Derry City seeking to buy home ground from council

Derry City FC have asked the local council to consider selling them the Ryan McBride Brandywell stadium.

Councillors are due to discuss the proposal on Tuesday afternoon.

Any sale would also require Derry City to pay market value for the stadium on Lone Moor in Londonderry, which includes a greyhound track and costs in the region of £500,000 a year to run.

In March last year, the council agreed in principle to move towards a long-term lease of the ground, which was seen at the time as a potential pathway for the club, who play in the top tier of professional association football in the Republic of Ireland, to have eventual ownership and a possible route to funding through the NI Football Fund.

The club, along with several others, was ultimately unsuccessful in securing that funding and the decision is now being appealed in the courts.

The council has owned the Brandywell site since Derry City's formation in 1928, with the club using the stadium under a series of short-term licences.

Under the Londonderry Corporation Act 1918, the council cannot grant a lease or licence for the stadium lasting more than one year.

The council supports the idea of a long-term lease for the club, which plays in the League of Ireland, but that cannot happen unless the law is changed at Stormont.

A council report states that legal restriction is now driving the proposal to sell the stadium outright, as changing the law could take several years.

The market value of the site would be independently assessed by Land and Property Services (LPS).

The report also highlights concerns over the Southend Stand, where an independent survey found that most of the seating has exceeded its expected lifespan.

Only 604 of the stand's 2,064 seats are expected to remain safe beyond the end of the 2026 season, reducing the stadium's safe capacity to 4,765.

Replacing the seats is estimated to cost about £156,000, which the council says can be funded from underspent money in last year's budget.

The report also outlines the ongoing cost of operating the Brandywell and the adjoining greyhound track.

The report states annual operating costs of around £591,000, offset by income of about £48,000, leaving a net annual cost of about £475,000.

According to the report, income is expected to fall because of the new hybrid pitch, which will significantly reduce the number of matches and bookings the ground can accommodate.

A new grass-hybrid surface was successfully installed at the club's Brandywell ground last month.

All regular bookings, apart from Derry City, Institute and Sion Swifts, have already been moved to other council-owned facilities.

The Candystripes had been playing their games at Celtic Park, home of Derry GAA, while the transformation has been taking place.

An ageing synthetic 3G pitch, which had come under criticism in recent years, was replaced with a high-tech hybrid pitch, followed by the installation of a state-of-the-art irrigation system beneath the playing surface.

Council officers are recommending that members approve the proposed sale in principle and support further engagement with Derry City FC.

Any final decision to be made in line with the council's asset acquisition and disposal policy.