If you build it, they will come

Various stadium redevelopments in the League of Ireland are on site, on the drawing board and at appraisal stage across the league. We will have new stands in Derry and Tallaght during the new season, while ambitious plans for Dalymount Park, Oriel Park and Drogheda are being discussed as outlined below.

Brandywell

Derry City hope to be up and running on their new synthetic pitch for the new season – the pitch is to be installed this month. Their new Lone Moor Road Stand is nearing completion with the roof in place above what will be 955 seats, along with adjoining standing accommodation for a further 270 spectators. The capacity of the ground set to be 3,700. The teams will use changing rooms in the new stand and extratime.ie is looking forward to using the new media facilities too!

Some recent pics of the Brandywell redevelopment work, courtesy of City’s Head of Security - Billy Scampton #rawa#BackToBrandypic.twitter.com/U6mwtOSxWM

— Derry City FC (@derrycityfc) December 21, 2017

Tallaght Stadium

Construction is due commence on the new south stand in Tallaght Stadium this month. Shamrock Rovers spectators should be able to use the new stand by the end of the July.

The single tier stand will accommodate an additional 2,195 seats bringing the capacity of the South Dublin County Council venue up to 8,000 in total. This will mean as an upgraded UEFA Category 4 stadium it could host Champions League play-off and group games.

Dalymount Park

Prior to Christmas, Dublin City Council were looking to appoint a consultant to provide them with an appraisal of the redeveloped Dalymount Park that will be home to both Bohemians and Shelbourne from a likely date of 2021.

There is an objective to incorporate a museum in the facility that would provide a focal point for the football community across the country. The Council noted that shared use with access to all sectors of the community is a key objective of the development, as they look to complete an amenity that would serve as a multi-functional sporting, educational and civic facility.

Oriel Park

Dundalk FC are continuing to develop plans for a revamp of their Oriel Park home having decided against moving to a greenfield site. An important part of that plan was to secure the lease on the adjoining Youth Development Centre which they managed to do during 2017. The stadium redevelopment plan will need to be advanced further with the club’s new American investors Peak6.

Drogheda

Having had previous stadium plans scuppered, Drogheda United are developing a new venue away from United Park with a 5,500 all-seater stadium to be built in two phases at Newtown.

The first phase would be a venue with a 3,200 capacity. Like the Brandywell and Oriel Park, the plan would be to install a full-size all-weather synthetic pitch at the new ground.