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Dundalk confident of Oriel derby
Dundalk are confident that their Oriel Park home venue will be back in commission long before the FAI Carlsberg Cup clash with local rivals Drogheda United at the end of August.
The First Division side have been forced to play all their home games elsewhere so far this season, with Drogheda’s United Park and Century Homes Park in Monaghan serving as temporary bases for the Lilywhites.
Read more at www.elevenaside.com
Damn! I wanted our away game to be at home :DQuote:
Originally Posted by A face
Given current progress it looks like you are going to get your wish !Quote:
Originally Posted by Malby
Can anyone tell me how it's getting on?
Pitch has been ordered & paid in full.
Photo taken by me, last Wednesday
http://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?i...y1610020ax.jpg
Posted by mike on Dundalk Talk
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was up in oriel earlier for a look around. Findings as follows and all bar the pitch are very very postivie. Wexford, yorkie, james, geneva (if not seen already) adam k and other non local based lilywhites may enjoy this report - since nothing is coming out of the cub, i`ll do this myself.
1/ New terracing (later to be seats im told) already started on shed side, better it stretches almost the entire lenght of the pitch (90%) At the moment there are only 3 steps built, each big enough to insert seating. Also looks like this will increase a lot higher as the room behind suggest more building. The first terrace is right on the touchline, so great views await. The gap between this new structure and the front of the old shed terracing is about 35 feet so you can imagine how close this will be to the pitch.
2/ The stand looks fantastic i have to say (well for the stand if you know what i mean) the red bucket seating reamains in the central part and all wooden benching has been replaced with white `bum plastic' seating, in all 1,000 plastic seats are in now place. The stairs/gaps have all been widened and painted red. There is a big painted sign at the top of the stand (inside) saying ORIEL PARK - HOME OF FOOTBALL - same sign is now the first thing you will see when entering oriel and is about 4 times the size - quite impressive i have to say. The front of the stand now has two emergency exits painted red with railings to allow access to the terracing infront of the stand. (NOT UNLIKE MONS GROUND) Also there is a huge new emergency exit gate at the carrick rd side of the stand, you guessed it, painted red. Overall it has been cleaned up very well with large row numbers painted red on the sides. Put it this way before, the team photos looked poor infront of the stand, now with the new dugouts due soon, it would look brilliant, with the black, white and red background.
3/ Remember one of the worst views to watch games, the terracing facing the shed (stand side) However, with the pitch now right up against this, this will offer a tremendous vantage point
4/Away terracing (ESPECIALLY FOR YOU DAVID DROG)
The vantage point here is one of the best in the ground i thought when i was up earlier, as again with the pitch being closer, it makes an ideal spot towatch games, it will be a great atmosphere for future big games with away support (Daivd i hear you with your seating v terracing argument here) An impressive new exit has been constructed at the back of this terracing with safety barier on each side to allow fans leave in large numbers, looks like this will direct them towards the lane way and out by cheevers shop to the carrick rd.
5/ Area behind carrick road goal - building site - but looks like it will be area for new dressing rooms/parking.
6/ Area behind other goal - unclear as to what will become of this area.
7/ The resident hare as shown in one of eamons photos is still living on the pitch
8/ The pitch itself ???? Nicely levelled, finished well around the sides with a nice while low border, BUT................full of gravel. The only glimmer of hope i can give is last night i played in the new JJB soccer dome for the first time, and they have version 2 field turf installed. (same company that is supplying oriel) It was class, it looked so like grass, i thought it needed to be cut !!! it was great to play on, no high bounce, ball passes well, no probs doing tackles, no burning whatsoever, ball doesn`t move that fast, but it does move quick, infact on some tackles you actually see `clay' flash up from under the surface which looks just like what you`d see in the real mccoy. I woudl say it was a 70% difference that (better) that playing on the astro turf pitch of say Glenmuir etc. And I`m told Dundalk are getting version 3 installed !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ireland on Sunday article
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Dundalk's Cup hopes suffer new setback
By Jack White
DUNDALK'S HOPES of hosting their forthcoming FAI Cup third round tie with neighbours Drogheda United at Oriel Park are receding daily - despite the fact that an order for the manufacture of a new artificial surfaces has finally been placed.
Ireland on Sunday understands that the club's long wait for the receipt of grant moneys owed for works already completed on the project was finally ended on Friday, July 15 and the six figure deposit demanded by the manufacturers of the FIFA 2 Star surface was immediately paid over.
This should have given the club just enough time to ensure that the works at Oriel Park were completed ahead of the August 25-scheduled tie, given the expected four week programme for manufacture and installation. However, IoS understands that Dundalk have since been informed that due to unprecedented demand on its product, Birmingham based manufacturer Field Turf, already on a 24-hour production cycle, have indicated that there will now be a six week lead time for the manufacture of the 70mm carpet putting the project back possibly until the end of September.
Frantic moves were being made behind the scenes this week to find some way of accommodating the Co Louth club's order (and that of two others, one of which is destined for Iceland) in the production schedules but no progress had been made up to close of business on Friday last. But while there is still a slight hope that an agreement might be reached this week, it is thought highly unlikely.
