Flares in the shed must be stopped if TV coverage of Dundalk home games is to return

Oriel Park came under sharp focus during the week when it emerged that it could be some time before either of the national broadcasters will cover a game from there.

This emerged after League of Ireland director Mark Scanlon revealed around 45 games will be shown live on TV this season between RTE and Virgin Media. Mr Scanlon revealed that almost half the grounds in the league are not fit to broadcast games live from.

Virgin Media are to double their number of live games to 14. There is to be a particular focus on stand alone Monday night games while a Thursday night game has also been marked into the initial fixtures of the season. Mr Scanlon said that RTE will show 18 league games.An announcement on TG4's coverage of the Women's Premier Division will be announced in days.

Last season RTE failed to cover any games at Oriel Park or United Park in Drogheda.
Mr Scanlon said that some grounds in the country present more challenges than others for both RTE and Virgin Media when deciding what games to cover. He confirmed there are venues that the broadcasters will not cover games from. This he said was because the grounds were deemed unsuitable to broadcast from.

He gave a number of reasons. He said either the broadcast infrastructure around the grounds are not up to standard or sometimes it was the way the backdrop looks. This could include the pitch, floodlights or the stands in grounds are not of broadcast quality. He says that 50 per cent of the grounds are not comfortable to be able to broadcast from. Mr Scanlon continued to say it's a real issue.

The FAI cannot, he said, shy away from the facts if they want to increase the value of the broadcast deal and the exposure of the league that facilities must be improved. 

He was unwilling to name the grounds. He said each broadcaster has their own requirements, therefore it depended on which one in each venue is acceptable or not. 

Mr Scanlon would not identify the 50 per cent of the grounds where live TV broadcasts would not come from. When asked about Oriel Park or United Park he said that both present more challenges than other grounds. Four games will be broadcast on a regular Monday and one on a Bank Holiday.

The games will be standalone. A standalone fixture is to be trialled on Thursday May 23rd. The contract with RTE is for 17 League games and four in the Cup. He said ultimately coverage from grounds depends on the facilities. He said last season's FAI Cup final shows how the full stadium made a difference for broadcasting.

Mr Scanlon says it does make a difference for broadcasting investment into the facilities and further investment in the next few years will get Irish soccer closer to be able significantly increase coverage from more venues. Mr Scanlon said everything goes into the league from the money made from broadcast deals. He says the accounts are presented to all the clubs on a quarterly basis. 

But Mr Scanlon continued that it will take years to rectify the lack of facilities in the grounds the broadcasters will not come from. The FAI are seeking half a billion euro over the next 15 years to bolster the €863 million required to upgrade infrastructure at all levels of the games. FAI CEO Jonathan Hill says that positive news is expected through the Immigrant Investment Programme (IIP) in the coming months.

Louth raised a significant amount of money for the new Louth County stadium being built beside the DkIT. The scheme involves foreign business people investing significant money in the Irish economy in return for Irish passports. Over 30 Chinese business investors used the scheme. Louth GAA were rewarded with a huge financial investment for the County grounds from the Chinese money paid through the scheme. It's understood Dundalk did not apply to be considered for investment through the scheme last season when it was available.

The Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund will be an opportunity for clubs to apply for. Mr Hill said that will be very important for some stadiums. He confirmed a significant number of clubs did apply for the IIP grants. Mr Hill continued that hopefully the IIP scheme will open up revenue streams for the clubs that have applied this year. He says that plans have been submitted for stadiums for academies and they are impressive. Mr Hill said that some have planning permission while others are at concept and design stage.

The news has certainly raised a stir in many quarters. Oriel Park is bereft of so many facilities for fans. I have written about this so many times. The club is either better off moving from Oriel or deciding to fully redevelop it. That should not be left to the new owner and it will not be. But the immediate issue is the lack of coverage of live games from Oriel and the decision by RTE and Virgin Media to bypass us. The reason why they will not come to Oriel is quite simple.

Two years ago RTE were covering a game live from Oriel. A small group of supporters at the shed, which is directly under the TV gantry, let off flare after flare. It was a disgrace. The smoke that filled the stadium was so toxic and dangerous. It covered the whole stadium. I have a very bad asthmatic condition. I had to leave the ground for a while as I could not breathe. I was in severe difficulty as were others. It did trigger a bad asthmatic attack. It stabilised after a period and I was able to go back to my seat. The flares from the shed continued on a sporadic basis . At this stage the wind had changed and the toxic fumes stopped crossing the pitch.

