Didnt want to put this in the League Cup thread, it would probably be moved anyway, so in answer to Martinho -
That's something I can answer reasonably well though its heading for 12 years since working with the sports section of LCC so i'm open to additional details/correction! They are basically neutral. The budget in general is really tight - a couple of reasons are legacy debt, huge tracts of land that were bought c2007-8 for a lot more than actual value with a view to future housing development obviously not expecting a crash in the value and use of the land*; Compliance of business rates are poor, somewhere around 40% in arrears or not payed (a different debate that). The other reason is that the elected members have annually voted to keep taxes/rates etc at the lowest level. There is an annual standoff between the CEO & Directors of Service and the elected members and when the budget is rejected non essential services get cut and so on. One of the first things to go is the sporting budget.
The focus has been on improving things that currently exist and accessible to everyone in the county eg parks, playgrounds, walkways and so on. There is a lot of money being spent on developing and extending walkways eg the Carlingford-Omeath greenway which the plan is to extend the full length of the county coast. In a similar way hillwalking routes in the Cooley area are being made more accessible with 'road' improvements and car parking. You will see quite a few outdoor 'gym' points on walkways.
Any significant money spent is nearly always via SCGs for any municipal facilities like Dundalk Sports Centre, Lourdes Stadium in Drogheda (running track but only 4 lanes so always the bare minimum really). A new 4g football pitch and multi-surface playing area were installed over the last few years at the sports centre. As the centre is in Muirhevena Mór, an extensive social housing area with associated issues, they get additional funding for that area.
The recent County Ground plans were nearly scuppered by both the council and GAA as one wanted the land transferred in to sole ownership for nothing and the council wanted prime development land predominantly for housing and extension of the retail park - I suppose to generate funds via levies. I'm pretty sure the council owned the land in question so wouldnt have been willing to give it away for a non multi use facility. DkITs involvement I'm sure helped smooth things over in that regard.
*Drogheda's new ground amounts to really just giving a site to Drogheda United, land that was purchased that there is little need for and is costing too much to hold on to. LCC are not financially assisting Drogheda United directly. This will only benefit the Drogs if or when they sell United Park and dont have to pay for a new site. It's workable in this case as United Park is an area badly needed by the HSE/Council for expansion of the existing Hospital and social amenities in the vicinity. The County Ground issue also has this in mind as developing the existing county designated ground at O'Raghallaighs GFC would box in any potenial for development and they would need to use HSE car parks on matchnights for example. I wouldnt rule out LCC looking for payment if United Park was sold for a premium, or that they expect a sale to a government agency not to be costed at a premium for the land. Drogheda could sell to whom they liked but they'd have to be careful as it could be swings and roundabouts in what it could cost them out of the sale money.
The Director of Service if thats what they are still called over Dundalk Municipal District is a dyed in the wool Drogheda United fan, and the Director of Corporate Services at LCC is a big Dundalk FC fan and season ticket holder. The CEO's family would be GAA people but I dont think the CEO herself has any particular agenda for or against other sports.
LCC as much as possible would go easy with planning as long as there are no contraventions, indeed the YDC development was a bit too lax when details emerged of it being built partly on land the then club owner didnt own. Oriel Park will undoubtedly need exemptions on things like car parking if it is ever redeveloped. There is also a good possibility that what currently exists at Oriel, if changed extensively, will mean that more recent planning regulations come in to play eg traffic impact, accessability etc. Hiney Park, Joes Field, land owned by Iarnrod Eireann behind the town goal, Furry Glen even the Derryhale Hotel, if owned or had been kept in ownership of the club, such regulations could be overcome.
I'm sure its the same in all counties but my eyes were seriously opened on the excessive cost that things seemed to be when it was a council purchase or project, regardless of the tenders submitted. One of the smaller playgrounds in the county needed fencing installed due to repeat vandalism and the cost was nearly €100k - it would barely be an acre in terms of size. So LCC dont want to get caught up paying for municipal facilities that have significant ongoing costs. Again when looking at lawsuits and payouts against the councils facilities it was eyewatering!! The outdoor gym equipment and insurance never mind playgrounds run to €100k's.
It should be noted that LCC particularly in Dundalk have rightly used CPOs regularly on vacant housing (Ard Dealgan probably the highest profile example) to grow social housing stock. This seems to be their primary focus on any signiicant current spending.
There wont ever be a Tallaght like municipal facility in Louth unless it becomes a central directive. But LCC wont unnecessarily obstruct sports facility develoments. They would assist projects from preplanning, grant applications, even agree to service sites. They wont drop planning levies eg and set that precedence - that was tried by a number of GAA clubs (and probably with the YDC). There is a difference with SDCC and LCC in terms of Tallaght being a central focus of the SDCC area. For LCC build a municipal ground in Dundalk and one will be expected in Drogheda and even a scaled down version in Ardee also. The county is too small to duplicate big projects but big enough not to be able to centralise such projects for Dundalk and Drogheda's use, when the Drogheda stadium plans were announced there was some gnashing of teeth in Dundalk also. There is a reason why redrawing the county boundary to move Drogheda fully in to Meath was a semi serious proposal not so long ago. It's only about 5 years ago that counsellors of Drogheda Corporation voted on a proposal that Scotch Hall Shopping Centre be purchased to open 'Drogheda Institute of Technology,' DkIT is a 20 minute drive to the north and DCU among others is about 20 mins south, that doesnt matter though as what one town has the other wants and tbh its more an issue in Drogheda. There are already GAA clubs in south Louth that propose a boycott of the new County Ground in Dundalk. So LCC tend to stay clear of large non essential projects as it becomes a political football in the county to the detriment of the county tbh.
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