Stadium Updates (All Clubs)

[Nesta99]

I highly doubt Dundalk would go all in spending on a Cat 4 stadium. Whatever work is done would though be with such requirements in mind for the future. If that cannot be done at Oriel then a move will probably happen. At least Oriel is not land locked even if there are others owning the land - arrangements could be forged with DGS for example. Local residents appeals againt planning is the major obstacle. With new development of houses in the area a new road betwwn the Ardee and Carrick Roads is now finally happening which helps but the club could do with being in touch with the builders responsibe to see what trafic could be carried, potential parking etc.

[oriel]

That's exactly my point. There's no problems with teams wanting to show ambition and building a big fancy stadium, but a good Cat 3 stadium should be well achievable for Dundalk on the site of Oriel with fairly small cost.

Yeah I'd agree with this, Cat 3 should be the target for Dundalk, that would easily suit their needs for 90% of matches.

Tallaght did get special dispensation last year, hence the VIP tent outside and probably dozens of other things too.

Need to be realistic too in terms of future years, when planning for increased capacity. If you compare back the decades, 80's fairly successful with 2 leagues including a double, 90's one league title but very poor crowds. The 00's were mostly spent in the FD but with an fai cup win. There were plenty of seasons with nothing, and not forgetting the 2014 league title was the first in 19 years.

Cat 3 totally sufficient for the clubs needs.

[mcgonigle]

Yeah Tallaght would need to get all the press and TV stuff but that's not a big deal to add surely.

As mentioned Tallaght got a dispensation to host the group games and that was with a lot of work and money put in by Dundalk, new dugouts, broadband etc. Tallaght is a long way off ticking all the boxes for a Cat 4

[RathfarnhamHoop]

As mentioned Tallaght got a dispensation to host the group games and that was with a lot of work and money put in by Dundalk, new dugouts, broadband etc. Tallaght is a long way off ticking all the boxes for a Cat 4

I know that but its hardly a life time away from ticking those boxes once the new stand is done the other requirements are relatively cheap to do I'd imagine.

Edit: I was interested as to what else Rovers would need to do for Category 4 and saw this. I don't know how accurate this guy is being but I'd guess if hes right and not just mistaken it would mean more is going into that stand being built than just the stand itself.

Cllr Charlie O’Connor, who is chairman of the council’s Economic, Enterprise and Tourism Development SPC, warmly welcomed the decision, which will increase capacity at the stadium by 2,150. He said this would facilitate the granting of UEFA category four status, which will make the stadium more attractive for bigger games and other events.

[sidewayspasser]

If (and I guess that's a big if) the Dalymount redevelopment goes all the way to the 10k seater, would that likely include all the stuff needed for Cat 4?

[holidaysong]

I doubt they'd have room for the car parking space requirements.

[Hitman]

A shame they couldn't put the Brandywell slope to good use.

https://babowaegukin.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/imgp7944.jpg?w=292&h=440

https://www.theguardian.com/football/these-football-times/2017/apr/20/football-club-ski-jump-stadium-south-korea-winter-olympics

[EatYerGreens]

I know that but its hardly a life time away from ticking those boxes once the new stand is done the other requirements are relatively cheap to do I'd imagine.

Edit: I was interested as to what else Rovers would need to do for Category 4 and saw this. I don't know how accurate this guy is being but I'd guess if hes right and not just mistaken it would mean more is going into that stand being built than just the stand itself.

Cllr Charlie O’Connor, who is chairman of the council’s Economic, Enterprise and Tourism Development SPC, warmly welcomed the decision, which will increase capacity at the stadium by 2,150. He said this would facilitate the granting of UEFA category four status, which will make the stadium more attractive for bigger games and other events.

When is that O'Connor quote from ? Does that mean that Tallaght has planning permission to be expanded further ?

[WeAreRovers]

When is that O'Connor quote from ? Does that mean that Tallaght has planning permission to be expanded further ?

SDCC are applying to themselves for planning permission so it's pretty much a done deal other than seeking public submissions under Section 8 - http://www.sdublincoco.ie/viewdocument.aspx?id=b7d79f3b-50d6-4eb1-823a-a6a500c58ad2

And Tallaght will be a category 4 UEFA venue on completion of the new stand and ancillary facilities, that's the plan at any rate and no reason to think it won'r be the case.

