Brandywell Stadium Development

[shauna]

Glentoran own their own stadium so they don't need to go through the red tape of consultations that we do.

Can the Club please make sure someone at the Council fills out a feckin application form to try and get some of that money!

It has happened before in the past when nobody at the Council filled in a form and then we wondered why we didn't get anything

Glens are looking to relocate and intend to build a new stadium.

I'm sure if we re-located to somewhere and owned the land, then we wouldn't have to go through all this red tape.

At this stage, I would rather see the club start from scratch in a field with a basic pitch and setup and build it up over time

No consultations, no doggy men, no politicians, no councillors, no The Honourable the Irish Society, no hoods outside, no D&D football to share with

Only problem is the club has NO money to fund even a basic pitch in fact they could barely afford to buy the corner flags for that pitch !!!!!

[brandyball]

According to Philip O'Doherty in today's Derry News we will be starting the new season at the Brandy! He states that there may me some work done on the old Glentoran Stand side however the pitch won't be moved in 2016.

[stevebradley]

I'm sure if we re-located to somewhere and owned the land, then we wouldn't have to go through all this red tape.

At this stage, I would rather see the club start from scratch in a field with a basic pitch and setup and build it up over time

No consultations, no doggy men, no politicians, no councillors, no The Honourable the Irish Society, no hoods outside, no D&D football to share with

Only problem is the club has NO money to fund even a basic pitch in fact they could barely afford to buy the corner flags for that pitch !!!!!

Yet we've probably made more in transfer fees over the last 10 years than any other club on the island of Ireland.

At least we've got all those titles to show for it though.

[shauna]

I'm sure if we re-located to somewhere and owned the land, then we wouldn't have to go through all this red tape.

At this stage, I would rather see the club start from scratch in a field with a basic pitch and setup and build it up over time

No consultations, no doggy men, no politicians, no councillors, no The Honourable the Irish Society, no hoods outside, no D&D football to share with

Only problem is the club has NO money to fund even a basic pitch in fact they could barely afford to buy the corner flags for that pitch !!!!!

Yet we've probably made more in transfer fees over the last 10 years than any other club on the island of Ireland.

At least we've got all those titles to show for it though.

The reason we have none of that transfer money left is because in the past we gave into guys like fats who demanded big wages that we couldnt afford thank god our present board arnt giving down that road

[digital]

Special meeting of Derry City & Strabane District council this Friday at 3pm in Guildhall to discuss Brandywell development.

[stevebradley]

Only problem is the club has NO money to fund even a basic pitch in fact they could barely afford to buy the corner flags for that pitch !!!!!

Yet we've probably made more in transfer fees over the last 10 years than any other club on the island of Ireland.

At least we've got all those titles to show for it though.

The reason we have none of that transfer money left is because in the past we gave into guys like fats who demanded big wages that we couldnt afford thank god our present board arnt giving down that road

Are you saying that the current board hasn't been the recipient of any big transfer fees ?

[micdaflic]

If you added up all the transfer money received in 30 years what would it be? Maybe£1M, this would buy the fence a changing/shower room and maybe a tin of paint to line the pitch. But it would not get a field, pay for planning, ground works,pitch preparation, stands, parking, flood lights etc. And don't forget the dreaded environmental impact study and concerned residents. £10 million anyone?

[shauna]

If you added up all the transfer money received in 30 years what would it be? Maybe£1M, this would buy the fence a changing/shower room and maybe a tin of paint to line the pitch. But it would not get a field, pay for planning, ground works,pitch preparation, stands, parking, flood lights etc. And don't forget the dreaded environmental impact study and concerned residents. £10 million anyone?

Somebody talking sense here for once

[stevebradley]

If you added up all the transfer money received in 30 years what would it be? Maybe£1M, this would buy the fence a changing/shower room and maybe a tin of paint to line the pitch. But it would not get a field, pay for planning, ground works,pitch preparation, stands, parking, flood lights etc. And don't forget the dreaded environmental impact study and concerned residents. £10 million anyone?

