Pats For Richmond is a new grouping of Pats fans, whose purpose we hope is self-explanatory. We intend lobbying both inside the club, among the fan base and among the general public to achieve this objective.
The following open letter has been sent to the club Board.
OPEN LETTER TO THE BOARD OF ST. PATRICK’S ATHLETIC F.C.
Dear Board,
Pats For Richmond is a group of St. Patrick’s Athletic fans that has come together because of a shared concern about the future of the club we support.
In particular, we are committed to the principle that the best future of the club lies in continuing the development of Richmond Park, the traditional home with which the club is identified.
We wish to strongly refute the recent statement to the media by Stephen Connolly, Secretary of the club, in which he stated that members of the club’s Patrons Scheme felt that “the principle of groundsharing is not a bad one.” All of us attended the recent Patrons Scheme meeting and the overwhelming mood of the meeting was NOT in favour of groundsharing - the clear preference was to maintain and develop Richmond Park.
Arising from our concerns, we have a number of questions to which we would like the club to provide definitive, unambiguous answers in the match programme, through the media, or both.
Specifically:
* Do the Board agree that development of Richmond Park is a viable long-term proposal?
* Has the club conducted detailed research into the cost of developing Richmond Park and if so, will they share that information with supporters?
* Have any formal discussions been requested by any third party regarding the possibility of playing home games anywhere other than Richmond Park?
* Have the club entered into discussions with any third party, either at the request of others or on the club’s own initiative, regarding the same possibility and if so, what was the nature of those discussions?
* Would the Board decide to play home games anywhere other than Richmond Park if that was against the clearly expressed wishes of the majority of supporters?
We believe that we represent the views of the majority of St. Patrick’s Athletic fans. We are not hostile to the Board and this open letter should not be viewed as an attack on the Board, but instead, it should be seen as a reflection of our concern and support for the club we love.
