Limerick set to lose Hogan Park lease

http://www.rte.ie/sport/2006/0728/limerickfc.html

Doesn't look good..........

Limerick FC's future is under threat again amid fears that they may not be given a 25-year lease at their Hogan Park ground.

Father Joe Young, who is trustee at the ground, and who has the power to hand out the lease, confirmed yesterday that he was considering granting the lease to another party.

Club chairman Danny Drew, who is a director of JRM Sports, the name which Limerick FC trade under, wants the lease handed over to the club.



But yesterday, Drew's solicitors received a phone call from Father Young's solicitors stating that he had changed his mind and that they would not be granting the eircom League First Division side a lease.


When contacted yesterday, Father Young stated that they were considering an offer from another party and that he hoped the matter would be resolved next week.

The Limerick priest declined to reveal the identity of the party concerned. However, it is understood that they are a consortium of business interests in the city.

Drew, who has poured a considerable amount of time and his own money into resurrecting the fortunes of the Blues over the last two years, admitted he was stunned by the development.


He said: 'I can't believe that this is happening to senior soccer in Limerick after all the promises that were made to this club about being granted a 25-year lease. Those promises were made by Father Joe Young on live radio and in the press and are on the record.


'On Tuesday last our solicitors got a draft copy of the lease from Father Joe Young's solicitors and I thought this matter was close to being resolved at last.

'But on Thursday, Father Young's solicitors rang our solicitors telling us that he had changed his mind and that Limerick FC would not be granted the lease.


'Limerick FC are the sole representative of eircom League football in this city. Is it now going to come down to the highest bidder? This is terrible news for the club and our future.'

Commentating on the developments, Father Young, who was chairman of the club when Sam Allardyce was boss in the early 90s, said he hoped to release a statement next week.

He said: 'We have received another offer on Hogan Park and I should be in a position to release a statement next week.'


Hogan Park, which is situated on nearly 14 acres in the Rathbane area of Limerick, was bought by Peter Hogan for Limerick FC and recreational purposes in the early 80s.

Hogan, who is living in Georgia, USA, named his son Martin and Father Joe Young as the two trustees at the ground. However, Father Young has the casting vote on any decision made in relation to the ground.

Limerick FC have two years left on a five-year agreement to play at Hogan Park.

This whole saga gets worse and worse. I feel sorry for Danny having to deal with this Shi**e :mad:

I have always felt that something like this was going to happen., It has dragged on too long now. However it may be a blessing in disguise in the long run.

Problem is now where do we go ?

Whatever about us, father joe can rot in hell along with pat grace. fai, local media/buisness and now the clergy, who else wants to **** us over? If Danny was to pull out in the morning i wouldnt blame him, how much more is he, the team, and ourselves going to have to put up with?

I don't understand. It says that the lease will be sold to a consortium of business interests? I thought it has to be reserved for sporting interests only?

It's unclear what all this means. Does the 'other party' want to run senior football in the city or develop the ground for commercial purposes? As I showed on another thread the ground is zoned open space and would have to be rezoned to be used for commercial purposes. If anyone knows any city councillors its time to lobby to prevent the area being rezoned.

I don't understand how they can take over the club unless they use the elase as leverage to get DD to sell JRM to them.

Either way - I did not believe the Hogan Park lease was a commercial one that would go to the highest bidder. I understood from everything Young said that Hogan wanted it to be used for football. How then do you decide who gets it based on the price.

Joe Young has acted completely dishonourably in this.

Ya thats what i thought myself as far as i know its zoned as a recreational space and hogan and young are the trustees but Limerick city council have a say in it also apparantly

This might sound stupid or may have been done before, but shouldn't Limerick try to get in contact with Hogan in Georgia and lobby him personally?

Sticking out a mile...that 'priest' was always a self-centred, conniving, brown nosed greedy *******. I beleive that the 'ground is for recreational purposes only' to be a line by the priest when he needed his name in the press.

However, something else may be afoot, who knows??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Poor Student

This might sound stupid or may have been done before, but shouldn't Limerick try to get in contact with Hogan in Georgia and lobby him personally?

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He won't deal with anyone except the 'priest', who he trusts implicitly, more fool him. At the end of the day, Hogan's a businessman, and doesn't give a rats ass about Limerick, its people or its football club.

