SOCCER: Bohemians and Shelbourne are believed to be within a matter of days of reaching an historic ground-sharing deal that would involve Tolka Park being sold off and Dalymount Park redeveloped into a modern all-seater stadium at a cost of around €15 million.
The FAI confirmed yesterday they have been overseeing talks which have been in progress for the last four weeks. They declined to comment further but representatives of the two clubs appear to be close to reaching the outline of an agreement that would then be taken away and submitted for ratification by the board of Shelbourne and the membership of their northside rivals.
It is unclear how long the deal might take to finalise but it does now seem the two clubs could both be playing out of the one stadium within a couple of years, something that would mark a major step forward in the implementation of the recommendations of the Genesis report.
"All we can say about the matter at this stage is that they've been talking and have made good progress," said FAI chief executive John Delaney yesterday. "Nothing is certain yet, but if it does happen I think it would be good for football in this country."
It is expected that, assuming a deal can be concluded, a considerable portion of the money raised by selling Tolka Park for redevelopment would be put into the transformation of Dalymount. The Government has previously indicated it would support such initiatives and so the project, which would probably involve the construction of a 12,000 to 15,000 all-seater stadium, is likely to receive substantial public funds.
Shelbourne had already signalled their intention to move out of their Drumcondra home but had previously set their sights on a move to a greenfield site in the northside suburbs.
Across the city, meanwhile, it is anticipated that a rethink by South Dublin County Council will result in the dropping of plans to develop the new stadium at Tallaght for Gaelic games as well as soccer. The possibility of a ground-share there involving St Patrick's Athletic as well as Shamrock Rovers had been hinted at but this would be made more difficult in the event that the GAA also had use of the facility.
It has been reported that the Department of Arts, Tourism and Sport might refuse to provide the funding required to complete the project if the council does not revert to its original plan to develop the ground for football only. A meeting of planners and councillors aimed at resolving the situation is expected to take place over the coming weeks.
"The issue of funding is something for the council and the department to resolve themselves, I couldn't comment on it," said Delaney. "What I would say, though, is that our preference would be that the ground be available for football. If it were, then there would certainly be the possibility of a ground-share while we are looking for somewhere in Dublin to play underage international games and that would certainly be an ideal venue."
While Shelbourne have relocated several times before, St Patrick's Athletic remain firmly rooted in the community of Inchicore where they were founded and there might be fierce resistance from sections of their fan base to any move. The club's chairman, Andy O'Callaghan, is believed to be sympathetic to the idea and Delaney confirmed yesterday very preliminary talks on the matter had taken place.
The proposals come at a time when other Eircom League clubs are also attempting to radically upgrade their facilities. Both Drogheda United and Finn Harps are working towards the construction of new stadiums on out-of-town sites while Athlone Town's is already under construction. Derry City, Waterford United and Cork City are upgrading their venues.
