Councillors positive about plan to grant a 250-year lease for Tolka Park stadium, but ask to meet lease-getters first

Dublin City Councillors on Monday deferred a decision on whether to grant a 250-year lease for the council’s Tolka Park, Shelbourne FC’s home ground in Drumcondra.

The proposed lease agreement would have Tolka Park Community Hub CLG paying the council €1.5 million – in cash and in kind – to lease the grounds for that period. The company would be responsible for renovating the stadium, with work to be completed by December 2026.

At a meeting of the council’s North Central Area Committee on Monday, most councillors backed the plans – but some said they want more information about who the proposed leaseholder is, and whether they have the money to renovate the stadium.

“This is going to be tremendous going forward. It is giving a football club a foothold in the community,” said independent Councillor Damien O’Farrell, who proposed that the councillors agree the lease.

“I should have worn my Shels hat in tonight,” said Green Party Councillor Donna Cooney.

“I’m happy to see this on the clár [agenda],” said Fine Gael Councillor Naoise Ó Muirí. But councillors need to be assured that the company has the money to do the work before granting the lease, he said,

“Who is Tolka Park Community Hub CLG?” said Ó Muirí. He wondered if Shelbourne FC supporters would have any governance role in the new company.

Don Daly, a project manager with Dublin City Council, said that the council negotiated the deal with the board of Shelbourne FC, but it has set up a new company to manage the stadium.

What is in the deal?

Around 2016, Dublin City Council had had a plan to redevelop Dalymount Stadium in Phibsboro for both Shelbourne FC and Bohemians FC.

In January 2022, though, the Shelbourne board said they wanted out of that idea – and to keep Tolka Park as their club’s home ground.

“Following protracted negotiations, terms were agreed with Shelbourne FC (Tolka Park Community Hub CLG) so that Tolka Park could continue as a League of Ireland venue for both Shelbourne’s senior men’s and women’s teams,” says a council report.

The lease is granted on the understanding that the club uses the stadium for sports. It is allowed to run a maximum of six non-sporting events each year, subject to planning permission and licences, says the report.

Under the terms of the lease, Tolka Park Community Hub CLG will pay the council €1.5 million in kind or in cash, in different instalments.

The club should pay the first chunk of money,  €350,000, to Dublin City Council within three months of signing the agreement, and pay the second instalment of €350,00 when the first phase of works is completed by December 2024.

The final €300,000 should be paid when the phase 2 works are completed by December 2026, says the report.

The club should also spend €500,000 to employ two full-time football-in-the-community officers for five years, including one to focus on advancing female participation in the sport.

The phase 1 works include providing seating in the Drumcondra Stand (West Stand), as well as carrying out fire-safety works on that stand and “remedial works to eliminate water ingress to the stand”.

Phase 1 also includes refurbishment of the pedestrian gate at Richmond Road to allow seating at the Ballybough Stand (East Stand), as well as providing lighting to the rear of the stand and clearing vegetation there, says the report.

Works in phase 2 include the upgrade of the north and south stands, including roof repairs and fire-safety improvements

“The full costs of the works are to be borne by the applicant,” says the report.

When the works are finished, the company should provide the council with an independent engineer’s report to show that the stadium is well maintained and meets the health and safety requirements.

Deferred decision

Councillors said they were glad that the refurbishment of the stadium had been negotiated.

Cooney, the Green Party councillor, said she was delighted there will be two stadiums on the northside, and that Shelbourne FC promotes female participation in football.

Shelbourne FC also runs a football club for people with disabilities and intends to become the premier club for disabled players in Ireland, O’Farrell, the independent councillor, said at the meeting.

Sinn Féin Councillor Larry O’Toole said that while he is a Bohs fan, he is also a big fan of this development. “Hopefully the ground can be redeveloped fully.”

He wondered who the people behind the company were and several other councillors asked the same thing.

The council has been dealing with the board of Shelbourne FC, said Daly, the Dublin City Council project manager.

Tolka Park Community Hub CLG is a registered “company limited by guarantee”, started in 2022, with a registered address at Tolka Park, Drumcondra.

Its most recent annual return, from January 2023, lists six directors: Andrew Doyle, with an address listed in Blackrock; Colm Murphy, Terenure; Marcus Dowling, Blackrock; Joseph Devine, Malahide; Patrick Kenny, Booterstown; and Rickard Mills, Malahide.

Fianna Fáil Councillor Deirdre Heney asked whether Tolka Park Community Hub would be able to sell on the lease. Daly said no, the council would retain ownership of the stadium.

Heney also asked how much the council has spent on the stadium to date and whether the council would continue to fund the refurbishment work after the lease is signed.

Daly said he didn’t have the exact figure for what the council had spent, but that it was “a substantial amount”, and he would forward figures to councillors.

Once this agreement is completed the council won’t be funding the refurb, Daly said.

O’Farrell said Mickey O’Rourke is the majority shareholder of Shelbourne FC, and a lot of other people also own shares in the club, he said. “There is no money in this for anyone who comes into League of Ireland football,” said O’Farrell.

Ó Muirí said he would like the councillors to meet the Shelbourne FC board. “I think this is a huge positive opportunity for the area. Let’s get it right.”

O’Toole said the council is obliged to ensure that the stadium is protected for football into the future. “We owe it to the heritage of the city and we expressly owe it to the people who have put money and effort into Shelbourne football.”

Social Democrats Councillor Catherine Stocker welcomed the proposal, but queried the length of the lease. “I can’t fathom why we would be giving a 250-year lease to anyone on any property,” she said.

It is also of concern that the stadium is on a flood plain, said Stocker.

Fianna Fáil Councillor Daryl Barron suggested that the North Central Area Committee defer the decision on the lease until they meet with a delegation from Shelbourne FC.

“Based on a 250-year lease, that is a very long time,” said Barron. “In my time I haven’t seen a lease that long before.”

The committee agreed to defer the decision on granting the lease until they meet with a delegation from Tolka Park Community Hub.