Thats the one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paddyfield
Printable View
Thats the one.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paddyfield
Good thing the club isn't leaving Thomond this minute then.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lim till i die
I await the flood of activity in the markets field with baited breath.
Twelve months and they haven't managed to pile one brick on top of another one.
That's modern architecture for you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lim till i die
Attachment 2160Quote:
Originally Posted by Acornvilla
Least it has a bar!
Jayziz those Tolka Park photos resembles something out of Chernobyl it's that bad!
The discarded Tolka seats look in better nick than the ones you have to pay to sit in.
There's some really great photos in there, thanks. You've captured just how grim and run down Tolka is these days. It was a bit grotty 10-15 years ago, but it really is a sad reflection of the state of Shels and the league in general now.Quote:
Originally Posted by Acornvilla
Tolka Park is in an absolutely awful state. But the worst thing about it is, two days work in it with a few yard-brushes, a skip, paint brushes, and a bit of paint, and you could make it look a whole lot better.
I got chatting to a few of their staff/volunteers in the ground, they have the same problems probably every club does, very little volunteers willing to do this stuff, and of course very little money set aside to do it. Very nice guys thou, I really enjoyed being there, and going through the hallways under the stand with dressing rooms etc. Full of photos showing past glorys, cutouts of articles after Ollies death and the like.Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Sad really, so many people in the area and nobody willing to lend a hand. Maybe the club could put out an appeal some Saturday afternoon to round up a group of volunteers to do a bit of work on the ground, take them all into the club bar for a pint and a few sandwiches afterwards. I'm sure there'd be plenty of fans willing to help out to create a much friendlier match day atmosphere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acornvilla
Sad to see. I found this site with pictures from 2006, the difference 8 years of barely a penny spent in upkeep makes for grim viewing (no slight on Shels/ their supporters/ volunteers and the work they do and time they put in)
http://www.stadionwelt.de/sw_stadien...id=4744&page=4
http://www.stadionwelt.de/sw_stadien...a_park/100.jpg
http://www.stadionwelt.de/sw_stadien...a_park/120.jpg
http://www.stadionwelt.de/sw_stadien...a_park/130.jpg
But wasnt there a lot of friction with fans and the board for a long time?Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
Was in Tolka last night for the Galway match. Very friendly people there, and saw a great goal by Dylan Connolly. Also the pitch was in good condition after a days rain. I agree that it could be much improved if a fairly small amount of money was spend, coupled with volunteer labour, but the problem is that the club have no ownership of the ground.
Former chairman of the Sports Council; Ossie Kilkenny is the owner (along with another developer I think). It is a pity that both Tolka and Dalymount could not be saved, as they would be perfect for the requirements of the LoI in terms of capacity. Also both have club bars which means extra revenue can be raised which might subsidise the soccer, which is often the case for small Scottish clubs and non-league sides in England.
I think it is much better for Irish soccer if "investors" don't see the clubs as simple property plays.
Uploaded some pictures from Dalymount.
Attachment 2163
https://www.behance.net/gallery/20260031/Dalymount-Park
http://i.imgur.com/puttFx4.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by Acornvilla
http://i.imgur.com/CcWWbHz.jpg
Much of Irish football in a nutshell.
I think the first time I was in Dalyer was 1971. Remember being surprised even as a kid at how poor a condition it was in then, having been told many a time of it being the 'spiritual home' of Irish football and reading about all those famous international nights etc.
Those pix are a proper eye opener though. It's a particularly horrible venue now for away fans, though not the worst. Think it's probably decent for the homesters in the Jodi. But sad to see it and Tolka so absolutely run down. Testaments, both of them, to our administrators over the decades - not just the current/recent crew.
Both of them are a complete disgust. The fact they get any sort of licence ****s all over the work Athlone, Sligo ourselves and others do to improve their situation.
To be fair, your stadiums are already above licensing standards. Any improvements you make are well-appreciated.Quote:
Originally Posted by L.T.F.C.
Quote:
Originally Posted by L.T.F.C.
In all fairness, I could point out parts of CCS in no better shape than some of the photos seen.
Here I'll do it for you..Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
https://m1.behance.net/rendition/mod...9291c4e51c.jpg
https://m1.behance.net/rendition/mod...25fc0feff9.jpg
http://barrymasterson.com/303784/375...adium-desolate
Up behind the goals, and the away fans entrance are still pretty cat, but the rest of the ground is in brilliant nick compared to how it was even a year ago and I'd expect that a bit more work is going to be done over the close season. The main stands underbelly is now something to be pretty proud of, it used to be fairly horrendous. I've heard a lot of murmurings that our floodlights need replacing to get a premier license?
We'd all love even a cheap roof going all the way around at this stage because the weather destroys those areas if not maintained very carefully, but that's still going to cost way too much to be a runner any time soon.
I must say The CCS looked wonderful on Friday night, I can't see people who wouldn't have been there often, having seen/experienced much to turn them away.
