Domestic soccer is in line for a major boost after news broke this morning that Dublin City Council has made significant progress in a complex deal to buy the historic Dalymount Park stadium in Phibsboro and lease it back to the FAI.
The Council is understood to have reached agreement with Zurich Bank to take over control of the stadium in return for a payment of €3.4 million to clear outstanding loans.
The last piece of the jigsaw will be for the Council to take over Shelbourne FC’s home ground of Tolka Park, only 2km away from Dalymount. This will form part of a deal with developers who have an interest in the ground. There will be no charge to the Council who will then develop the area for housing in order to recoup the money spent on the purchase and redevelopment of Dalymount.
Bohemians who currently play at the ground, and Shelbourne, currently playing in the SSE Airtricity First Division but with a long tradition of success, would ground share Dalymount under an arrangement with the FAI.
It would also provide a second stadium in Dublin for the hosting of international matches or other showpiece events in Irish soccer that might not need the full 50,000 capacity of the Aviva Stadium in years to come.
Current arrangements with that venue would preclude matches being played away from it, due to agreements with seat holders, box holders and catering franchises but the FAI already plays Women’s matches and other games at Tallaght Stadium and elsewhere. Dalymount could become a second tier ground under the FAI’s control.
Dublin City Council is already one of the countries largest single owner of sporting grounds with many hundreds under its control across the city and the financial burden of the Dalymount purchase will be offset in large part by the Polka development and the long term asset value of having such a prime piece of Central Dublin real estate check by jowl with the Mater Hospital, Phibsboro Shopping Centre and Mounty Prison.