But they continuously blew into the TV gantry. I would not have blamed the RTE crew if they had decided to cut the coverage as they were being subjected to so much toxicity. After the game I met two RTE cameramen who told me they would not be back after being subjected to the continuous flares from the game. I told them I would not blame them as what had happened was an absolute disgrace. This small number of people in the shed who used the flares ensured so many people were put through so much.

The cameramen said that the only possible way to solve the problem was to move the Dundalk supporters away from the shed to another location in the ground altogether. I would not agree with this solution. The shed is an institution for Dundalk fans. I cannot believe that the people who are letting off the flares can not be identified. The club can work at this and stamp it out once and for all. It may be only 10 to 15 people at most.

But I feel the problem can be solved. Maybe the people who light the flares and subject so many people to awful toxic fumes can be brought to realise that not only is their practice costing the club thousands in fines,it is also preventing live TV from returning to Oriel.

The comments made in the national media about the state of Oriel would be laughable only that they are so serious. I do not agree with Mr Scanlon that 50 per cent of the grounds need a lot of upgrading. I would say 60 to 70 per cent of the grounds need it and this includes Oriel. But Oriel Park would be fine for covering live games if the pyro problem was solved.
It's not the flood lighting that is keeping the cameras away nor is it the main stand that is 60 years old nor the lack of clean and proper toilets in the ground. It is not the poor toilet facilities in the ground that are keeping RTE or Virgin media away. It's the flare problem. It's not because of the way the Dundalk sky looks or the backdrop scenery of Oriel either.

Indeed during the summer live TV would not get a better panoramic view than the sun sinking behind the Carrick Road end of the stadium. It's beautiful. But neither RTE nor Virgin media can have any excuses once the flare problem is solved one way or another. The new owner must work on this with his staff. Then RTE and Virgin Media must return. 

If the pyro problem is solved and it will be and if RTE and Virgin media continue to refuse to cover games at Oriel then there is a serious problem. None of the grounds in Dublin are any better than Oriel. In fact many are in a much worse state. The exception of course is Tallaght Stadium. I'm not naming other grounds, but anyone who has visited them will know how bad a state they are in. The toilet facilities are disgusting. Many of these broadcastable stadiums have the same facilities they had 70 years ago. So the media criticising Oriel and United park in Drogheda should take a long hard look at the grounds in other stadiums. Indeed the Dublin media are well aware that Dundalk have the best post match press facilities in the country in the Youth Development Centre (YDC). This is a building that has a state-of-the-art player training facility. It has a canteen and much more. You do not have that in the Dublin grounds bar Tallaght.

Supporters meetings can be held in the YDC, the Lilywhite Lounge and the Enda McGuill facility. There is a manager's office in the main stand, a beautiful boardroom and some other facilities. The away dressing room I believe is not in good condition and needs a full makeover. But the message I am sending out is that there is no excuse for the national broadcasters not to cover games at Oriel, once the pyro problem is eradicated .And it can be done within one or two games.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the final games of the season as Dundalk must play Derry and Shamrock Rovers in Oriel. What happens if both of the teams are going for the title. Will the boycott of Oriel continue for those games. Or what happens if Dundalk get a home draw in an FAI cup semi final. Does that mean the game will not be covered or will the club be forced to play it away. 

The pitch in Oriel is in its last year. If Dundalk continue with the artificial pitch model it will cost over a million euro. I have no idea what it would cost to lay a grass pitch.

It is understood the FAI made a request to Dundalk to move fans away from the TV gantry so that the flares would not affect the coverage of the games. But whenever the request was made during last season, nothing appears to have been done, as the national broadcasters continued to stay away.

The TV companies are right to stay away from Oriel until the pyro problem is dealt with. If Dundalk fails to identify the people behind the flare lighting, then they must move fans away from a certain part of the shed area so that the TV companies and their employees can work in a safe environment. LOITV coverage of every home game at Oriel will continue. But the personnel working with this service must be protected from the flare lighters too. It's a serious health and safety issue.

One of the reporters in the national media was critical of Oriel Park. I suggested to him that Oriel was as good if not better than the antiquated Dublin grounds. He said the way forward for Dundalk was to lobby Louth County Council to get funding for the improvement of facilities at Oriel. But I have done my research. I have spoken to local councillors and council officials,

Dundalk can not get funding from the local authority as they do not own Oriel. It belongs to the Casey family.
Having said that, I have said in umpteen articles here, that now is the time the public should be putting pressure on local councillors, MEP'S and TD's as three elections are due in a year. The local elections will happen in June along with the European elections. Get out and lobby candidates now for the local elections and make sure Oriel Park is on their manifesto. That's how you get things done. Get on to TDs now as well and let them know you want funding for Oriel to be high on their agenda.

