Brandywell Stadium Development

[brandyball]

It's all kicked off @ Stormount. The DUP have accused the Shinners of being sectarian as they've protected the money for casement but not the stadia money.

Can't argue with that...

Desire Hargy was on Tallkback saying the money for the Stadia is ring-fenced but can't be distributed as there's no executive to approve it. The thing is there may not be an executive after the election if no nomination coming forward from the 2nd best team.

[stevebradley]

It's all kicked off @ Stormount. The DUP have accused the Shinners of being sectarian as they've protected the money for casement but not the stadia money.

Can't argue with that...

Desire Hargy was on Tallkback saying the money for the Stadia is ring-fenced but can't be distributed as there's no executive to approve it. The thing is there may not be an executive after the election if no nomination coming forward from the 2nd best team.

Disingenuous bulls!t. This was an easy win for her when she took office in Jan 2020 - with money ready to go out and plenty of time to get it released and to take the plaudits for it. Instead she repeatedly dragged her feet over it all, and refused to engage with key groups involved. And now she has the sheer cheek to blame others for her own inaction over the last 25 months.

Ministers want to deliver things so they can point to them at election time - both to get their party votes and as their own legacy. This was literally the funding equivalent of a tap-in to an empty net. So it is blatantly clear that the only reason why it didn't progres over the last 25 motnhs is because the Minister deliberately chose NOT to progress it. And given how SF operate, that means it's because he party didn't want it to progress. All at the same time that the GAA are demanding Stormont pay the c£50m extra needed for Casement Park (caused by the GAA tryiing to steamroller residents with a stadium that was far too large). Coincidence ?

[marcoloco]

Can't argue with that...

Desire Hargy was on Tallkback saying the money for the Stadia is ring-fenced but can't be distributed as there's no executive to approve it. The thing is there may not be an executive after the election if no nomination coming forward from the 2nd best team.

Disingenuous bulls!t. This was an easy win for her when she took office in Jan 2020 - with money ready to go out and plenty of time to get it released and to take the plaudits for it. Instead she repeatedly dragged her feet over it all, and refused to engage with key groups involved. And now she has the sheer cheek to blame others for her own inaction over the last 25 months.

Ministers want to deliver things so they can point to them at election time - both to get their party votes and as their own legacy. This was literally the funding equivalent of a tap-in to an empty net. So it is blatantly clear that the only reason why it didn't progres over the last 25 motnhs is because the Minister deliberately chose NOT to progress it. And given how SF operate, that means it's because he party didn't want it to progress. All at the same time that the GAA are demanding Stormont pay the c£50m extra needed for Casement Park (caused by the GAA tryiing to steamroller residents with a stadium that was far too large). Coincidence ?

The biggest own goal was not doing the whole thing at once. And unfulfilled promises were made back then to. To build a stand in stages is ridiculous. Inflation has now massively increased the cost to the tax payer. It's as far away now as it was back when the decision to build it in stages was taken.

[brandyball]

Can't argue with that...

Desire Hargy was on Tallkback saying the money for the Stadia is ring-fenced but can't be distributed as there's no executive to approve it. The thing is there may not be an executive after the election if no nomination coming forward from the 2nd best team.

Disingenuous bulls!t. This was an easy win for her when she took office in Jan 2020 - with money ready to go out and plenty of time to get it released and to take the plaudits for it. Instead she repeatedly dragged her feet over it all, and refused to engage with key groups involved. And now she has the sheer cheek to blame others for her own inaction over the last 25 months.

Ministers want to deliver things so they can point to them at election time - both to get their party votes and as their own legacy. This was literally the funding equivalent of a tap-in to an empty net. So it is blatantly clear that the only reason why it didn't progres over the last 25 motnhs is because the Minister deliberately chose NOT to progress it. And given how SF operate, that means it's because he party didn't want it to progress. All at the same time that the GAA are demanding Stormont pay the c£50m extra needed for Casement Park (caused by the GAA tryiing to steamroller residents with a stadium that was far too large). Coincidence ?

Jeez Steve,pity you didn't ring into talkback when she was on live you could've nailed that lie.

[KEVK]

Why are the club and the Council not maximising capacity of the stadium at the moment?

There are no longer Covid restrictions in place so why are more fans not allowed in to the Mark Farren side terrace when it's safe to do so?

The Club are also missing a trick as they should have sold terrace season tickets for the Mark Farren side. Instead, we have at least 100 or so empty seats in the Mark Farren Stand every match because those fans prefer to stand and the club could have sold those fans a terrace season ticket thus freeing up seats in the Mark Farren Stand.

