New owners at dundalk

[Nesta99]

Accidentally deleted my post on this poxy phone. I'm just shocked Dundalk for a club it's size don't have more full time staff given the new ownership. Even their media officer is totally voluntary, a club that size should have someone on site full time.

You would think there would be more full time staff, but there are some really dedicated and hard working people doing key roles voluntarily so I suppose there hasnt been the need to hire staff in some areas for as long as they continue to commit their time. I dont know how the club secetary, for example, does it - balancing his day job, the secetary role, programme editor and does a top job!

[Nesta99]

I actually don't have a problem with Peak 6 not improving Oriel because they said they weren't going to do it.
If they'd gone the lovely scale model route and promised a new stadium and reneged on it then you would be right to call them out on it.
they are trying to do a Rosenberg and if they do, my problem will not be the dump that is Oriel it will be the winning titles piece.
The only thing that can prevent that is other clubs stepping up as the resources in DFC now mean we can't expect them to go backwards.
Now where did we put that centre forward ??

Good point! Clubs and their supporters cant expect or wait for DFC go backwards to close any gap. Doesnt mean we will never go backwards and Peak6 could up sticks and leave us in trouble one day.

[outspoken]

You would think there would be more full time staff, but there are some really dedicated and hard working people doing key roles voluntarily so I suppose there hasnt been the need to hire staff in some areas for as long as they continue to commit their time. I dont know how the club secetary, for example, does it - balancing his day job, the secetary role, programme editor and does a top job!

I know what your saying, why pay FT wages when you've people and good people at that willing to do it voluntary but on the flip side of that, imagine how much more those wonderful people could do if they were full time and were sent for a bit of extra training.

[Nesta99]

I agree, but a good few of these people wouldnt want to or be able to give up the day job. With the history of issues with player registrations (Waterford trawling through registrations after the play-off in 2012) well a clued in club secretary is worth their weight in gold and there is no guaruntee that a full time member of staff would be as diligent. But yeah if they were available and willing things could be better organised eg improved communication with supporters, maybe having properly run members club, no messing with ticket allocations etc. In saying this any issues on this type of admin stuff are not major in my experience.

[Charlie Darwin]

I know what your saying, why pay FT wages when you've people and good people at that willing to do it voluntary but on the flip side of that, imagine how much more those wonderful people could do if they were full time and were sent for a bit of extra training.

There are clubs in the top leagues in England who rely on volunteers to do media. Hell, most of them won't even pay stewards above minimum wage. People who own football clubs aren't exactly known for their generosity to non-footballing staff. They seem them as free labour and will happily milk it. I'm sure Rovers would be the same given Dundalk's situation, sadly. Of course, it may well be the people in Dundalk would rather the money be put into the club.

[marinobohs]

But again - why would they do anything like that ? It won't aid their business objective. It'll just cost them money and be a distraction. So seriously - why would they bother ?

If any Dundalk fans find this disappointing, it's because they have given themselves inflated expectations.

Spot on. Would redeveloping Oriel bring increased profit (short to mid term) on Peak 6 investment ? Very doubtful as it’s not like they have capacity problems currently. Possibly lead to a short term increase in crowds but expensive outlay for risky return.
Given the owners, Dundalk would also be unlikely to get much public money further increasing their own risk.
A new or revamped stadium would be great for Dundalk FC, Dundalk and the LOI, unfortunately it is more difficult to see the Benifit for the people that would have to pay for it.

[Longfordian]

There are clubs in the top leagues in England who rely on volunteers to do media. Hell, most of them won't even pay stewards above minimum wage. People who own football clubs aren't exactly known for their generosity to non-footballing staff. They seem them as free labour and will happily milk it. I'm sure Rovers would be the same given Dundalk's situation, sadly. Of course, it may well be the people in Dundalk would rather the money be put into the club.

I heard recently what a kit man who has been with a club in the top two divisions in England was earning every week and it was shockingly low.

[marinobohs]

I heard recently what a kit man who has been with a club in the top two divisions in England was earning every week and it was shockingly low.

That would be the case at most English Premier League clubs, with ancillary staff paid minimum wage or little more. Clubs take advantage of people wanting to be associated with the club and know they will get workers at lowish pay rates. Think I read about a campaign recently trying to get clubs to guarantee the living wage (slightly higher than minimum wage) was paid to all staff.

[Nesta99]

Spot on. Would redeveloping Oriel bring increased profit (short to mid term) on Peak 6 investment ? Very doubtful as it’s not like they have capacity problems currently. Possibly lead to a short term increase in crowds but expensive outlay for risky return.
Given the owners, Dundalk would also be unlikely to get much public money further increasing their own risk.
A new or revamped stadium would be great for Dundalk FC, Dundalk and the LOI, unfortunately it is more difficult to see the Benifit for the people that would have to pay for it.