Dundalk played Longford town in a friendly at Oriel on Thursday night. It was played in temperatures of -5C.The first Division outfit won the game with a fine goal two minutes after the break. Stephen O'Donnell was happy enough with the way his team played. They struck the crossbar a number of times. But for at least five saves from the Longford keeper Dundalk would have won it. But Dundalk looked very shaky at the back as I feared they would. The unnamed goalkeeper on trial would not inspire a lot of confidence. This is where Nathan Shepperd will be so badly missed.

Eoin Kenny had a good game as had Mayowa Animasahun at centre back. O'Donnell said the Dundalk full backs were very young, but he was very happy with them.He was very happy with Mayowa who did indeed have a good game alongside Andy Boyle. O'Donnell praised Eoin Kenny and was very impressed with his link up play.

But the Dundalk boss was right when he said it was very hard to get the right dynamic in the team when you were making 10 substitutions during the game. This worried me. It was very hard to see where O'Donnell will get the right team for the new season. He has lost his three top goal scorers from last season. Pat Hoban is of course gone. Also gone are John Martin and Daniel Kelly. Two of the three have of course been signed by Derry City. From this season Dundalk must stop Derry turning the Oriel club into a continuing feeder club for the Brandywelll side.

It just has to stop. And it can stop. Dundalk's loss of its best players to Derry over the past three years has weakened the side. The loss of Hoban and Kelly to Derry and Martin to Waterford has left O'Donnell with a massive amount of rebuilding to do. The loss of Nathan Shepperd is also a huge blow. That was not Dundalk's fault.

The Dundalk boss will be signing two goalkeepers this week and four to five more good players as he described them. That is good news, as the side I saw on Thursday would struggle a lot  to stay in the Premier Division. O'Donnell says he hopes he can sign Cootehill youngster Senan Mullen. He starred for the under 19 team last season and played a number of times for the first team.

He is a strong midfielder. Senan is still weighing up his options. Hopefully he will stay at Oriel. Greg Sloggett is in England looking for a club. The Dundalk boss said he would be interested in re-signing Greg if he becomes available.
Daryl Horgan says that a lot of positives can be taken from Thursday night's game given that it was the sides only second pre-season game of the season. Daryl was right in saying had Dundalk been more clinical they would have won the game. Pre-season is all about young and older players getting ready for the year ahead.

Daryl said it was important that the team created a hatful of chances. They certainly did particularly in the first half. The build up in training in the pre-season has been really good. Daryl said the side are now ready to kick on for the competitive side of the season in the Leinster Senior Cup. He says pre-season has gotten everybody on the right wavelength. It's been great. Humourously when asked had Stephen O'Donnell brought the team out to Blackrock to train in the sea as Damian Duff had done, the midfielder laughed and said no.

Daryl believes Dundalk will have a good season. He says a good corps of a squad has been assembled and he says a couple of the academy team from last season have stepped up and certainly look the part. Mayowa is a player who looks like he has a great future ahead of him. Daryl said he is trying to find his feet in senior football. It takes time. But he will get there. Daryl continued that pre-season preparations have got easier for him over the years, as they are now much more science led.

He says it's much better than just being thrown out to the wolves as had been done  in the past, years ago. He says it  is nothing in comparison to the science of today. He added that what matters is to be ready for the start of the season.

Former Dundalk players got all Derry City's four goals in a friendly against Sligo on Saturday. But Ruaidhri Higgins still went down to a defeat, losing 5-4. Pat Hoban missed a penalty, but still got two goals. Daniel Kelly and Michael Duffy got the other goals.

Former Dundalk midfielder Chris Shields has signed a new contract with Linfield. This will be a great boost to the Belfast side as they chase the Irish League title.

Brian Ainscough, the new Dundalk owner is holding an open question and answer session tonight Tuesday, with supporters in the Lilywhite Lounge at Oriel at 7.30pm. Meetings like this have been rare to zero since the start of the Kenny era as successive owners rarely if ever met supporters to discuss issues. So it's a fantastic chance for fans to listen to what the new owner has to say and also for supporters to get across what is important to them.

Have a great week. Look after each other and please be careful out there.