Club should now be pushing the Council for temporary stands to increase capacity - at least get the planning, risk, assessment, red tape in now so if it's needed later in the season temporary stands can be erected pretty quickly.

[marcoloco]

Why are the club and the Council not maximising capacity of the stadium at the moment?

There are no longer Covid restrictions in place so why are more fans not allowed in to the Mark Farren side terrace when it's safe to do so?

The Club are also missing a trick as they should have sold terrace season tickets for the Mark Farren side. Instead, we have at least 100 or so empty seats in the Mark Farren Stand every match because those fans prefer to stand and the club could have sold those fans a terrace season ticket thus freeing up seats in the Mark Farren Stand.

Club should now be pushing the Council for temporary stands to increase capacity - at least get the planning, risk, assessment, red tape in now so if it's needed later in the season temporary stands can be erected pretty quickly.

The only rationale answer to all of this is that we are tenants and don't control investment into the stadium. We pay an annual rent which i'm sure has been negotiated hard. The Council are the owners of the stadium and they are the ones that determine what is done and when based on finances available to them. The hash reality of not controlling our stadium is biting now that there's serious interest. It's still a travesty the the new stand was not delivered properly. To throw up 900 seats and walk away is sadly the type of decisions making that we are all too familiar with from our politicians.

There's also an article published today in the Independent.ie but its behind a paywall. Talking to POD but no idea what its saying or if there's any reference to the stadium...

[PauliAlonso]

Why are the club and the Council not maximising capacity of the stadium at the moment?

There are no longer Covid restrictions in place so why are more fans not allowed in to the Mark Farren side terrace when it's safe to do so?

The Club are also missing a trick as they should have sold terrace season tickets for the Mark Farren side. Instead, we have at least 100 or so empty seats in the Mark Farren Stand every match because those fans prefer to stand and the club could have sold those fans a terrace season ticket thus freeing up seats in the Mark Farren Stand.

Club should now be pushing the Council for temporary stands to increase capacity - at least get the planning, risk, assessment, red tape in now so if it's needed later in the season temporary stands can be erected pretty quickly.

The only rationale answer to all of this is that we are tenants and don't control investment into the stadium. We pay an annual rent which i'm sure has been negotiated hard. The Council are the owners of the stadium and they are the ones that determine what is done and when based on finances available to them. The hash reality of not controlling our stadium is biting now that there's serious interest. It's still a travesty the the new stand was delivered properly. To throw up 900 seats and walk away is sadly the type of decisions making that we are all too familiar with from our politicians.

There's also an article published today in the Independent.ie but its behind a paywall. Talking to POD but no idea what its saying or if there's any reference to the stadium...

Not much reference made to the stadium but the article mentions he had just come back from a meeting with an architect about the new training academy at UU campus. So that seems to be moving along nicely at least.

[stevebradley]

Can anyone with access copy and paste that article on POD from the Indo ? Thanks.

[Keyser Soze]

Decided to post in this thread about the ongoing pitch debate, rather than derail the Sligo thread.

Look, we all agree that we'd like a grass pitch at the Brandywell. It makes for better quality football from everyone playing on it. But it simply isn't going to happen anytime soon, at least not in the lifetime of the current pitch. Perhaps when it's reached the end of its lifespan, grass might be considered? But that isn't anytime in the immediate future, so we will have to make do with it.

As said by others, it's the council that paid for it, and they had to invest in a pitch which could offer the best return for their money, and a 4g pitch was the best option for that. The quality of the football at Derry City games was of no concern to the council.

If anything, us having a 4g pitch should be to our advantage against teams who don't play on it regularly. But it doesn't seem to be at present.

Personally I think the entire situation could be improved dramatically if they had had the foresight to install a sprinkler system into the pitch, and to keep it wet. This helps games on astroturf a lot, especially during dry weather. It was comical to see one guy walking around in the baking sun with a hose trying to wet the pitch during the good weather. It dried up in minutes. If they could even get some sort of system in place now to water the pitch quicker and more evenly it might help. Unfortunately, the pitch is rarely empty at halftime to give it another watering, but if there's a will, there should be a way.

[rodgers]

I personally think that the financial and social benefits of the pitches are exaggerated by the salesmen who hawk them around.

I think we are stuck with the pitch until it needs renewed or replaced. I would hope at that stage that we can revert to grass.

I know we will never be privy to behind the scenes discussions but I think there is some merit to to the club making its views on the pitch clear.

[eugenio]

I personally think that the financial and social benefits of the pitches are exaggerated by the salesmen who hawk them around.

I think we are stuck with the pitch until it needs renewed or replaced. I would hope at that stage that we can revert to grass.

I know we will never be privy to behind the scenes discussions but I think there is some merit to to the club making its views on the pitch clear.

