FAI and IRFU in harmony, says Rooney

THE FAI yesterday rushed to dismiss any suggestion that plans for the re-development of Lansdowne Road had caused any strain on their relationship with the owners of the stadium, the IRFU.

Mr Fran Rooney, Chief Executive of the FAI, said: "We have always enjoyed a tremendously good working relationship with the IRFU and that still applies.

"There is no clash between us on the future development of the stadium. What we are attempting to do is to identify our entitlements and the extent of our involvement if we are to invest substantial funds in the development."

The suggestion that a rift had developed between the two organisations arose out of a report that in return for investing more than 40m in the development, the FAI were seeking part ownership. This is not the case.

The FAI make a distinction between the actual site at Lansdowne Road and the new structures that will be erected there if the joint submission from both organisations is accepted by the Government.

The actual proposal under discussion is that management of the new stadium would be vested in a new management company that would be representative of the IRFU, the FAI and, perhaps, the Government.

It is further proposed that the surplus accruing as a result of the lease of the stadium to the two organisations, and any other suitable promotions, would be retained to cover the on-going cost of maintenance and refurbishment and enhancement of the venue.

The FAI yesterday stepped up their bid to persuade the Government to make a decision on the issue sooner rather than later. They need to know what the future holds before February 3.

On that date the FAI officers will sit down in Dublin with representatives of the other national associations they will compete with in the World Cup to decide on dates and venues the representatives of France, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Switzerland and Israel.

If the Government decide to accept the joint proposal from FAI and IRFU they will commit to providing two-thirds of the 250m cost of the re-development.

The FAI and the IRFU will put up the other one third and the FAI hope to have this agreed before February so they will feel empowered to go to FIFA with a request to continue with the use of the temporary bucket seats at Lansdowne Road.

The FAI argue that the net cost to the exchequer at today's rates would amount to about 90m by the time that VAT and PRSI payments were returned from the development project.

The projected time scale for the re-development is from 2006 to 2008. This should allow time for any planning difficulties to be resolved.

The FAI will, in the absence of a decision from Government before February, open discussions with Celtic, Manchester United and Liverpool for the possible lease of their stadiums for the upcoming World Cup matches.

They argue it will not be financially viable to stage matches at Lansdowne Road if they are not allowed use of the bucket seats and the capacity is reduced to 22,000.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of the FAI, Mr Fran Rooney, declined to comment on the departure of the Association's Marketing Manager, Mr Eddie Cox yesterday.

Mr Cox has been an officer of the FAI since 1998. He had served Bray Wanderers for almost 40 years prior to that date in a variety of positions, as Chairman, Hon Treasurer and Secretary. Mr Cox signed a letter of resignation that contained a confidentiality clause and Mr Rooney responded to a request for an explanation with the comment: "It is my policy to never comment on staff issues."