The lights do need replacing but I don't think it's a mandatory Premier Licence condition, given the cost involved in replacing them. Don't think they're any worse than Drogs' or Bray's for example. We'd have to be grant aided if we were to replace them. I know it's in the club's plans though should funding become available.
Regular maintenance of grounds is key to keeping the costs of repairs and general avaidance of rot setting in down. A groundsman going around every few weeks making up a snag list can intercept a lot of future problems. Give him a few quid extra, it would pay for itself. I know getting the work done then is the challenge particularly with a lack of volunteers but doing little and often is a lot easier than what is facing any squad of helpers at Tolka.
Great stuff, again.Quote:
Originally Posted by Acornvilla
Jackman is hardly the standard we are gonna hold it up against is it?Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
Is it worse than Jackman no will it be much better than Jackman again no. Markets Field will be better than Thomond for me but that doesn't mean it will be good, Hogan with a bit of work done would definitely be a far better option imo.
Regarding the maintenance of grounds, is it not feasible to try to forge some links with local colleges who teach vocational subjects such as carpentry, welding painting and decorating etc skills which would come in handy to keep the grounds from falling into disrepair. Partnerships like this could work both ways benefitting both parties. It may even lead to a few extra punters coming through the gates.
How do Shelegated fans feel about the suggestion of the ground share in Dalymount ?
I presume its a case of it being your only viable long term option anyway, so its hard to whinge about it ??
Another positive development. Well done to everybody involved. Does anybody know what other developments are planned at the Showgrounds?
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...5-sean-fallon/
Dermot Kelly told Ocean FM of some plans for the future if the success of the club continues and said if the town and county back the club they can be possible.
"We don't want to stop now. We'd like to develop some toilets under the Volkswagen Bank End and make the facilities the better for the supporters when they come out. We'd look at putting in dressing-rooms at that end to cater to the training pitches that will accommodate schoolboy games and junior games and under-17 games.
“The Volkswagen Bank was built with the point of putting a roof in on top of it at some point. We would like to see that happening. But again it depends on the pitch and financially that gives us the resources to do that.
“It has been brilliant that we have cleared a lot of historic and legacy debt and used the success to build a very solid platform that will allow our incoming manager to work with our underage coaches and the fantastic work by the Sligo-Leitrim youth league and Kennedy Cup teams to start bringing through crops of young players. We haven't wasted our success.
“There is a tangible, demonstrable improvement in the infrastructure. We'd like to develop at the near end as well - but that when it comes about is going to be a bigger project and one that we might have to put off to make sure we do it right when we get around to it.”
It featured on Rte news last night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvt3...wNsDLIQLR7Zh0QQuote:
Originally Posted by Nah Nah Nah Nah
The Showgrounds complex (its much more than a ground now) is to be envied and aspired to. I remember being in the Showgrounds as the main stand was being built, desperate First Division days, and while the main works were eventually done Sligo were struggling to fund the finishes like the installation of seats and fitting out toilets etc. On a considerable amount of their own steam, utilising bounty of a successful period and putting out a decent first team at the same time is fantastic - on a different scale but a bit Arsenal like. You have the likes of Fenlon calling for a leaggue summit, more useful the Sligo board should be asked to run some sort of workshop for other clubs and share their experiences and pitfalls for LoI ground development. With Dundalk very possibly having a piece of league success and Champions league revenues I hope we will see some tangible infrastructure improvements too!
Come a long way from the days of the old shed on the now open end of the ground. Great to see. Would love to see a bit of a fix up done on the old stand there now and it'd be a fine ground. Maybe a wee terrace to finish off that end too.
That was alluded to by Dermot Kelly, though the impression I got from his comments is that it is a once only chance to utilise that part of the ground ie that a proper fully thought plan of what needs to be built (in conjuntion with a stand/terrace) and that full funding etc would be there not to have a piecemeal effort just for the sake of it. Makes sense if you are running out of space and there is the possibility for building say office, medical, indoor training facilities et al. Again it seems to be part of a coherent strategy adopted by the Sligo board. Now all the have to do is make a decent managerial appointment and cut the love in with Accy Stanley!Quote:
Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954
A piece on the Harps project from the Donegal News: http://www.finnharps.com/fhfc/?p=1156
A positive development would be if the sports capital programme was to receive more money in the budget, as mentioned in the Independent here: http://www.independent.ie/business/b...-30655482.html
Quote:
A new sports capital programme worth at least €20m will be announced. Sports Minister Michael Ring lobbied for the programme this week.
Even just getting the main stand properly finished and getting in there would be a great start. There'll be a lot of clubs looking for funding I reckon, ourselves included. We've not really got a lot of it over the years in comparison to what we've spent ourselves.
Longford's pro-Mayo stance in recent years may play well with the minister ;)
I knew there was a reason for that craic!
29.1 million in sports capital grants on the way according to this: https://twitter.com/iresport/status/522031196344033281
You love broken things. I have noticed this.