Sounds like a take over could be in the pipeline? Shame on Fr Joe, thought the whole priest thing was to be a pilar of society and not shaft them (probably the wrong way to put it). Hope something works out for ye.

If a "consortium" has the lease to Hogan Park and it can only be used for sporting purposes then a takeover of Limerick FC would seem to be inevitable.

If the land can be used for commercial purposes then ye could be in trouble.

I wonder was it wise of Drew to criticise the priest so publicly when things haven't been finalised yet.

A mate from limerick that works with me says he heard the GAAAAAAA were after it ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by paudie

If a "consortium" has the lease to Hogan Park and it can only be used for sporting purposes then a takeover of Limerick FC would seem to be inevitable.

If the land can be used for commercial purposes then ye could be in trouble.

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Nail on the head.

I agree that Hogan is a business man and doesn't care about LFC but without a rezoning his pocket is not affected. He hardly cares whether he gets an extra couple of thousand euros on the lease. Unless Joe cares i.e. he has a commercial interest.

A takeover of the club may be possible - there is potential there and maybe Joe is involved with that consortium. DD's company still have LFC - but if the consortium make sit obvious that the club has no future ground DD may cut his losses.

There is a whole pile of sh1te aropund this I am sure. We have not heard the end of the story. What odds in the next few weeks a consortium emerges to bid for the club and Joe is in the middle of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Terry

A mate from limerick that works with me says he heard the GAAAAAAA were after it ?

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Very unlikely - sure why would they want it. :ball: This is obvioulsy one of the rumours that will get legs in the next few weeks.

Needless to say, this doesn't bode well for Limerick's promotion prospects with stadia issues being included in the formula.

It is thought that it's buisness interests within the city onto Fr. Joe regarding Hogan Park. The chances then are that its development related, considering other recent developments in the area like the Quality Hotel for example.
I feel sorry for Danny Drew and all involved with Limerick FC. Fr. Joe can go f**k right off, he's dragged this out for an age only to jeopordise the clubs future yet again. :mad:

From an outsider looking in, this looks like a consortium looking for land to develope. It doesn't matter what way the land is zoned. The developers have so much work at the moment, not just in Ireland, that they will have no problem holding onto the land for 10 years and leaving it idle. It is the same situation with Tolka Park. The person who bought Tolka is absolutely loaded. He recently spent 550 million in Dublin and has no problem waiting for Tolka to be rezoned.
Have a look at the Hogan Park site. It certainly has great potential.
I never trusted that Fr Joe chap. I've asked the question on another thread - is the priest living in Limerick or is he on the run?

Can I clarify something with the LFC fans on here please.
Wasn't Hogan Park due to be compulsorily purchased at one point so that a ring road could be built?

Surely it's time to cut Fr. Joe loose before he can do even more damage to Limerick football? If that means starting again somewhereelse than it might be better off in the long run. Fr. Joe seems abit like a lose cannon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoeyFantastic

Surely it's time to cut Fr. Joe loose before he can do even more damage to Limerick football? If that means starting again somewhereelse than it might be better off in the long run. Fr. Joe seems abit like a lose cannon.

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Agreed, I think any link to Joe Young (I'm not going to call him Fr. 'cos that pr**k is no priest) in the future will be detrimental to Limerick Football. There are one of two things happening here;

1. Joe Young has a consortium willing to take over Limerick FC, and as he holds the key to the ground, he will try a takeover cos the club has no where else to go. Wasn't Young, and his cronies, trying to get back on the board anyway as part of any lease agreement? This takeover would probably be full of promises, but I'm not buying it.

2. Developers are after the site. There's council housing due for construction in the area around Hogan Park in the future. There's also the new hotel development. So developers could be reasonably confident of getting HP rezoned for development. This would probably line Youngs pockets, in one way or another.

Either way, if we don't get the 25yr lease under Drew, which looks likely now, I think we've had it at Hogan Park. Under no circumstances should Drew give in to this chancer, although that's probably easier said than done. Hopefully with the FAI and the Councils help, we should be capable of moving elsewhere. I do not want Joe Young near Limerick FC again and should he take over the club, I will never go to another game. I agree with LFC in Exile, I think he's going to surface with a consortium to takeover.