Why would Derry City be expected to pay for 100% of a new stadium, when no other club in Northern Ireland does ?

The council own the Templemore Sports Complex site, acknowledge that it's a dump in need of significant investment, and have allocated £12.7m from their Leisure Development Fund to finance the capital costs of a complete rebuild of it. Any reason why it couldn't be the site for a mixed-use civic stadium, with Derry City as the anchor tenant ?

The Templemore/Buncrana Rd area is also planned to have hundreds of new homes built there in the coming years, on which the council is entitled to levy charges for community infrastructure on. Funding which could go towards the provision of the mixed-use Templemore site, including community and health facilities etc.

Any reason why this couldn't happen (except the fact that the Council don't want to be stuck with a Brandywell minus Derry City) ?

Back to DCFC not having any money. No-one has said the club would have, could have, or should have had the money to build a stadium from scratch for itself. But at least if you've got a bit of money in the bank it means you can commission feasibility studies etc to strengthen whatever argument you want to put forward.

This is the bottom line for me. I don't believe that Derry City remaining at the Brandywell is in the best interests of the club, the Brandywell area, or the city as a whole. But Derry City will be playing there for the next however many decades regardless, purely because it suits the council for them to do so. A fixed-up version of the Brandywell is obviously better than the current scenario. But it's a huge shame that no alternative vision for a stadium for the club has been put forward by the Board or anyone except Eddie Mahon (who got the wrong alternative site IMO). DCFC just continues to hold out the begging bowl and be grateful for whatever its given. It wouldn't happen with any of the Belfast clubs, and it shouldn't be good enough for our club either in my view.

I'll get me hard hat on now....

[micdaflic]

Steve I agree that the ideal would be for DCFC to have their own facilities and I would not get too hung up on the location but would opt for Buncrana Rd area for access etc. One suggestion I would make is for the club to ask council to donate land for that purpose, after all the Gaaboys have now got Glen Rd site off council and I'm not sure about Steeltown or a site at TOTH which last month got £600k of council money. I'm sure that some smartass will argue that DCFC is a private co and therefore can't be given public property then it could be given to a separate entity say made up of supporters who would allow the club to use it even at a nominal rent. Also seeing council has already given away ratepayers property to gaa They could donate the Swilly stadium on the understanding it would be developed as a proper stadium
Another option would be to approach Foyle college/UU for some of the land at bottom of Foyle playing fields[Buncrana Rd end]. This could be developed in coop with UU when they take over the Foyle campus

[paddyharpshater]

Doggie men to pay £55 per hour

http://www.derrynow.com/news/derrys-dog ... rack/63005

Brandywell Project Goes To Tender

http://www.derrycityfc.net/2015/12/bran ... to-tender/

[shauna]

After todays decision when do they reckon work will finally start on the stadium, how long do tender processes usually take

[magspat]

After todays decision when do they reckon work will finally start on the stadium, how long do tender processes usually take

4 to 6 weeks if you are lucky then all the red tape after that ,could be looking at march or april before any work starts.

[NigellinaBallerina]

https://audioboom.com/boos/3947525-list ... ce=twitter

[KEVK]

Steve I agree that the ideal would be for DCFC to have their own facilities and I would not get too hung up on the location but would opt for Buncrana Rd area for access etc. One suggestion I would make is for the club to ask council to donate land for that purpose, after all the Gaaboys have now got Glen Rd site off council and I'm not sure about Steeltown or a site at TOTH which last month got £600k of council money. I'm sure that some smartass will argue that DCFC is a private co and therefore can't be given public property then it could be given to a separate entity say made up of supporters who would allow the club to use it even at a nominal rent. Also seeing council has already given away ratepayers property to gaa They could donate the Swilly stadium on the understanding it would be developed as a proper stadium
Another option would be to approach Foyle college/UU for some of the land at bottom of Foyle playing fields[Buncrana Rd end]. This could be developed in coop with UU when they take over the Foyle campus

Totally agree on this thinking.

I just get the impression the Club hasn't explored other options and 'loopholes' that would help secure land away from the Brandywell.

