derrycitychat.com

Do Derry pay a separate fee to Council when the youth teams are playing at the Brandywell or do they have a annual package that covers all games (senior / youth / ladies / training etc)

Wasn't there an article in a local paper that said Derry weren't even paying the council when the first team was playing?

https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/foot ... -1-8596660

Keyser Soze wrote:Wasn't there an article in a local paper that said Derry weren't even paying the council when the first team was playing?

https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/foot ... -1-8596660

I can only imagine that some deal has been agreed. Institute have since joined the party and with all the games were hosting at underage levels we surely know what the cost is to the Club. Eg. if the costs were high they'd be playing the underage games elsewhere...?

They are negotiating and haven't yet paid the £1000 a senior game originally asked for. AKAIK this sum has been reduced by council but a final agreement between them and DCFC hasn't materialise.

marcoloco wrote:

rodgers wrote:https://twitter.com/ElishaMcC_SF/status ... 5452025858

Sinn Fein again tweeting about this. Not many details. No mention of Brandywell anyway.

Part of me thinks that Derry's 'involvement' will be in the form of a training/hotel base for one or some of the teams.

Would be helpful if FAI/IFA/SF/Council could divulge some actual details of what is being discussed but most likely whatever is agreed will be agreed behind closed doors in a back room in the best traditions of football/public administration.

Can't put a name to all of the figures here but it appears that the club aren't a part of these discussions at all. Are any other political parties represented?

When asked if they are promoting Celtic Park or Brandywell they reply is - a mixture of both.

Maybe they'll use the changing rooms in Brandywell and the plastic pitch for a warm up and then everyone jogs up the hill to Celtic Park for the game.

I submitted an FOI request about this meeting recently and this is the response I received.

"On 13th March 2019 senior officers from Derry City and Strabane District Council attended a meeting with officials from the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Football Association organised by the Local Foyle MP.

The meeting was informal and was arranged as an initial explanatory meeting to discuss the potential of the Derry City & Strabane Council area as a possible venue/location for consideration for any future planned significant football events or competitions.

No minutes/notes or documents were produced at or following the meeting by Derry City and Strabane District Council."

Will Council seek to allocate a portion of 'City Deal' finance towards the unfinished Brandywell Redevelopment? I know Stormont has provisionally safeguarded funds for the MF Stand but is there any liklihood of a further cash injection?

marcoloco wrote:Will Council seek to allocate a portion of 'City Deal' finance towards the unfinished Brandywell Redevelopment? I know Stormont has provisionally safeguarded funds for the MF Stand but is there any liklihood of a further cash injection?

Not from the City Deal funding. It's about skills and infrastructure, not sport.

If we can keep the attendances up at around the 3,000 mark this season, it'll add to pressure to get the job finished. Otherwise it's hard to argue to expand a stadium that is rarely filled.

stevebradley wrote:

marcoloco wrote:Will Council seek to allocate a portion of 'City Deal' finance towards the unfinished Brandywell Redevelopment? I know Stormont has provisionally safeguarded funds for the MF Stand but is there any liklihood of a further cash injection?

Not from the City Deal funding. It's about skills and infrastructure, not sport.

If we can keep the attendances up at around the 3,000 mark this season, it'll add to pressure to get the job finished. Otherwise it's hard to argue to expand a stadium that is rarely filled.

Thanks Steve. I still see the Brandywell as an unfinished strategic development site (even with a fully completed MF stand) that could and put to greater use. I get the rationale about the business case if considered on weekly local usage alone. But the flip side is this - if the City had a 6K or 7K all seater stadium it could be promoted at a regional / national level to attract 'special events'. But as you suggest I suspect there's lots of other sites/projects needing a catalyst to get them off the ground.

marcoloco wrote:

stevebradley wrote:

marcoloco wrote:Will Council seek to allocate a portion of 'City Deal' finance towards the unfinished Brandywell Redevelopment? I know Stormont has provisionally safeguarded funds for the MF Stand but is there any liklihood of a further cash injection?

Not from the City Deal funding. It's about skills and infrastructure, not sport.

If we can keep the attendances up at around the 3,000 mark this season, it'll add to pressure to get the job finished. Otherwise it's hard to argue to expand a stadium that is rarely filled.

Thanks Steve. I still see the Brandywell as an unfinished strategic development site (even with a fully completed MF stand) that could and put to greater use. I get the rationale about the business case if considered on weekly local usage alone. But the flip side is this - if the City had a 6K or 7K all seater stadium it could be promoted at a regional / national level to attract 'special events'. But as you suggest I suspect there's lots of other sites/projects needing a catalyst to get them off the ground.

The killer I think for us is that Stute need a new ground, and there is a lot of sympathy for them over it.

