Dublin Daily & Ground Development

For anyone that doesn't know, tomorrow's [Thursday] Dublin Daily is going to have a piece in it on Athlone Town. Johnny Ward, who used to run the old eLOnline site has a column in the paper now, featuring on a different club every Thursday. He met with Tom Burke last Sunday for the piece, so hopefully it will be good. It costs €1 or €1.25, depending where you get it.

The picture below is of Buccaneer's new stand at Ericsson Park. Just basically showing it to illustrate what can be now in a small amount of time. I don't think it even took them six weeks to get that done. Granted they don't have anything under the stand like we will have, but once we get the main structure in place, we'll be fine. It's not as if we are leaving a whole lot of facilities beind at Mel's.

Buccaneer's New Stand

Couldn't get the Dublin Daily, is the article online?

Athlone Town to make a move and become midland kingpins again

TOM BURKE is everything the modern-day perception of Athlone Town isn't: bright, energetic and successful.

After retiring at an early age last year from his post at Gateaux, he received a call from the midlands club and was asked if he would like a new challenge. St Mel's Park, the Town's home ground, is one of the League's worst. Peter Reid's quip about going backwards if you stand still in football sums up how antiquated and forgotten Mel's has become.

"Build us a new stadium," the club asked Burke - and he asked for a week in which to reflect on the proposition. After years of neglecting the club from his Dublin base, Burke decided that the theory that you should never go back was an unreliable one. "I'm devoting three days each week to the project," he says now, and his journey will not be pursued alone. He told the club that he would set up a new company - parallel to, but separate from, Athlone Town FC.

The calibre of men he has succeeded in bringing on board has, he said, generally impressed and surprised the people of the town. All are successful businessmen; many are millionaires. Along with Burke, Kieran Temple, Tom Fitzgerald, Tom McEnroe, Martin Egan, Tony Kilmartin and the sole Dublin-based representative, Ronny Fitzell (father of former Town player Jan), have committed themselves to what he calls a "once-in-a-lifetime achievement".

Sentiments brushed aside, Athlone want this season to be their last one at St Mel's Park. By the start of the next campaign, the plan is that their young players will be playing in a new stadium beside the Regional Sports Centre on the outskirts of the town. The main stand with its 1,500 capacity will be in place, as will modern dressing rooms, a hospitality room and the required fencing around the ground itself. By the beginning of the 2005 season, the 5,000 all-seater stadium will be complete and in 2006 all the corporate facilities - offices, a restaurant and a bar for supporters will be realised.

It's impressive stuff, and not surprising that it will prove costly. Burke hopes that €4m will cover all costs, €lm of which has been allocated to the club out of National Lottery funds, via the FAI. Raising the other 75% will represent a long and winding road but with the help of local businessmen, fundraising and packages for supporters - such as buying a sod of the new ground for €50 - it's achievable.

There are already all-weather facilities in place at the new sports centre site and Athlone Town will soon boast two pitches (one for training purposes) and a two-acre car park. Burke states that the new pitches will be laid within the next month. "Our aim is to have the best stadium outside Dublin. People in Athlone have been delighted with the progress that has been made in Galway and Longford but we've lost ground. Now it's our turn to move forward," he says.

Burke acknowledges that while the council will assume control of the future of St Mel's, the memories will remain - but it's time to move on. "The people will come back;I am sure of that. There is a tremendous level of goodwill here. Athlone is simply a soccer town."

While team manager Jimmy Greene continues his "excellent job with limited resources" Burke will continue his own task. After losing interest in the club, he's now travelling home each week for home games, and the hunger is back. Before long, the Town will be back too.

© Johnny Ward, Dublin Daily

Pretty high powered team Tom Burke has assembled , gives me more hope that the new ground can become a possibility. Still
€3 Million is a bloody lot of money to raise from fundraising etc.