It's obvious the Club can't afford to go and buy land and build a stadium from scratch with its own money, and that's what you generally get from people who argue that we're stuck in the Brandywell.

The Suppporters' Trust (is it still going?) is a charitable organisation - could that be used as a means of obtaining funding etc or opening up doors?

Going in partnership with UU or City of Derry Rugby - has that been explored? Who knows, maybe the Board have explored all avenues?

[micdaflic]

Spur have just got permission for a 61k seated stadium to be ready for 2018/19 season. Don't be surprised if it is finished before Brandywell

[shauna]

Spur have just got permission for a 61k seated stadium to be ready for 2018/19 season. Don't be surprised if it is finished before Brandywell

Yea but they dont have to worry about accomodating a dog track and a bunch of crying greyhound men

[stevebradley]

Spur have just got permission for a 61k seated stadium to be ready for 2018/19 season. Don't be surprised if it is finished before Brandywell

Yea but they dont have to worry about accomodating a dog track and a bunch of crying greyhound men

If that's all they had to worry about in building a 60,000 seater stadium in a built-up part of London, they'd be delighted...

[stevebradley]

Steve I agree that the ideal would be for DCFC to have their own facilities and I would not get too hung up on the location but would opt for Buncrana Rd area for access etc. One suggestion I would make is for the club to ask council to donate land for that purpose, after all the Gaaboys have now got Glen Rd site off council and I'm not sure about Steeltown or a site at TOTH which last month got £600k of council money. I'm sure that some smartass will argue that DCFC is a private co and therefore can't be given public property then it could be given to a separate entity say made up of supporters who would allow the club to use it even at a nominal rent. Also seeing council has already given away ratepayers property to gaa They could donate the Swilly stadium on the understanding it would be developed as a proper stadium
Another option would be to approach Foyle college/UU for some of the land at bottom of Foyle playing fields[Buncrana Rd end]. This could be developed in coop with UU when they take over the Foyle campus

Totally agree on this thinking.

I just get the impression the Club hasn't explored other options and 'loopholes' that would help secure land away from the Brandywell.

It's obvious the Club can't afford to go and buy land and build a stadium from scratch with its own money, and that's what you generally get from people who argue that we're stuck in the Brandywell.

The Suppporters' Trust (is it still going?) is a charitable organisation - could that be used as a means of obtaining funding etc or opening up doors?

Going in partnership with UU or City of Derry Rugby - has that been explored? Who knows, maybe the Board have explored all avenues?

I'd say it's fact more than just an impression. For years we've been told the Brandywell is "the only show in town", which means the club convinced itself years ago that no other options were worth pursuing. Did they do a thorough analysis of alternatives and try to progress any of them seriously beforehand ? I doubt so, and I'll happily apologise for that if someone can show me evidence to the contrary. Instead they appear to have just bought into whatever the council said and been grateful. A council which is itself extremely lacking in vision and would sh!t a brick if Derry City left the Brandywell rather than see the big picture.

To remind everyone again - the Council has ALLOCATED £12.7m funding to do up Templemore Sports Complex. Does anyone want to give me a good reason why you couldn't use that to create a mixed-use civic stadium that would be a genuine community asset ? So much for there being no money available.

If Ireland gets to host the 2023 rugby world cup, Derry will end up with by-far the worst stadium set up of any of the main cities on the island. Culchie towns like Castlebar and Killarney will have vastly superior facilities to our 'regional capital'. It's not just our club that will have its potential stunted by settling for a second-rate stadium IMO. It's the entire city. And we can't blame Stormont and Unionism for being sold short this time - we're doing it to ourselves.

[gary]

To remind everyone again - the Council has ALLOCATED £12.7m funding to do up Templemore Sports Complex. Does anyone want to give me a good reason why you couldn't use that to create a mixed-use civic stadium that would be a genuine community asset ? So much for there being no money available.

Because its in a disgraceful state and badly needs the investment and DCFC already have
a huge investment coming our way through the Council for our stadium.

Derry City FC is not the only sporting organisation \ group entitled to decent sporting facilities.