Stadium Updates (All Clubs)

[Shearer]

Losses of nearly €350k over the past couple of years would suggest otherwise.

Every club loses money. Weird dig.

[EatYerGreens]

The love in for the bitter reds and their fund raising always amazes me.
Rovers members have raised over well 400k in the last year through subs and various activities.

Which is also impressive - though in a much bigger and more wealthier area, and at a club with significantly more fans.

By any measure what Sligo do is genuinely noteworthy. The West is hardly awash with money (the EU officially rates it as not a developed area), and Sligo Town has 20,000 people - within a county of only 70,000, and a region where GAA is king.

[Nesta99]

Any chance the Sligo Board & fans could arrange with the FAI and give a course to all the other LOI clubs about how to run a club efficiently and better still raise funds to develope a stadium!

There is informal sharing of advice, certainly in the past. There were formal workshops run regularly on grant stuff, I gave more than a few myself, I presume there still are. Fundraising is a funny one, I think fundrasing officers should have been a ft role at the likes of Dundalk FC, event management types and there were plenty on the DkIT course that new grads would have grabbed the job cause its not an easy role to break in to successfully.
I think Sligo's fundraising is praised due to scale, is a small enough town, a sellout Tallaght crowd is roughly 50% of Sligo towns population (I wont complicate things with the county and support of other areas, the point stands). Rovers do a fine job, think outside the box like the academy as a childcare facility, genuis sort of thinking in maximising funding opportunity. Membership schemes are no brainers but a bit lazy too, success is often dependant on demographics. Bohs on both fundraising and fanbase growth we poke fun at but we all know they are doing a good job. Ringfencing proportions of whats raised strictly for development is where Sligo have succeeded and Dundalk have not. Drogheda are not great at it either, others I know less about.

The issue with the Galway training ground Im not nerd enough to look up the planners reason for objection but if it is due to flooding risk then it is a very good reason to reject planning and it does grind my gears when people jump to 'red tape' as the problem. Maybe the architect that should be submitting the plans should take some responsibility for not proving flooding isnt an issue or ways to alleviate it by say lots of infill to raise the site above the flood level, or say its not a suitable site in the first place. Who would grant money for a facility that could be washed out. Do you want to spend €100ks or more on a Riverside Stadium situation, that was mad, €1m grant funding washed away + whatever it'd cost to fix the subsequent issues.

[WeAreRovers]

There is informal sharing of advice, certainly in the past. There were formal workshops run regularly on grant stuff, I gave more than a few myself, I presume there still are. Fundraising is a funny one, I think fundrasing officers should have been a ft role at the likes of Dundalk FC, event management types and there were plenty on the DkIT course that new grads would have grabbed the job cause its not an easy role to break in to successfully.
I think Sligo's fundraising is praised due to scale, is a small enough town, a sellout Tallaght crowd is roughly 50% of Sligo towns population (I wont complicate things with the county and support of other areas, the point stands). Rovers do a fine job, think outside the box like the academy as a childcare facility, genuis sort of thinking in maximising funding opportunity. Membership schemes are no brainers but a bit lazy too, success is often dependant on demographics. Bohs on both fundraising and fanbase growth we poke fun at but we all know they are doing a good job. Ringfencing proportions of whats raised strictly for development is where Sligo have succeeded and Dundalk have not. Drogheda are not great at it either, others I know less about.

The issue with the Galway training ground Im not nerd enough to look up the planners reason for objection but if it is due to flooding risk then it is a very good reason to reject planning and it does grind my gears when people jump to 'red tape' as the problem. Maybe the architect that should be submitting the plans should take some responsibility for not proving flooding isnt an issue or ways to alleviate it by say lots of infill to raise the site above the flood level, or say its not a suitable site in the first place. Who would grant money for a facility that could be washed out. Do you want to spend €100ks or more on a Riverside Stadium situation, that was mad, €1m grant funding washed away + whatever it'd cost to fix the subsequent issues.

The pontificating from some Dundalk fans on here is a bit rich at the best of times but this takes the biscuit. Our membership scheme literally saved the club and for two decades has been pumping in up to €400k a year, - far, far, far from lazy and a huge part of our success. Sligo, Bohs, Harps and others could say similar. Dundalk, not so much.

[Kingdom]

The issue with the Galway training ground Im not nerd enough to look up the planners reason for objection but if it is due to flooding risk then it is a very good reason to reject planning and it does grind my gears when people jump to 'red tape' as the problem. Maybe the architect that should be submitting the plans should take some responsibility for not proving flooding isnt an issue or ways to alleviate it by say lots of infill to raise the site above the flood level, or say its not a suitable site in the first place. Who would grant money for a facility that could be washed out. Do you want to spend €100ks or more on a Riverside Stadium situation, that was mad, €1m grant funding washed away + whatever it'd cost to fix the subsequent issues.

