Stadium proposal to assist club with multi-million pound bid

A proposal offering Derry City FC a long-term lease of their home ground so they can proceed with a multi-million pound bid for Stormont funding has been approved by councillors.

The proposal to offer the club a minimum 25-year lease and move towards making them outright owners of the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium was agreed at a council committee on Thursday.

According to the NI Football Fund criteria, if the council, who currently own the stadium, where to apply for a share of the £36.2m pot, they would need to match 40% of total project costs.

However, if Derry City were to enter into a long-term lease to eventually become stadium owners and apply, they would only need to match 5%.

The proposal will now go before a meeting of full council at a later date.

Councillors heard that the estimated overall cost of planned works at the stadium was in the region of £11.8m.

During Thursday's meeting, councillors expressed concerns over the council's ability to afford 40% match-funding due to budget constraints, which they said could negatively impact the completion of outstanding stadium projects, like the Mark Farren Stand in the Lone Moor Road ground.

Work on a new stand at the Brandywell, which is named after former player Mark Farren, began in 2018 as part of a £7m redevelopment.

However, the second phase of that project has still not been built despite planning permission already being granted.

Reacting to the unanimous support for the proposal, Sinn Féin councillor Christopher Jackson said the fund would unleash the huge potential of Derry City FC.

"The football club is a thriving hub at the heart of our community, and it deserves this long-overdue funding," he added.

"Creating a first-class experience for local football supporters and unleashing the huge potential of Derry City remains a priority for me and my party.

"I am committed to working with the club to ensure it can continue to succeed, grow and flourish in our city."

The Northern Ireland Football Fund dates back to 2011, when it was called the Sub-Regional Stadia Programme.

The aim of the fund is to improve sporting facilities for players and fans. The fund is open to 41 clubs in total in the men's and women's game.

They are all members of the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) or League of Ireland who play their home matches at a venue located in Northern Ireland.

Applicants can apply for one of three categories of grants:

• Projects with a total cost of up to £1.5m

• Up to £6m

• More than £6m

The deadline for applications for the NI Football Fund is Friday, but council officials were told that a long-term lease would not need to be in place until Stage 7 of the NI Football Fund process, which is the tender of appointment of a contractor, following any successful award of funding.

According to the NI Football Fund, applicants wishing to avail of funding must either have a lease of their ground for a term that will expire no earlier than 1 January 2051; own their stadium or intend to become owners, "prior to the issue of the funding agreement for construction costs".

Councillors heard on Thursday that in order for Derry City to enter into a long-term lease and become outright owners, any council proposal requires officials to make a formal approach to the Northern Ireland Executive to amend or repeal a law that is more than 100 years old.

Councillors were told the club cannot take on any official ownership or long-term lease of the stadium due to Section 273 of the Londonderry Corporation Act 1918, which does not allow the council "to let the stadium for a period of more than 12 months".

The license between Derry City Football Club and the council is currently issued for periods of 51-weeks at a time and council officials said any proposed changes to this would require Stormont intervention.

Sinn Féin councillor Sandra Duffy said the minimum 25-year lease agreement was "a no-brainer", describing it as the "only course of action we [council] can take if we want to see the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium in this [NI Football] fund".

"The opportunity is here and we would be mad not to take it at this stage and this is the best way forward," she said.

"We don't want to be missing the boat."

The SDLP's Rory Farrell said the lease is the "least worst option", saying it is an "opportunity for this city to get investment in the Brandywell Stadium".

"It is really unfortunate that a decision has been made at Stormont where councils are being asked to contribute 40% to this fund, when soccer clubs across the north are getting away with 5% - it's not fair to this council, not fair to ratepayers, not fair to Derry City or the entire footballing fraternity across this city.

"If council was to submit this application we would be asked to contribute nearly five million that we don't have readily available and it's not an option".

Ulster Unionist Party Alderman Derek Hussey disagreed with the wording of "least worst option" and said this is the "optimum option" and believes this is the best way forward for the club and other users of the stadium.

"If the football club are willing to go ahead on it then lets go for it".

Independent councillor Gary Donnelly welcomed that the proposal mentions "a long-term lease may impact other user groups at the stadium" such as Maiden City Soccer and Ballymoor Football Club.

He supported the proposal and welcomed that the terms of any lease agreement with the club "would seek to address the interests of these groups".

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said both he and his party wanted to see the stadium redeveloped as quickly as possible and this is "the only way forward".

Derry City said they are not in a position to comment at this stage.

A DfC spokesperson said match funding was a standard requirement for publicly-funded capital projects.

"The funding contributions have been set following detailed financial scoping work and engagement with a range of stakeholders, including councils," the spokesperson said.

A 40% requirement also applied to other similar schemes including Sport NI's Multi Facility Fund and the IFA's Grassroots Facilities Fund, the department spokesperson added.