Belfield Park under threat

[CollegeTillIDie]

Lads and Ladies ( there are one or two not sure if you are online)

How do we go about making this problem go away?
How do we save our little Sylvan setting?
How do we save our stadium?

U.C.D. soccer club have played here since 1935, that's 80 years next season.
Biggest crowd of the season so far last night, for arguably the least attractive opposition. As they say in the States , go figure !

[A face]

So ... wheres the threat there ?? :)

[CollegeTillIDie]

For the record boy, the College Authorities propose to move us to the Rugby stadium known as the Belfield Bowl.

The pitch there is Dublin's answer to ye're old ground Bishopstown.
Need I go on ?

[Schumi]

Off the top of my head:

Object to planning, permission for the appartments they're planning to build on the site.
Lobby local election candidates, apparently two of the Stillorgan candidates are UCD fans.
E-mail Hugh Brady (College president) with obections, hugh.brady@ucd.ie
Inform residents near the Bowl who may not be overjoyed with the prospect of hordes of Rovers or Bohs fans coming through their estate.
Kidnap Hugh Brady's family.
Well maybe not the last one...

[Bald Student]

The rumour round belfield today is that the college is selling some of the new Philips Site land in Clonskea to a property developer to build private (i.e. non-student) apartments on.

This is proof that the college does have land to build accommodation on without loosing any more sports pitches.

[pineapple stu]

Apparently the move has been confirmed - barring mad happenings, we'll be laying out of Belfield Bowl from 2006. This will secure us an A Licence even if we go up this season as we have definite plans in place to upgrade the ground.

APPARENTLY, the new ground will feature 1500 covered seats, 1500 uncovered seats, international-standard dressing rooms and grass cut straight and not curly/tufty like normal rugby pitches. The Belfield Bowl pitch is the only pitch on campus to have been designed per se - which means that the drainage scheme is grand on it. There was a problem a couple of years ago which turrned out to be a blocked drain, but nothing else.

Doesn't appear to be much else we can do other than hope for the best!

[Bald Student]

Where did you hear this from? I'd be very suspicious of the comment about the blocked drain. Pitches don't get reputations from a temporary wetness a few years ago.

On the up side, if a new stadium is being built (as opposed to the soccer club moving to the current pitch with fence) it has to be a good thing.

P.S. where in the UEFA Licencing manuel does it say that a licence can be granted on the basis of future plans.

[pineapple stu]

Where did you hear this from?

Maccer in Athlone yesterday.


I'd be very suspicious of the comment about the blocked drain. Pitches don't get reputations from a temporary wetness a few years ago.

On the up side, if a new stadium is being built (as opposed to the soccer club moving to the current pitch with fence) it has to be a good thing.

All technical data courtesy of Dick Shakespeare. Whether or not that happens is another thing, though we are apparently prepared to kick up a bit of a fuss about this if we don't get what we want.


P.S. where in the UEFA Licencing manuel does it say that a licence can be granted on the basis of future plans.

Somewhere towards the back... ;)

Apparently some allowances are being made with regards A licences for grounds. This has to do with the money involved (e.g. it'd apparently cost nearly E2m to upgrade Belfield Park, which is actually one of the better grounds in the First Division). You'll need to play in an A Licence ground possibly, but allowances for future plans have always been in there. That's why Drogheda managed to get a B Licence which they don't qualify for because they only have 250 covered seats.

[Bald Student]

Do we know the order of developments? i.e. will the new stadium be built before the old one is knocked?

[Aberdonian Stu]

I'm sorry but the claim that the Bowl has good drainage is utter bull. That's Shakespeware talking nonsense. He's buying every word the college authorities say because he's convinced they'll deliver. That doesn't wash with me.

The Bowl is notorious for drainage problems and always has been.

[pineapple stu]

Do we know the order of developments? i.e. will the new stadium be built before the old one is knocked?

Timespan is roughly 18 months - our big move is scheduled for the start of the 2006 season. Presume they'll start improvements next summer, and knock Belfield Park during the close-season with the intention of the Bowl being ready by March 2006. But that's pure guesswork on my part. Apaprently the first phase is the dressing rooms - to international standard to cater for the rugby, football and hockey. That's supposed to start fairly soon.

