O'Byrne confident FAI plan will be money-spinner

FAI chief executive Bernard O'Byrne has dismissed calls for a rethink of the Eircom Park stadium project ahead of tomorrow's …

FAI chief executive Bernard O'Byrne has dismissed calls for a rethink of the Eircom Park stadium project ahead of tomorrow's management committee meeting in Dublin insisting that it will not only go ahead as planned but that its money-spinning potential remains unaffected by the Government's plans for a rival development.

Reacting to the fears expressed by officials of a number of prominent National League clubs regarding the potential effect on FAI finances should Eircom Park end up competing for events and sponsorship with an 80,000-seat stadium just a few miles away, O'Byrne reiterated his claim that the proposed stadium at Citywest could be constructed without significant, if any, debt being incurred. He said it would have a positive effect on the association's cash flow from the day it becomes operational.

"I think that the questions that we have heard raised over the past week or so are based on an ignorance of what is involved here," he said yesterday. "We remain absolutely convinced of our sums on this, the fact is that we expect that Eircom Park can be built without any borrowing and we are certain that, with IMG not only selling the stadium internationally but also actively bringing events they're involved with abroad here to us, we can generate considerable profits from day one."

O'Byrne's prediction, in line with his repeated comments that Eircom Park will not be a football stadium but rather "an entertainment venue at which football will be played" is reflected in the FAI's application for planning permission in which it is anticipated that up to 50 events, attracting more than 20,000 people each, might be held each year in the ground.

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It is a line that has failed to convince some within the FAI and alarmed some in the vicinity of the proposed development, difficulties O'Byrne will know a good deal more about over the coming few days.

Within his own organisation, the critics will have an opportunity to have their say at tomorrow's meeting. Prominent officials from Galway United, Waterford United and Shamrock Rovers football clubs have all expressed their concern in recent days about the potential fall-out if the development becomes a drain on the association.

Another to suggest that some sort of accommodation with the Government might be the best course of action is Shelbourne chairman Gary Brown. He said that while "tremendous personal credit is due to Bernard for the way that he has put the whole stadium issue on the agenda after years of people just talking about it, it's time now for him to realise that he has won and that there is a great opportunity for the association to become an anchor tenant in a fine stadium while getting on with the business of promoting football".

Other prominent clubs have come out in support of the proposal, however, with Pat Dolan of St Patrick's Athletic and Cork City chairman Terry Dunne both feeling that O'Byrne should press ahead.

"For a long time I've been calling for dynamic leadership within the game here," said Dolan, "and I think that Eircom Park is a result of just the sort of vision that I had been hoping for, so I'm certainly not going to turn around now and say that Bernard should pull back."

Dunne, meanwhile, insisted that "the FAI's plan is far more in line with what the game here needs than the Government's and really I can't see why we should change our minds now."