[jbyrne]

SDCC are applying to themselves for planning permission so it's pretty much a done deal other than seeking public submissions under Section 8 - http://www.sdublincoco.ie/viewdocument.aspx?id=b7d79f3b-50d6-4eb1-823a-a6a500c58ad2

And Tallaght will be a category 4 UEFA venue on completion of the new stand and ancillary facilities, that's the plan at any rate and no reason to think it won'r be the case.

advertised for tender by SDCC last week:

Third Stand, Tallaght Stadium. Construction of a single tier 2,200 spectator stand including all access & seating, ancillary & welfare facilities, mechanical & electrical installations and all necessary site works.

[BonnieShels]

Which side is it going on? Blessington Road side or Mountain Side?

[gufcfan]

Which side is it going on? Blessington Road side or Mountain Side?

Mountain

http://i.imgur.com/CBXSMuG.png

[sbgawa]

The wind coming off the mountain made it a priority to close that side first.
Still a bit dissapoinetd that they haven't closed it off completely by linking to the two existing stands.
Personally I would rather have that then a 4th stand at the far end.

[EatYerGreens]

Are there images to-hand of how the new stand will look ?

Let's hope that they don't go with another completely different design to the existing, as it'll look weird to have 3 stands that all look markedly different from each other.

[nigel-harps1954]

Are there images to-hand of how the new stand will look ?

Let's hope that they don't go with another completely different design to the existing, as it'll look weird to have 3 stands that all look markedly different from each other.

https://www.google.ie/amp/www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/tallaght-stadium-first-look-plans-12058726.amp

[sbgawa]

http://www.echo.ie/images/Tallaght_Stadium_new_third_stand_big_1.jpg

[Philosophizer]

Looks like it will be built in a style v similar, if not identical to, that of the east stand, so it should fit in quite well.

Although if the images are accurate, it will be slightly taller and bigger than the east stand. Ideally I'd prefer any stands being built at the ends were exactly the same height as the east stand, purely for the sake of uniformity and symmetry. Also, if they made the new stand the same height as the east stand, maybe they could elongate it a little so that it spans to the corner flag, or maybe even a bit beyond. This would help to further mitigate the mountain gale. from the images above it looks like there will still be sizeable enough gaps at the sides which will create wind tunnels travelling down the flanks of the pitch while the centre of the pitch should be quite sheltered

[sbgawa]

Agree 100% on the height thing if they keep them sameish height it allows for a possible future link up as well as being better aesthetically.
Its a shame that they are not going to enclose that end completely you'd imagine that if they did a wrap around linking the existing stands that they could create a 10k stadium without having to do the 4th stand at all.........the Aviva only has 3 stands effectively.......

[nigel-harps1954]

The two existing stands likely wouldn't link up properly though. There's probably access issues with that too.

[Nesta99]

never mind i was on a different planet....

[White Horse]

The two existing stands likely wouldn't link up properly though. There's probably access issues with that too.

First world problems compared to he rest of the grounds in the league.

[sbgawa]

I've wandered around that end often enough eating my half time chips there is nothing to stop a link up of all 3 stands. A slight kink in the roof at the joint but that is common in lots of grounds. Access for emergency services is down the other end. But your right I suppose ....first world problems

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

The higher the better to keep the wind away

[nigel-harps1954]

At 2,195 seats, it's going to be quite a tall stand.

What's the capacity of the East Stand? It can't be an awful lot more than 2,500?

[sbgawa]

Capacity of the east stand is 2899

[RathfarnhamHoop]

It'll be 13.6m heigh apparently.
East stand is around 2700/2800 I think.
That graphic doesn't look too to scale if you compare the new stand to the main stand it's an awful lot taller. Judging by how glass is on one side of it only I'd guess the end plan is to have north, east and maybe eventually south joined then the main stand separate. It does though all seem very first world problems complaining about them not all matching, not joined, etc.
Edit: Just saw a site and a post say it's 2899 in the east stand

[RathfarnhamHoop]

This is probably a stupid question but what's the story with safe standing in Ireland? Its something that would work well in places like Oriel or tallaghts East stand since its okay for Europe but also allows safe standing

[redobit]

This is probably a stupid question but what's the story with safe standing in Ireland? Its something that would work well in places like Oriel or tallaghts East stand since its okay for Europe but also allows safe standing

Dunno if they are allowed but unlikely to happen due to cost. I remember hearing they could be 3 times the price of an ordinary seat. LOI doesn't have the crowds or the money for them unfortunately.