Industry sources have also indicated that while the completion of the project would, in theory, still be possible were production to begin on Monday or Tuesday of this week, any further delay would put the project outside of Dundalk's hoped-for timetable given the logistical demands (printing of tickets, programmes, erection of TV gantry, security arrangements) ahead of the televised tie.
Dundalk CEO Update
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The Final Countdown
by Sean Connolly, CEO
24 July 2005
As I write Oriel Park is buzzing as the days tick down to the Big Return. It is a good time to bring you up to date with all that is happening and along the way to dispel a few worries and lay to rest a few rumours, some of which you could be forgiven for thinking are malicious and created by people with agendas other than the re-invigoration of a near-dead Club.
Financial
The real value of the sale of Hiney Park has now begun to kick in. In recent days we have completed the legalities surrounding the sale and have moved on to sorting out our creditors and re-establishing our business credibility. We hope to complete this process in the next few weeks. The Grant monies have also begun to flow thanks in no small measure to the Hiney Park sale and the ability to pay far more than our 20% contribution to development work at Oriel and in the process convince the Department of Sport that the Club was financially secure and would continue trading successfully into the future. The first money of grant funds has already been released and a second will arrive shortly.
Lest anybody should run away with the idea that Dundalk FC is rolling in money I should rush in immediately to say that all that has happened is that we now have a good fighting chance to decide our own future. This is only the beginning. We now need sound financial management and huge support from fans and the business community as we strive to become the country’s top club in four or five years time. We can never again do this by holding out the begging bowl (although we won’t be averse to a bit of that too if necessary!) The Club must give real value to people supporting our events – matches, concerts, and fund-raisers of all kinds – and we must produce a product that our business supporters will be proud to be associated with. In other words we must become totally professional in all that we do. And we will!
Oriel Park Developments
For the first time in many months the Board finds itself able to get on with the running of a football club instead of spending every waking minute our tattered and badly holed boat with a fork. We have reached the shore and have the chance to carry out repairs. When you next visit Oriel you will be amazed at the changes that are taking place. The Shed is gone and is in the throes of replacement by a much safer construction. The Carrick Road end has got a major facelift. It is no longer a scruffy area doing no good to the image of the Club. The overgrown jungle of briars and bushes and the rotting signage are no more. The loose rubble has gone as is happening all around Oriel as we move to compliance with Licensing as Safety requirements. This end provides the basis of a secure area for dressing rooms (when we get Planning Permission) and visiting team coaches, referees etc. All essential for when we return to European competition. The Main Stand has its new seats and exits installed and has got a big facelift and work is beginning this week on refurbishment of the bars etc under the stand.
And I can hear the screams: THE PITCH, THE PITCH.
Well, we have paid over a huge sum well in excess of half the cost of the pitch and everything is on track for the formal opening of Oriel at the Cup game against Drogheda on August 26. Contrary to reports, We have not been informed of any reason why this date cannot be met from PrideSports. While we are to some extent in the hands of the gods as regards weather etc we have little doubts that we will have a gala night at the Cup game. The FAI is hugely supportive; UEFA’s laboratories have scheduled the final inspection; PrideSports are pulling out all the stops to showcase their product on television at a time when many Clubs around the country will use their newly announced grant to build all weather surfaces. (Incidentally our new pitch will be the first in the world to meet the upgraded FIFA standards.)
In the Office we are working on the arrangements for the Opening. Tickets are being printed, invitation lists being prepared, security being organised and so on. Exciting times indeed. Yes, we will celebrate. But it is just the start. The real work is only starting.
The Future
Already we are working on the detailed plans that will secure the financial and footballing success of the Club. This type of planning is crucial if we are to attract the type of investment the Club will need to flourish. No investor worth his or her salt would have touched the Club with a bargepole in recent times. That must change. We have a chance to do so now. We must develop a plan that will impress investors. We must show that we have a core of real support around the Club capable of maximising the income of the Club and providing the kind of facilities that modern fans require. We must develop the long-term approach to the development of the Club’s players (and those of the North East generally) that all clubs serious about success have had in place for many years. Big challenges sure but ones we must grasp and welcome. We must set big targets. Set little ones and you will achieve little. There is something for everyone who loves this Club. Look out for it, find it, do it.
Finally
It strikes me how much of the stuff I have just written is not about football at all. It could be written about any business. But then that seems to be the way modern sport has gone. There is football and the business of football. And successful clubs get the business end correct to allow the football to flourish. Dundalk FC will soon have one group of people playing around with spreadsheets, profit and loss accounts, projections and investments and another looking after the playing of football. Let’s get the two right.
Good NewsQuote:
Dundalk Receive FieldTurf assurances
25 July 2005
Dundalk FC have received written confirmation from FieldTurf that, weather permitting, the new synthetic surface will be in place in advance of the FAI Cup 3rd Round tie with Drogheda United on August 26th. The new surface is currently being manufactured and FieldTurf are due in Oriel Park next week to begin the operation. FieldTurf are planning to work into the night under floodlights in an effort to complete the operation between 6-10 days. The biggest obstacle is the weather.
This week PrideSports shall be tarmacing the area surrounding the pitch and also erecting a security fence. Work is continuing on the Car-Parking area and the new terrace.