included in the Indos piece. Plus if Ireland qualified for the World Cup in South Africa that would go a long way to making up the shortfall.

[Greenforever]

You must be reading a different article from me. Here is the opening paragraph.

THE redevelopment of Lansdowne Road appeared last night to be in jeopardy, as a major cash crisis emerged in the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

Renting fom the IRFU leads us back to square one (thats assuming the IRFU have the funds to complete the stadium). Crap pitches. Dates defined by the IRFU. And no home of our own.

Appears to be and are are completely different.

According to the article The FAI have €21m of the €74m required. (28%)

They have not sold a single corporate box or premium level seat.

10,000 seats @ €5,300 will clear the shortfall. They were going to the market at €12,000 and giving a sales company 25% which was a non runner.

At €5,300 or €530per annum or approx €100 per match there should be a good demand. This kind of realistic price is achievable.

The article doesn go into any real detail and just quotes the fact that there is a shortfall of €53m, ignoring the natrual income streams a new stadium has. Childish jounalism in my humble opinion.

[pete]

The first mistake ye made was to rad the Sunday Independent. It is laughable to suggest this will not be completed. Worst case scenario the FAI take out a mortgage on a portion of the stadium & pay it off from the massive increase in money they will get from new stadium.

[gspain]

It's more than that though. A long term football fan said something to me last Tuesday that really hit home. "Rugby and GAA have their cheerleaders i nthis country that see no wrong in their sports and fair enough. All football has is knockers."

There is no way such and article would have been allowed about the IRFU and the GAA.

Do you think any business would allow such an article to go unpunished? Even a business in a far worse state than the FAI would have the solicitor's letter off to O'Reilly last night.

If you take time to read the article it is laughable that an organisation with 20 million in the bank and earning 4 million a year profit couldn't pay 74 million for a piece of property.

There are plenty of stories about how bad things are in our league. This in a week where our sides played 4 european games winning 3 and drawing 1.

[Greenforever]

It's more than that though. A long term football fan said something to me last Tuesday that really hit home. "Rugby and GAA have their cheerleaders i nthis country that see no wrong in their sports and fair enough. All football has is knockers."

There is no way such and article would have been allowed about the IRFU and the GAA.

Do you think any business would allow such an article to go unpunished? Even a business in a far worse state than the FAI would have the solicitor's letter off to O'Reilly last night.

If you take time to read the article it is laughable that an organisation with 20 million in the bank and earning 4 million a year profit couldn't pay 74 million for a piece of property.

There are plenty of stories about how bad things are in our league. This in a week where our sides played 4 european games winning 3 and drawing 1.


I'd agree but it would also be foolhardy of JD to get involved in litigation which could cost the FAI a lot of money even if they were to win.

Better to stick to getting the stadium up and running and then having a laugh at the crap written.

[gspain]

I'd agree but it would also be foolhardy of JD to get involved in litigation which could cost the FAI a lot of money even if they were to win.

Better to stick to getting the stadium up and running and then having a laugh at the crap written.


You are probably right but one decent legal payout would make the rest of them think twice.

[pete]

The Independent are always the first to have a dig at the FAI & I believe they started this "no money" one. Symptomatic of poor Irish sports journalism.

[Student Mullet]

The Independent are always the first to have a dig at the FAI & I believe they started this "no money" one. Symptomatic of poor Irish sports journalism.
To be fair to the Indo, it was Fine Gael who started the rumours and the Indo is carrying them through.

[jbyrne]

To be fair to the Indo, it was Fine Gael who started the rumours and the Indo is carrying them through.

and fine gael have been very very quiet since the fai pointed out to them that their quoted final cost figure was wrong as they had incorrectly included vat that the stadium is not subject to pay.

surely the paper should do its own research before printing such tripe and not rely on fine gaels propoganda?

[Student Mullet]

surely the paper should do its own research before printing such tripe and not rely on fine gaels propoganda?
You would have thought so but the more I learn about journalism, the less faith I have in the profession.

[OneRedArmy]

Has anyone been to a bank looking for a loan lately?

Like most things in life, the true state of the finances are somewhere between the Indo's "shocka" headline and some of the "nothing to see here, all is well" posts on here.

Not getting the debentures (10 year tickets) sold before the economy tanked (as the IRFU did) was a big, big mistake. In any other business someone would be out of a job, but as we all know, the FAI isn't like any other business.

[jbyrne]

Has anyone been to a bank looking for a loan lately?

Like most things in life, the true state of the finances are somewhere between the Indo's "shocka" headline and some of the "nothing to see here, all is well" posts on here.

Not getting the debentures (10 year tickets) sold before the economy tanked (as the IRFU did) was a big, big mistake. In any other business someone would be out of a job, but as we all know, the FAI isn't like any other business.

the fai 10 yr tickets were never going to sell as quick as the rugby. the corporate demands alone on the rugby games has led to a big waiting list for 10 yr tickets. like any business the fai has to pick the right time to sell otherwise it could have been a disaster. when would have been a good time to launch the sale during stans time? with trappatoni appointed and the possibility of results improving they were right to hold off on the sale. the fai of today are a different world from a few years ago in relation to business. but sure they are a safe bet to knock for some

[OneRedArmy]

the fai 10 yr tickets were never going to sell as quick as the rugby. the corporate demands alone on the rugby games has led to a big waiting list for 10 yr tickets. like any business the fai has to pick the right time to sell otherwise it could have been a disaster. when would have been a good time to launch the sale during stans time? with trappatoni appointed and the possibility of results improving they were right to hold off on the sale. the fai of today are a different world from a few years ago in relation to business. but sure they are a safe bet to knock for someThey didn't "hold off", the deal fell through.