[RathfarnhamHoop]

Dunno if they are allowed but unlikely to happen due to cost. I remember hearing they could be 3 times the price of an ordinary seat. LOI doesn't have the crowds or the money for them unfortunately.

Yeah I heard that too. Shame as they're almost perfect for LOI clubs to get up to UEFA requirements while keeping terracing.

[SalvadorSanchez]

This is probably a stupid question but what's the story with safe standing in Ireland? Its something that would work well in places like Oriel or tallaghts East stand since its okay for Europe but also allows safe standing


Dunno if they are allowed but unlikely to happen due to cost. I remember hearing they could be 3 times the price of an ordinary seat. LOI doesn't have the crowds or the money for them unfortunately.

German style rail seats are probably the worst imaginable option for our league... they cost an absolute fortune and unless you have whole stands or huge blocks of them you won't increase your capacity much over a seated configuration thus undermining the main revenue generation that's required to pay for them. They also try to do two jobs but don't do either very well, they're very narrow for standing config. and in seated config. there's all sorts of metal bars in your vision and for you to hop yourself off..
They work in Germany for a number of reasons, they have big stadiums with very good demand for cheap tickets for league games and a good chance of regular European games in C.L./Europa so they need them and can recoup the cost and if they were changing over regularly it would be very costly.
We on the other hand, should be building more covered terraces in our league. modern terraces, especially small ones of say 2,000 - 3,000 capacity are quite safe and they cost less than seats and fans like them.
If people insist on standing up (let's face it a huge number of LOI fans still insist on standing) terraces with crash barriers are much safer than standing in seats which is actually quite hazardous... as for the "what if we get into Europe" argument if you look at European rules re stadium criteria it's hugely costly for clubs to reach those standards (standing is least of your worries in Europe) so it looks like Aviva / Tallaght / Turners X and maybe the redeveloped Dalyer/Finn Park are going the only options in the league and even some of these won't work in C.L. Can't see the worth in those rail seats, better to save your money and put in a terrace and just leave it closed for a couple of European games than to go the rail seat route..

[GUFCghost]

The GAA architectural philosophy of "Decent main stand,three big terraces" would suit the league quite well

[nigel-harps1954]

The GAA architectural philosophy of "Decent main stand,three big terraces" would suit the league quite well

The majority of the big GAA stadiums would be totally inadquate for UEFA matches.

They're all about capacity and nothing to do with spectator comfort or access/exits.

[oriel]

I often thought the same on GAA grounds, a case of cram as many in as possible, no real oversight body in control, so they can build what they want / need. There can't be too many sporting organisations who built a brand new terrace (and huge one too) in the 21st century, Hill 16.

No news for a long time from Dundalk on redevelopment plans for Oriel Park, the pitch was obviously the absolute priority but it would be good to see some news of plans further ahead.

[vinnie]

No news for a long time from Dundalk on redevelopment plans for Oriel Park, the pitch was obviously the absolute priority but it would be good to see some news of plans further ahead.


Don't think you get the European money till after the competitions have finished, so probably waiting to see whats available before committing

[dundalkfc10]

I often thought the same on GAA grounds, a case of cram as many in as possible, no real oversight body in control, so they can build what they want / need. There can't be too many sporting organisations who built a brand new terrace (and huge one too) in the 21st century, Hill 16.

No news for a long time from Dundalk on redevelopment plans for Oriel Park, the pitch was obviously the absolute priority but it would be good to see some news of plans further ahead.

Celtic built a small safe standing terrace of 4,000 spaces, only opened this season..Looking to expand it more and more each year.

All German teams have a terrace behind the goals (Dortmund the main example)

Its only because English football does not allow terraces that we don't see all the big clubs in England do it.

