Tag: Dens Park

Chairman's Updates

Dee4Life members’ update – July

Dear Members,

The summer break can often drag on for us football fanatics but the Euro’s have partially helped fill the void. Whilst the football on show could certainly be described as cautious, it was fitting that the team that consistently played, open, attacking football lifted the trophy. Viva Espana!

Back to Dark Blue matters. We were delighted that DFC won the race to sign Simon Murray and are appreciative of the significant commitment the Club made to secure his signature. We understand that more signings are imminent and our wish list would include extended contracts for Luke McCowan and Lyall Cameron.

It was good to recommence competitive football again with the group stages of the League Cup. A fine, dominant 7-1 win away to Bonnyrigg Rose, followed with another good win at a notoriously tricky venue saw us off to a great start.

We were due to host our first home game of the season against Annan Athletic on the newly improved pitch surface however the Club has decided that the pitch will benefit from additional time to settle and have announced both “home” League Cup ties will be hosted at Brechin.
The first game at our temporary home, along with results elsewhere, booked our place in the last 16 of the competition, with a game in hand. It’s fantastic to see the team strive on the pitch.

Whilst we support the Club’s decision to ensure the pitch is in the best condition possible for the start of the League campaign it is disappointing that fans will be left out of pocket due to additional travel expense. It would be a positive gesture from the Club to either offer subsidised supporters’ buses or reduced entrance prices to these matches.

We will just have to wait a little longer for the first match of 24/25 at The Kilmac Stadium and the launch of the e-ticketing system. The first home game at “Dens” is one of the most eagerly awaited matches for many Dees being the first chance to see the many new signings on home turf.

The aim of the Dee4Life Board for 24/25 is to improve our relationship with the Club so as to help increase engagement and enhance communication between the Support and Club on matters such as the temporary move to Brechin. We remain positive about the general direction of travel but remain committed to achieving greater fan involvement.

Whilst the board was enhanced by the addition of Mike Woodcock in June, sadly I have to report that Norrie Price has opted to step down as a director to focus on another project.

Norrie Price
Norrie Price

We thank Norrie for the great commitment shown to Dee4Life in his six years on the board, which included a two-and-a-half year spell as Chair.
He remains very much a Dark Blue diehard and we look forward to his continued contribution and support as a Dee4Life member.

Best wishes,
Keith Winter,
Chair.

Chairman's Updates

Dee4Life New Year members’ update

Dear members,

Happy New Year and I hope you had a great festive period with family and friends.

The past month has brought both the exhilaration of late goals at Dingwall and Kilmarnock and the disappointment of the Aberdeen and St Johnstone postponements.

With regards to the latter, we know from correspondence from members how frustrating you have found the situation. Accordingly, we have written to the club’s Supporter Liaison Officer to try and better understand the underlying issues with the pitch and to offer any practical support we can to minimise the risk of future call offs. In this letter, we also reiterated our long-standing offer to support the introduction of eticketing at Dens Park.

December’s other major talking point was the new stadium image and additional details about the project released by the club. This has rightly generated a great deal of excitement and discussion amongst Dundee fans, and we welcome the stated commitment to ongoing consultation with supporters as the project develops. It was also reassuring to hear John Nelms restate that interim groundsharing is unlikely to be required.

The Dee4Life board has always believed this project could be transformative for Dundee but are also wary of any risks to the club and hope these concerns are fully addressed either in the forthcoming planning application in principle or as part of the related consultation.

20 years of Dee4Life

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Dee4Life and I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the dozens of fans who have served on the Trust board in that time as well as the countless volunteers who have given up their own time to help ensure that the club has survived some of the most turbulent times in its history.

As you all know, Dee4Life arose from the incredible efforts of fans to save the club from liquidation back in 2003/04. The time and effort given by the Trust’s founders to galvanise fundraising efforts, attend interminable meetings and help prove Dundee was worth fighting for was incredible and all Dundee supporters owe them a debt of gratitude.