The surveyors who inspected Belfield Park said it would cost E1.8million to bring it to UEFA Licencing standards and that they wouldn't certify the Wall End at all. So don't stand there during games! :eek:

Personally still sceptical as well...Will have to see what if anything we can do... Interesting though that DS is the only one to have talked to Brady or the other gimp. Make of that what you will.

[Bald Student]

to cater for the rugby, football and hockey.

What's Hugh Brady building on the national hockey stadium??

[Schumi]

What's Hugh Brady building on the national hockey stadium??
Nothing, the dressing rooms are to cater for the Bowl and the hockey. They're probably between the two pitches.

[pineapple stu]

Well, at least something they're promising is happening already - that's a start... And the hockey pitch is the national pitch, so it seems they can build decent facilities if they want to...

[Schumi]

hockey pitch ... decent facilitiesThe stand at the hockey pitch is tiny, they'd want to do a good bit more than that at the Bowl if we're to get near the A licence.

[Bald Student]

The debate isn't about wheather the facilities can be built, because obviously they can. The debate is about wheather the facilities will be built an if they will, where will the money come from? A figure of 1.8 million is mentioned above and the University doesn't have that type of money floating around.

What needs to be found out is if the University goes ahead with the apartments on the current ground, will it commit to using the money generated to build a new soccer stadium.

In my (admittedly minor) dealings with the university I've found tham a sneaky bunch. They'll promise the moon and the stars before the ground is built but I'd be very nervous if the current grounds were knocked without a very firm committment on the funding for the new ground.

[Schumi]

The Bowl would have to be finished before they do anything to Belfield Park.

[pineapple stu]

The stand at the hockey pitch is tiny, they'd want to do a good bit more than that at the Bowl if we're to get near the A licence.

For a hockey pitch, it's international class, which was my point. It's hosted major international events, including the World Cup I think.


The debate is about whether the facilities will be built and if they will, where will the money come from?

They have plenty of money when it comes to building new residences, don't they? :rolleyes: ;)

They seem to have some money lying around if they're already starting the project; wonder can they apply for FAI grants or Lotto grants???

[Bald Student]

They have plenty of money when it comes to building new residences, don't they? :rolleyes: ;)

They seem to have some money lying around if they're already starting the project;

The residences pay for themselves. Once built they generate revenue and finances to build them can be arranged against that. What's yet to be discovered is will the University put off starting the building of the apartments untill 2006 (the year mentioned above) in order to accommodate the soccer club.
The President of the University has said a lot in the media about housing more students on campus and very little if anything about supporting the sports clubs. I don't know anything more about the particulars of this case than anyone else here but I don't think that it's the style of the current administration to spend a lot of money on a new soccer stadium.

P.S. The college doesn't have some money lying around. The University's budget was cut by 10% last year. Land had to be sold to buy the Philips site and there is talk of some of that site being sold on. Earlsfort Terrace is being sold and there is a hiring freeze on non accademic staff.

P.P.S UCD hosted the Hockey World Cup and the Hockey European Championships in the 90's.

[Schumi]

I assume that we'd be entitled to an FAI grant for the work on the Bowl like any other club. That's probably as likely as the College paying for it though.

[CollegeTillIDie]

The national hockey stadium hosted the 1994 Womens World Cup and the 1995 Men's European Championships.

The stand may be tiny but the seats have a great view of the pitch and shows that U.C.D.'s authorities are capable of building decent facilities as outlined earlier.

Two such stands and seating along the lines of the back of the sports centre at either end of the bowl and we might make the licence.

Alternatively one of us could win the Lottery and fund the Belfield Park upgrade. Probably the only way to save our spiritual home.
For the record we played our first game in Belfield Park in 1935.

[Aberdonian Stu]

P.P.S UCD hosted the Hockey World Cup and the Hockey European Championships in the 90's.

Ahem that was the "Women's" (possibly East German) World Cup and the Men's Europeans, however a temporary stand was erected on the far side of the ground to accommodate the increased number of supporters.

We're talking about something permanent, and with a playing surface that can't be controlled to the same extent as a hockey pitch.