[oriel]

Don't think you get the European money till after the competitions have finished, so probably waiting to see whats available before committing

Yeah I think to be fair Dundalk have said previously that they had feasibility studies done on what they can do to the old ground, money talks at the end of the day so that will dictate what can be done. You're also right on the actual drawdown of the money, that takes a fair bit of time to arrive. Also I think Dundalk got some already from UEFA to help them arrange logistics during the EL run.

[oriel]

Celtic built a small safe standing terrace of 4,000 spaces, only opened this season..Looking to expand it more and more each year.

All German teams have a terrace behind the goals (Dortmund the main example)

Its only because English football does not allow terraces that we don't see all the big clubs in England do it.

Maybe, but these are mostly the terracing rail-seat type structures that can be easily changed into seating for Euro matches. I`m pretty sure it was invented in Germany.

[sbgawa]

Yeah I think to be fair Dundalk have said previously that they had feasibility studies done on what they can do to the old ground, money talks at the end of the day so that will dictate what can be done. You're also right on the actual drawdown of the money, that takes a fair bit of time to arrive. Also I think Dundalk got some already from UEFA to help them arrange logistics during the EL run.

The drawdown isn't until the end of the year that the competition finishes. so for all the Irish clubs in Europe last year they get the money at the end of this year.

[GUFCghost]

You could achieve a lot of category two requirements with one stand,after round two of qualifying it would usually be worth while switching to the aviva.

Out of interest,is Thomand Park category four?

[RathfarnhamHoop]

Celtic built a small safe standing terrace of 4,000 spaces, only opened this season..Looking to expand it more and more each year.

All German teams have a terrace behind the goals (Dortmund the main example)

Its only because English football does not allow terraces that we don't see all the big clubs in England do it.

To further on this Celtic actually have a huge waiting list for tickets in the safe standing area it does draw and reignite interest from people who wouldn't normally be happy to go and sit and watch football.
MLS clubs that are building stadiums are including terraces and I believe Tottenham have designed one of the stands in their new ground to be easily convertible to safe standing.

[Nesta99]

I hate sitting at football matches especially when you end up standing cause people in front are standing and then there is nearly a row. So I am not surprised that the likes of Celtic have a load of people wanting tickets fr that area. It isnt much of a problem here when the issue around the league is more a lack of seating but in the long run safe standing areas should be considered in the design of new 'stands'.

[RathfarnhamHoop]

I hate sitting at football matches especially when you end up standing cause people in front are standing and then there is nearly a row. So I am not surprised that the likes of Celtic have a load of people wanting tickets fr that area. It isnt much of a problem here when the issue around the league is more a lack of seating but in the long run safe standing areas should be considered in the design of new 'stands'.

Yeah it's a bit more expensive but it adds another dimension to the marketing of the league if targeted at the right people. I hope they consider it for the east stand in Tallaght at some point,if they do it this off season they could even save money and just move the seats to the new stand

[nigel-harps1954]

Posted on our forum following this evenings AGM.

New Stadium
1.There was a structural integrity study done on current structure and it was deemed that it is still fit for purpose
2.A meeting with the Capital sports scheme took place in February and new plans were submitted.

New structure
Stadium to have to fully seated stands and terraced ends 5,500-6,000 capacity
West Stand(current build) 1954 seats with admin building, changing room
East Stand approx 2000-2500 seats
2 x Terraced ends combined capacity of approx 1500

Above is rough guide,
plans are currently with FAI and county board, its expect to have decision made in 6-8 weeks. When a general supporters meeting will be called and fully details plans published
Club will need help once new plans published details of which will be announced at said meeting
Its planned to have project complete ready for start of 2019 or 2020 season

[BonnieShels]

1954 seats?


Nice.

Good thing Derry didn't try that one. What would they pick?

[Mr A]

They'd have to build different stands for each restart. Could end up with quite a big stadium that way in fairness.

[Mr A]

Ground move update from AGM: http://www.finnharps.com/fhfc/?p=4836

[BonnieShels]

You're moving the ground now? JESUS!

[Candystripe]

1954 seats?


Nice.

Good thing Derry didn't try that one. What would they pick?

Am I missing something here from this post?

[pineapple stu]

One stand with 1928 seats. Another with 1985 seats. Another with 2010 seats. And another under the ground.

[patrickccfc]

They'd have to build different stands for each restart. Could end up with quite a big stadium that way in fairness.

You think their one would be big, imagine ours