When the Dark Blues entered administration for the second time, the astonishing effort of fans – combined with the sacrifices of directors, staff and players – saved our beloved club once more. Dee4Life officials, volunteers and members had again given so much of themselves while asking for nothing in return and these efforts enabled Dundee to exit administration as a supporter-owned club.

The following two years were not without their difficulties, but no one should be in any doubt about how hard those running the club worked in difficult circumstances or that every decision was made according to what they believed was in the best interests of the club. Ultimately, they kept Dundee FC alive until a viable alternative appeared.

When we Dee4Life members voted to sell our majority shareholding to the club’s current owners we did so after the-then Trust board negotiated entrenched rights designed to protect the future of the club we all love.

The Trust’s fortunes have waxed and waned over the years, but dedicated fans continued to give up their own time to keep Dee4Life alive out of a belief that an independent fans’ voice is not only important but vital. We now mark our 20th anniversary with a growing membership and a determination amongst the current board to ensure that the views of all fans are heard at a pivotal time for our club.

The issue of an ageing stadium with limited commercial potential has plagued successive Dundee owners for decades. As well as acknowledging the stability brought by the current owners, we appreciate the scale of their ambitions. In our view, the best-case scenario is for the Camperdown development to succeed as envisaged. However, we must also be mindful of any situation that might put the club at risk again and seek all and any assurances that this project will not do this.

Custodianship of our entrenched rights is a responsibility that the Dee4Life board takes very seriously. The Trust was formed to not only fight the short-term threat to the club that existed back in January 2004 but to ensure that it would always have a future. That is why we must continue to ask questions about the health and direction of Dundee FC, even if doing so is not always universally popular.

Once again, I thank past and present Dee4Life directors, members, volunteers, donors and friends for everything they have done over the years. I hope that we can all look forward to a happy and prosperous 2024, on and off the park.

Regards,
Keith Winter (Chair)

Chairman's Updates

Statement on purchase of Dens Park by DBPH

We welcome the announcement that Dundee’s owners currently have no plans to sell Dens Park and groundshare ahead of the new stadium development being completed.

We acknowledge the ongoing financial commitment of the club’s owners but also believe Dundee’s supporters deserve the fullest possible information about the risks as well as rewards of this project.

The fact that Dark Blue Property Holdings (DBPH) now own Dens Park and will own the proposed new stadium rather than the club itself raises questions about what happens to Dundee if DBPH is later sold. Other clubs have found themselves in dire straits in similar circumstances and we are keen to hear what measures are in place to protect the club.

We remain supportive of the Camperdown development in principle but once again call on the club’s owners to provide clarity about whether there is a plan B should the project not come to fruition, through no fault of their own.

Finally, we would like to thank John Bennett for the role he has played in ensuring that Dundee FC still exists.

Regards,
Keith Winter, Chair.

Chairman's Updates

Dee4Life update – September

Dear members,

When Dee4Life directors pledged to do everything in their power to seek answers about the proposed new stadium development, it was made clear that diplomacy would have to be exhausted before a different course of action would be pursued.

Over the past year, we have been guided by legal advice and have asked for nothing beyond what FPS agreed to when they bought the club 10 years ago. We have sought help from intermediaries and offered to go to arbitration to establish a framework for fan representation. We produced a proposal that highlighted the ways we can help the club in return for them fulfilling their legal obligations. We demonstrated our willingness to work alongside the club and provided financial assistance for projects. Most recently, we requested a Q&A session so that outstanding stadium issues could be addressed.

We have worked hard to find an amicable solution but, with the club still failing to answer the perfectly reasonable questions put to them, we feel now is the time to appraise you of all that has happened to date.

