THE future of soccer at Dalymount Park has been secured after Bohemian Football Club members overwhelmingly rubber-stamped a deal for Dublin City Council to buy the ground.
Members met at an Emergency General Meeting on July 3 and voted to seal the deal that will wipe out most of the club’s debts, and effectively remove uncertainty about its long-term survival.
Officials had feared the Northside club would fold within months under the weight of
?¬4 million debts, owed mainly to Zurich bank. However, Club President, Matt Devaney, says members’ approval of the deal means fans can now look forward to a new era after years of financial fire-fighting.
“It’s been very hard work trying to save the club as well as run it at same time,
? he said.
Devaney praised FAI chief executive, John Delaney, for his part in helping secure the deal.
“He did a lot of hard work and was instrumental in the deal going through,
? he said.
Under the
?¬3.8 million deal, the club’s debt to Zurich will be cleared as well as some of a smaller debt owed to members. Dublin City Council will own Dalymount Park and Bohemian FC will remain in the ground.
The council will be responsible for maintaining and upgrading the stadium and plans under consideration include an FAI Irish soccer museum that would be included on the routes of city sightseeing buses.
Commercial Director, Daniel Lambert, said local politicians including Minister for Sport, Paschal Donohoe, and local TD, Joe Costello (Lab), had been instrumental in helping the club move forward with the deal.
“The future for Dalymount and Bohemians hasn’t looked brighter,
? he added.
DCC Project Manager, Cormac Healy, said the council was delighted to be involved with the redevelopment of the stadium.
“There’s a long history of Bohs integrating into the fabric of the community and we look forward to tapping into that and integrating it into the Local Area Plan to give us an exciting and dynamic platform to build for everyone going forward,
? he added.
Initially, Shelbourne FC had been an integral part of the council deal with a proposal for them to re-locate to Dalymount.
However, the ground share plan was met with opposition from Shels supporters and it’s understood it also wasn’t possible to do a deal with developer Jerry O’Reilly, who has held a key stake in the Tolka Park since 2006.
This put the deal in jeopardy but officials from Bohs desperately pressed local politicians and FAI officials to find a way forward without their local rivals.
Both Bohs and the council have said the door is still open for financially crippled Shels to share the stadium at a later date.