Whatever about Stan's failings, I think it was clear to anyone that a time when we sold 70k tickets for a game with Cyprus was as good a time as any to be selling 10 year tickets.

The state of the economy is a much bigger driver of the corporate hospitality market than relative success.

[Schumi]

Whatever about Stan's failings, I think it was clear to anyone that a time when we sold 70k tickets for a game with Cyprus was as good a time as any to be selling tickets.I don't know, a time when 20,000+ of them didn't bother to turn up mightn't be the best!

I don't know the details but I'd be surprised if the FAI deliberately decided not to sell the 10-year tickets because of recent results. Surely any they sold would be a bonus.

[pete]

Whatever about Stan's failings, I think it was clear to anyone that a time when we sold 70k tickets for a game with Cyprus was as good a time as any to be selling 10 year tickets.

I disagree. Most of those tickets were sold well in advance & paired with Germany which is why so maybe empty seats. The FAI are damned if they did & damned if they didn't on this one. Trying to sell without proper structures in place would have returned poor value. I still think they will have no problem selling as long as don't target property Developers.

[jbyrne]

They didn't "hold off", the deal fell through.

Whatever about Stan's failings, I think it was clear to anyone that a time when we sold 70k tickets for a game with Cyprus was as good a time as any to be selling 10 year tickets.

The state of the economy is a much bigger driver of the corporate hospitality market than relative success.

there was no more than 55,000 max at the cyprus match and most of those were people who had block booked tickets with the german game or the campaign as a whole. if those tickets went on sale on their own a few weeks before the game the crowd would have been far far less. sure we didnt even sell-out the german game! i'm not 100% up to speed on what happened on the fai 10 yr ticket sale to date but i'm pretty sure that no deal has fallen through as this quote from delaney would support...

“ISG has not pulled out of any negotiations,” he said. “We’re currently recruiting a sales team with ISG to go to the market in September"

taken from..

http://www.irishexaminer.com/text/story.asp?j=eysnkfgbsnmhau&p=49y7xx4&n=4917015

[Qwerty]

The bottom line is that the FAI has to borrow money, that was always going to be the case, so it's a non-story. I'm sure the IRFU is in the same boat despite having more cash in the bank: http://www.irfu.ie/283_12640.php?PHPSESSID=42bfe0415dad4147d4acc315a9 0903a8

[minty]

money always seems to be a problem!

[tetsujin1979]

Article in today's independent about the work done on Lansdowne Road so far: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/a-field-of-dreams-begins-to-take-shape-1439142.html

[ifk101]

New progress pictures here

http://www.lrsdc.ie/gallery/photocategory.asp?PCID=34&NCID=68

Looking good. :)

[Claret Murph]

1300 corporate boxes , hells bells I didn't know that before .

[Duggie]

seems to be coming on well.

[SUB of the day]

1300 corporate boxes , hells bells I didn't know that before .
The box level (tier 3) will have a combined total of 1300 SEATS....To see the finished stadium in advance, have a look at Arsenals and Benficas new grounds,both are carbon copies of the new Lansdowne, albeit on 3 sides, and a variation on roof design.

[OwlsFan]

Was down in the vicinity today. Progress looking good. I like the montage of progress from the Official site:

http://www.lrsdc.ie/_fileupload/File/Progress.pdf

[paul_oshea]

it looks like a rollercoaster ride in the last picture maybe they should have built that on top.

there is a huge difference between the picture on the 18th of october and the 2nd last one, and where did they get all those people from for the photo?!

[Lamper.sffc]

there is a huge difference between the picture on the 18th of october and the 2nd last one, and where did they get all those people from for the photo?!

:D who will bite

[Wolfie]

Slide 25 certainly illustrates the progress.

[cornerflag]

Hey guys,

Ive been really interested in seeing how the redevelopment has been progressing at Landsdowne Road. Normally i would log onto http://www.lrsdc.ie/ to have a look at the gallery but since October there has been no updates.

Does anyone have any very recent pics of the stadium or a link to another gallery somewhere?

Cheers in advance

[fergalr]

Search the web and you'll find stuff like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/turgidson/sets/72157600540378750/

[The Fly]

Check out Lansdowne Road redevelopment website for the latest aerial shots. It's coming on well. I think that the IRFU and the FAI will buy up the houses at the Havelock Square/single tier end over time and complete the stadium properly at a later date, thus bringing the capacity up to 60,000-65,000. The stands along the pitch are very steep - will definately create a great atmosphere! Hopefully the the stands will still be close to the pitch. Fingers crossed that it turns out more like Benfica's stadium than the Emirates.

[mint sauce]

seen the latest pics, no sign of the single teir though developing yet,

[pete]

seen the latest pics, no sign of the single teir though developing yet,

Probably leaving that for now to allow access to the site.

[craig7042]

Hey guys,

Ive been really interested in seeing how the redevelopment has been progressing at Landsdowne Road. Normally i would log onto http://www.lrsdc.ie/ to have a look at the gallery but since October there has been no updates.

Does anyone have any very recent pics of the stadium or a link to another gallery somewhere?

Cheers in advance



Yeh but its a carpark.... cant play on that.... I dont see any balls either......

[Lamper.sffc]

latest stadium shots

http://www.lrsdc.ie/gallery/singlecategory.asp?PCID=108


http://www.lrsdc.ie/gallery/singlecategory.asp?PCID=107

[Scram]

latest stadium shots

http://www.lrsdc.ie/gallery/singlecategory.asp?PCID=108


http://www.lrsdc.ie/gallery/singlecategory.asp?PCID=107

I see it from the "DORT" regularly but the other angles from photos look impressive. Can't wait to see Dublin v Tyrone there.