Rog good I just just seeing if there was enough of my ilk who would lead an outcry at this pitch I’d love to see it go

[mokendismucker]

The seating and general capacity is the the most immediate and urgent issue at the minute. As we build a side that will consistently challenge for the title with the intention of sustained and extended European runs, where are we going to play these games after the first or second qualifying rounds? Even for domestic games our season ticket capacity is almost at its max now. Is there somebody thinking about this? If not why not? It will be an issue as soon as next season. Is Europe moving back to terracing? Can we put some terracing in even for domestic games?

[magspat]

Some guy drives around the dog track most nights there is a match sprinkling water,obviously this a council thing could something similar not be done to the 4G pitch before a match,just thinking.

[brandyball]

Some guy drives around the dog track most nights there is a match sprinkling water,obviously this a council thing could something similar not be done to the 4G pitch before a match,just thinking.

You don't see a guy do this @ The Brandy?

[stevebradley]

The big issue for me re the stadium is the fact that the Communities Minister Hargey is STILL sitting on £36m which is ring-fenced for football stadia like the Brandywell, but she is choosing not to allocate it.

She's basically run out of excuses now for not releasing it (the absence of Stormont doesn;'t matter, as the funding is there and was agreed previously). It's 100% being held back as a hoistage over Casement Park.

There should be an outcry locally (and in North Belfast) over this, but sadly there isn't. There's a council election in 8mths time, and it should definitely be made an issue in that.

As an aside - I used to think there wasn't enough room beihind the nets at the Brandywell Road end of the ground to add more seating/terracing. But I reckon there is, and it could be a good location for a small away stand, with a TV gantry position built in on top (whenever we're televised there is always a scaffolding tower there for it, and there's one there at the moment for our game on Sunday). That would then make segregation easier, rather than the current situation with Block A. A separate new turnstile could even be added there to get away fans in and out directly on their ownl which would make the Brandywell a proper stadium for segregation. I'm not sure how many seats you would get in there, but I'd guess 150-200 (?) - which would be more than enough for most visiting clubs.

[TenaciousDee]

You could squeeze in terracing similar to what was at Stute behind that net.

[stevebradley]

You could squeeze in terracing similar to what was at Stute behind that net.

Definitely. But I don't know if terracing alone would be deemed acceptable for a stadium's away area (especially longer term), and I think that space would work best as a self-contained stand for visiting fans.

[marcoloco]

You could squeeze in terracing similar to what was at Stute behind that net.

Definitely. But I don't know if terracing alone would be deemed acceptable for a stadium's away area (especially longer term), and I think that space would work best as a self-contained stand for visiting fans.

Surely the issue there is the level difference between the pitch and the footpath outside? I'm only guesing here but to do that right you'd need to remove the area behind the goal, including the wall and build it up property from the foundations. And new stand would then replace the existing wall. So like all things if you owned the place and had the money it would be a great idea...

[stevebradley]

You could squeeze in terracing similar to what was at Stute behind that net.

Definitely. But I don't know if terracing alone would be deemed acceptable for a stadium's away area (especially longer term), and I think that space would work best as a self-contained stand for visiting fans.

Surely the issue there is the level difference between the pitch and the footpath outside? I'm only guesing here but to do that right you'd need to remove the area behind the goal, including the wall and build it up property from the foundations. And new stand would then replace the existing wall. So like all things if you owned the place and had the money it would be a great idea...

Depending on the height difference, could you not tier up on the inside and have the entrance from street level coming into the top level of a new stand there ? The difference in levels would decide what was possible re that in terms of necessary gradient etc.

[marcoloco]

Definitely. But I don't know if terracing alone would be deemed acceptable for a stadium's away area (especially longer term), and I think that space would work best as a self-contained stand for visiting fans.

Surely the issue there is the level difference between the pitch and the footpath outside? I'm only guesing here but to do that right you'd need to remove the area behind the goal, including the wall and build it up property from the foundations. And new stand would then replace the existing wall. So like all things if you owned the place and had the money it would be a great idea...

Depending on the height difference, could you not tier up on the inside and have the entrance from street level coming into the top level of a new stand there ? The difference in levels would decide what was possible re that in terms of necessary gradient etc.

I guess anything is possible, including a new access straight into the stand, if you spend enough money on it. It would be fantastic to have a behind the goal vantage point but the first priority is to deliver the remaining missing sections of the MF stand. Until we are regularly selling out 5k tickets (guessing that's the new capacity post MF) then I would not spend money on a temporary fix if there's any possibility of future re-development. Though the chances of either a temporary fix or further redevelopment is pie in the sky.