The c. £32m that is available for regional stadia around NI won't stretch far, and there are already a number of other clubs keen to dip into it too (e.g. Glentoran, Crusaders). Now Stute will have a very strong claim for a slice from it. Can we realistically see two stadiums getting funded in Derry ? Especially when we know the IL clubs and IFA won't exactly be pushing our case ? That's why I think we have to keep attendances up at the ground - as if we're not running at near capacity I think we'll struggle to make the case for any further funding.

On a side note, I think the club's decision to not release attendance figures could hurt us in this regard too. It's hard to make the case for a ground running close to full capacity when you refuse to reveal attendances after games. It also looks dodgy as fcuk IMO. I know people will say it's because of the VAT situation, but that's easily resolved. You can release figures and then state that any mix within that was of complimentaries, concessionaries etc that you want. I fear that not releasing attendances will come back to haunt us when we go looking for Stormont funding.

marcoloco wrote:
Thanks Steve. I still see the Brandywell as an unfinished strategic development site (even with a fully completed MF stand) that could and put to greater use. I get the rationale about the business case if considered on weekly local usage alone. But the flip side is this - if the City had a 6K or 7K all seater stadium it could be promoted at a regional / national level to attract 'special events'. But as you suggest I suspect there's lots of other sites/projects needing a catalyst to get them off the ground.

Unfortunately, the Council never had that vision for their asset. Which is one reason why we have been overlooked so far for the u21 tournament.

Stute don't actually need a new ground as they could continue renting the Brandywell just like DCFC. But I get your point that they will want to move back across the River soon. For me, the Stadium is a local facility for everyone from the City. Yes, its in the Brandywell and yes it may alienate a certain part of the City but that's just geography (and politics). Hence, if the Council can promote it as a stadium for all (as its being used currently) then why not invest in it further... maybe all that's needed is some investment in its marketing and public transport (especially on event days) to enhance its attraction to a wider catchment?

As for attendance figures i'm sure it's done for good reason. We often see estimates which are pretty easy to establish. In a 3,700 stadium anyone with basic arithmetic can hazard a fairly good guess at the size of the gates.

I was at the UEFA u17 final yesterday between Italy and Holland.

5,900 people in an 8,000 seater stadium on a grass pitch. Owned and run by South Dublin County Council.

Unfortunately, this couldn't happen in Derry because of our own Council's decisions.

rodgers wrote:I was at the UEFA u17 final yesterday between Italy and Holland.

5,900 people in an 8,000 seater stadium on a grass pitch. Owned and run by South Dublin County Council.

Unfortunately, this couldn't happen in Derry because of our own Council's decisions.

I know the plastic pitch debate is long over but who would a grass pitch on the Brnadywell have stood up to Derry and Stute playing and training on it ever week? I think our Council will be over the moon that the Brandywell is hosting both teams and i'm sure its keen for it to last as long as possible.

The success of the U17 should give our lot the incentive to crack on and finish the stand. The pitch is easily changed if a big enough event came along. The stands however can't be thrown up at short notice.

Hi folks,do they scan online tickets for away fans on your phone or do ye have to print them off?

Ye, they have a scanner

If using it straight from your phone ...turn the brightness of the screen up full and the gate scanner picks it up no bother.

Nice one cheers.

Northern Ireland will be hosting the Uefa u19 Championships next year.

Venues will be Windsor, Mourneview, Ballymena and Portadown.

https://www.irishfa.com/news/2019/augus ... ndsor-park

rodgers wrote:Northern Ireland will be hosting the Uefa u19 Championships next year.

Venues will be Windsor, Mourneview, Ballymena and Portadown.

https://www.irishfa.com/news/2019/augus ... ndsor-park

No huge surprise there tbh.

With the addition of Crusaders, those are the best grounds in the Irish League. And they're not going to risk hosting Northern Ireland fixtures in Derry/the Brandywell, for obvious reasons - even though the stadium is more than capable of holdng them. .

It's not an Irish League tournament. And they don't have to host a Northern Ireland fixture there if they don't want to. There will be seven other European countries participating.

If IFA were serious about engendering goodwill in the NW, it would have been a nice gesture.

If Council were serious about using their asset properly, it would have been good to see it considered.

For the u17s in ROI earlier this year, there was a rule which said venues had to be within 90 mins of Dublin I think. Not sure if same applies here.

The former Fulham, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Hearts defender said: “I think it’s fantastic for Northern Ireland to host a tournament of this stature and I was delighted to accept the role of ambassador for the event.

“I am sure football fans here* will relish the opportunity to see some of the best young footballers from across Europe in action.”

*Apart from those in Derry.

Tournament Director Peter Gilpin said: “We are confident we can deliver a successful U19 Euros that will have long-lasting benefits for football right across** Northern Ireland.”

**Apart from Derry.