Grounds for more pessimism

The dismay amongst representatives of some of the league's clubs regarding the FAI's official policy on Eircom Park was more understandable than ever last week after details of the proposed financing deal with Davy Hickey Properties (DHP) came to light.

The developers have a reputation within the business for being tough negotiators, but the fact that the association decided a few weeks ago to enter talks with them when it was entirely apparent that they had no alternative but to accept whatever was on offer must have struck even DHP's people as slightly pitiful.

What emerged, not surprisingly, is a grim looking set of figures for the association, with the property firm seeking a lump sum of nearly £70 million in 10 years, as well as a share of the profits, box and premium seat resales, and television revenue for a further 40 years. In addition, the FAI will have to fund separate debts of at least £17 million over and above what they will have to spend to get through the planning process.

The current 80,000-seat Abbotstown plan may well have its own touch of madness, but set against what is currently on offer to the FAI, the prospect of getting to keep 10-year ticket and corporate box money while not having to shoulder any of the commercial risks associated with staging concerts, exhibitions or sports events seems, at the very least, worth talking about. And, finally, last Friday, accepting a motion put forward by the National League clubs, the FAI decided to talk to the Government.

If nothing else, it will show the boys at DHP that they are not, as one Eircom Park sceptic put it this week, "the only game in town".

The second difficulty to arise out of last week's discussions with DHP is the question whether - assuming the revenue projections of Eircom Park's optimistic business plan turn out to be justified - the FAI would ever reap major lump sums given the DHP repayment scheme. Were the national stadium not to be built, then Eircom Park would benefit and facilities like a sliding roof and removable pitch would give the stadium some sort of competitive edge over its rivals. That would certainly be true during its first 10 to 15 years.

After that, however, Eircom Park will start looking rather dated. Around the world, a new generation of stadiums have been envisaged with facilities such as television monitors mounted in every armrest. The Olympic stadium in Sydney, while not containing this new technology, was designed and built with its subsequent installation in mind. By the time the FAI is in a position to reap the benefits of Eircom Park, the Government - or someone else - might well feel that they can build something with just the sort of advantages over Eircom Park that O'Byrne believes his baby will enjoy over Lansdowne Road and Croke Park.

Another possibility is that the Government will press ahead regardless and build a near replica of Eircom Park at Abbotstown: retractable roof, smaller capacity, the whole shebang. If that happens, then the FAI's business plan would be entirely redundant, for surely not even its authors would maintain that there is room for two venues staging classical concerts for 15,000 in the Dublin area.

When such a scenario was put to O'Byrne a couple of weeks ago, he dismissed it out of hand: "Well, we have to ask ourselves whether the Government would really want to get itself into the entertainment business, wouldn't we?"

The next question is blindingly obvious to all but the chief executive and his most devoted followers, isn't it?