Shelbourne club to seek rezoning of grounds for housing

Shelbourne soccer club is seeking the rezoning of its grounds at Tolka Park in Drumcondra for housing.

The club, which has been based in the area for over 10 years, has applied to Dublin City Council to have the 9,200-capacity ground and surrounding lands rezoned from recreational to residential use.

The club would then use the proceeds from any sale to fund the development of a new stadium elsewhere in the city.

Chief executive Mr Ollie Byrne said last night an announcement on a new home for the club would be made in July.

The Football Association of Ireland is considering a new stadium at Abbotstown to cater for the three Dublin clubs, Shelbourne, St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians. Other speculation has linked Shelbourne with a move to Santry Stadium.

The Richmond Road site, which is located close to the city centre in a settled residential area, could be worth over €45 million if it is rezoned.

However, the biggest beneficiary of any sale would be the council itself, which leases the land on a long-term basis to the club.

Mr Byrne said the council was "amenable" to the move by the club, which has over 100 years left on its lease. The aim was to provide a permanent home that could accommodate the senior team and 17 youth teams under one roof.

In its rezoning application, the club claims Tolka Park suffers from limitations, including a lack of space, the proximity of housing and an inability to accommodate floodlighting to international standards.

It points out that it has teams training and playing at seven locations across the city, at an "increasingly intolerable" cost of more than €100,000 a year. The geographical dispersion of facilities makes it "impossible" to foster a unified club spirit.

Local residents would not suffer a loss in amenities if the stadium is sold and redeveloped because other land in the area is zoned for recreational use, it says. Redevelopment would increase the vitality of the area by removing match-day traffic and putting an end to road closures that are a source of "constant annoyance" to residents.

The club says the Tolka Park stadium is "visually incongruous" and claims a redevelopment would create the opportunity to upgrade and improve the site.

Shelbourne FC was founded in Ringsend in 1895, where it remained until the 1950s. Since then, the club has moved frequently; after spells in Milltown, Harold's Cross and Dalymount Park, it found a new home at Tolka Park in the early 1990s.

Since moving to Drumcondra, Shelbourne has won the league title four times and has qualified for European competition in every year but one.

Although originally a southside club, it says its support now is equally drawn from both sides of the Liffey.