100% agreed.

If a club has been gifted land you could understand to some extent pushing plans through and 'hoping' for the best, but the reality is it isn't acceptable.
if a club has bought land to develop, then there's no excuse - and good money should not be thrown after bad.

[Buckett]

A poster said it was a flood risk because of the low lying fields...as in the Fields of Athenry, it was a joke!

[nigel-harps1954]

Every club loses money. Weird dig.

Sligo are an absolute fundraising machine but losing as much as they have the last few years shouldn't be held up as an example in how to run a club either.

[Nesta99]

The pontificating from some Dundalk fans on here is a bit rich at the best of times but this takes the biscuit. Our membership scheme literally saved the club and for two decades has been pumping in up to €400k a year, - far, far, far from lazy and a huge part of our success. Sligo, Bohs, Harps and others could say similar. Dundalk, not so much.

Cool the tubes!! Did you miss the bit about Rovers doing a fine job, thinking outside the box in terms of the academy fundraising genius thinking? In terms of fundraising ideas, like club lotterys, flipping easter egg draws, it is a no brainer its lazy thinking, if clubs dont do it its idiotic. I apologise for the choice of term, I didnt realise there would be such a sensitive soul that would misunderstad the basis of what I was saying. Maybe I have a inaccurate opinion on my criticism of Dundalk FC, but I have called things as pretty sh1t when I think so, disgraceful even in this thread alone. A fansbase splintered, and gets blisters pointing fingers at each other. Quiet capable of self inflicted wounds. A membership scheme, basically getting fans to set up a direct debit to donate additional funds their club, its a bare minimum. Rovers scheme does well, Sligo do also, well done! Dundalk dont! I dont have an issue with saying it. It was suggested that Sligo's efforts are overrated by a Rovers fan, Its an opinion I disagree on with scale and demographics on different levels. What pontificating are you referring to anyway? I would agree with you that if Dundalk fans are saying that things should be done our way then its a bit rich. If offering opinion on things is pontification then he who is without sin....

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

Sligo are an absolute fundraising machine but losing as much as they have the last few years shouldn't be held up as an example in how to run a club either.

We did make 350k the 3 years before that so even for the last 5 years really

[redarmyfaction]

The love in for the bitter reds and their fund raising always amazes me.
Rovers members have raised over well 400k in the last year through subs and various activities.

We bought our ground by public subscription, ye didn't and ye ended up homeless playing in front of 2 men and a dog in obscure running tracks or sofa surfing in your bitter enemies homes before you eventually got housed by the council.

[Nesta99]

Jeez people are touchy today! Was last night just too much fun and this is the back to normal grumpiness!?

[sbgawa]

We bought our ground by public subscription, ye didn't and ye ended up homeless playing in front of 2 men and a dog in obscure running tracks or sofa surfing in your bitter enemies homes before you eventually got housed by the council.

Bitter indeed

[Stevie mac]

https://www.dundalkfc.com/supporters...laying-surface

Dfc trust to provide funds required for drawdown of fund for playing surface. Great news and a good start from Clinton

[Dermobohs]

The love in for the bitter reds and their fund raising always amazes me.
Rovers members have raised over well 400k in the last year through subs and various activities.

Ah it’s impressive the way they manage it sbgawa,given they’re developing the ground, training facilities, and running a top level squad.
Also a fairly limited fan base, and in a small town.tallaght for example dwarfs Sligo population wise.
Rovers’ fundraising is laudable but not on a par, and you probably(I’m guessing) pay less in rent than they spend on upkeep and improvements.
Also I don’t think they have the boost of a super fan like ray wilson who really put great finance into your academy which is flying now.
I’m not having a pop at anyone here, just saying it’s great to see a lot of clubs fundraising and in different ways, and it’s far better than watching what’s occuring at Dundalk , where years of investing solely in players has come back to almost destroy a fine club.

[sbgawa]

The last time ray wilaon put money into the club was around 2016 desmond put 2m in for which they own 50% of the xlub not charity...a brilient inveatmwnt for both worth multiplea now
In the aame time frame the mwmbwra have put in probably 4m ans european money probably 15....the role of the wealthy backers is grossly exagerated.
Tbf to sligo i was having a little dig but if u think tallaght is bettter off than aligo you havent spent much time herw

[ger121]

The love in for the bitter reds and their fund raising always amazes me.
Rovers members have raised over well 400k in the last year through subs and various activities.

Yeah but in fairness most of us actually like Sligo Rovers.