That doesnt have that much bearing on SCG applications tbh. The cash reserves of the GAA would have done an awful lot of the work that they got grants for for example. Often for projects its the necessity to have minimum 10% of the cost of the project in hand before the grant can be drawn down that is a problem. Having wealthy backers is an advantage in this regard though matching grant funding can be required which can be an issue for the money men at clubs. I wouldnt be surprised to see Dundalk FC recieve a sizeable grant in the next couple of years, possibly even in June or whenever the next round of grants are issued.

[oriel]

On the subject of grants, I don't know if DFC are in for one, but I do know the application process starts 12 months before any award, so maybe there is one in the pipeline.

I know the previous owners had a lot of planning meetings with the Louth CC, and rumours pre P6 were that they had got planning for seating around the ground. A grant award and supplemented by the club contribution would offer the best hope of any improvement.

I still think if anything is ever done to the ground, it would be modest, the appetite wouldn't appear to be there for anything else.

[ToberonaTornado]

The by-pass stadium in Dundalk might be an option Oriel

Cllr Keelan wants us out in the ex-dump.Home from home some might say.

€250k invested in that gym says we're going nowhere #asset

[oriel]

I heard it was actually over 300k they spent on the YDC this winter, so I'd agree no move from oriel park would seem to be even in any way of their thinking.

Worth noting also that then last pitch that was put down at the start of 2017 cost 500k (at last and for once a decent quality) which was paid by the previous owners, they also had to cover the council bill that was overdue for years, for the planning of the YDC, possibly 500k, then again as part of that deal, they took full ownership.

So although nothing spectator wise has really improved that much, there's 3 examples of almost 1.5m invested.

[RathfarnhamHoop]

I heard it was actually over 300k they spent on the YDC this winter, so I'd agree no move from oriel park would seem to be even in any way of their thinking.

Worth noting also that then last pitch that was put down at the start of 2017 cost 500k (at last and for once a decent quality) which was paid by the previous owners, they also had to cover the council bill that was overdue for years, for the planning of the YDC, possibly 500k, then again as part of that deal, they took full ownership.

So although nothing spectator wise has really improved that much, there's 3 examples of almost 1.5m invested.

I really doubt they would but they could in theory turn oriel into a training ground if they wanted to move and the investments wouldn't be wasted then.

[marinobohs]

I really doubt they would but they could in theory turn oriel into a training ground if they wanted to move and the investments wouldn't be wasted then.

Cant see it happening but presume any new site would be predicated on giving up the current site.
Some genuine ground improvements would be great legacy when this glory era ends but unfortunately I don’t see a big incentive for Peak6 in it.

[White Horse]

Cant see it happening but presume any new site would be predicated on giving up the current site.
Some genuine ground improvements would be great legacy when this glory era ends but unfortunately I don’t see a big incentive for Peak6 in it.

While Dundalk have a long term lease at a nominal rent, the freehold is held by the Casey family. This arrangement makes it difficult for the owners of the club to sell Oriel Park and relocate the team out of the town.

Dundalk FC is synonymous to the town.

Seeing people walking up to Oriel in their droves on match day is a great sight. I have been to away games where, if you were in the town beforehand, you wouldn't even know a match was taking place.

[EatYerGreens]

Dundalk FC is synonymous to the town.

Seeing people walking up to Oriel in their droves on match day is a great sight. I have been to away games where, if you were in the town beforehand, you wouldn't even know a match was taking place.

Wasn't that long ago you could have put Dundalk into that bracket too.

How easily people forget

[marinobohs]

While Dundalk have a long term lease at a nominal rent, the freehold is held by the Casey family. This arrangement makes it difficult for the owners of the club to sell Oriel Park and relocate the team out of the town.

Dundalk FC is synonymous to the town.

Seeing people walking up to Oriel in their droves on match day is a great sight. I have been to away games where, if you were in the town beforehand, you wouldn't even know a match was taking place.

As I said, cant see it happening anyway. I like Oriel Park and think best option is some realistic improvements. I appreciate efforts are been made but for a team doing so well (and generating such income) the ground is in awful Knick.

[White Horse]

Wasn't that long ago you could have put Dundalk into that bracket too.

How easily people forget

There may have been the odd poor attendance and the buzz around town wasn't always as electric as it is now. But you would still know a game was on.

[Nesta99]

I agree with WH, and what I found very frustrating then was post match back in town and the amount of people that saw you with a match programme, or a jersey and asked about the game. They were interested enough to want to know how the game went but not enough to go themselves. Are you familiar with Dundalk pre and post match EYG or speculating on the basis of average attendances?

[RathfarnhamHoop]

I agree with WH, and what I found very frustrating then was post match back in town and the amount of people that saw you with a match programme, or a jersey and asked about the game. They were interested enough to want to know how the game went but not enough to go themselves. Are you familiar with Dundalk pre and post match EYG or speculating on the basis of average attendances?

Seeing people walking up to Oriel in their droves on match day is a great sight.

And your reply is about people not going to the games but be ie interested enough to ask the result, which isn't a very high bar.

Yeah attendances probably are a good way to judge is people were going to games "in their droves"