Board nomination

In December 2022, we nominated Trust director Kenny Valentine to sit as our primary representative on the club board. The response, signed ‘Dundee Football Club Limited’, made clear this was regarded as a hostile act. Much of the anger appeared to be linked to the fact that a Dee4Life director had, while acting in a personal capacity, responded to the Camperdown statutory consultation by noting that they opposed the plan as it was presented at that time. We had restated Dee4Life’s position – support for the development subject to assurances about the risks facing the club – in our official response to the same consultation.

We immediately sought legal counsel and were advised to resolve the situation privately. Our lawyer wrote to the club noting that the concerns expressed were clearly those of an individual, reminding them that we had acted within our entrenched rights, and offering to meet with company secretary Lindsay Darroch to discuss next steps.

While it would have made our lives easier to outline every detail with you, we were advised that any public fallout would jeopardise any chance of progress. We ultimately took the view that to go public would be to fail our members by making it less likely that they received the answers they sought.

While discussions were ongoing between lawyers, Kenny met with club GM Greg Fenton and received confirmation that Dundee would be playing at Dens Park the following season. This didn’t answer all our questions, but it did address fears that we would be groundsharing for 2022/23.

Over the months that followed, some progress was made. Despite the language used in their response back in December, the club had not said they wouldn’t agree to a Dee4Life rep on the club board and, at this stage, the direction of travel seemed to be towards this happening.

Frustrated progress

Kenny and I (Dee4Life Chair Keith Winter) held robust and constructive discussions with John Nelms, emphasising why increased engagement was positive while pushing back firmly but professionally where appropriate.

An example of this came when we launched a survey in response to the club’s season ticket launch. Two hundred of you took the time to complete the survey and to ask other questions. Despite having agreed to provide answers to FAQs, the club then said they would prefer to answer them on the club’s channels so that all fans could be addressed simultaneously. We still await these answers.

By this time, we had finalised a formal proposal outlining how we saw a relationship between the club and the Trust working and this was sent to Dundee directors once the season ended. We called for several measures intended to increase engagement and communication, along the lines outlined in the club’s own Customer Charter. There were also examples of the ways in which we could help the club as part of a mutually respectful partnership.

While there was agreement in some areas – including willingness to take part in a Q&A – there was significant disagreement in others. Whereas discussion on the board place were of the ‘when, not if’ variety a few months ago, there now appeared to be a hardening of the club’s position. This culminated in us being told that attempts to have a Dee4Life rep appointed would continue to be resisted.

Q&A request

Over the past year, we have made clear that we sought a reset in relations with the club but the supposed actions of “individuals associated with Dee4Life” were repeatedly cited as reasons for the club’s reluctance to engage. With no movement on the board place we requested the Q&A that John Nelms had indicated he was willing to take part in. The response we received offered only a further meeting rather than direct discussions about the issues we had raised. We had previously been offered a Q&A with Tony Docherty but it would have been inappropriate to take part in this while we seek answers to the Camperdown questions.

It has been frustrating not to be able to share all we have been doing with members, but it was necessary that discussions remained confidential while there was a chance of diplomacy succeeding. We also had to be able to evidence the steps we had taken to resolve the impasse in a professional and amicable manner. Our aim was to be above reproach in all that we did.

Next steps

For obvious reasons it isn’t in our interests for the full legal advice we received to be in the public domain but, to summarise, the only way to enforce Dee4Life’s entrenched rights would be by raising legal action against the club. We don’t have inexhaustible funds but the majority of our reserves are ringfenced for legal action if it is ever required to fight a very clear threat to Dundee’s existence.

Our primary focus over the past year has been to fulfil the pledges we made at the last AGM and for fans to receive the information they deserve. The board rep nomination was a means to an end for us – that end being to get answers to the stadium questions and to ensure this kind of situation does not arise again. With club directors now explicitly saying they will block this move and with John Nelms now apparently unwilling to take part in a Q&A, it is now time to consider next steps.

We will be meeting with Dundee’s two constituency MSPs over the next few weeks to ask for their assistance in resolving this situation. We will update you on these talks and anticipate laying out the options available to us and recommending a course of action ahead at our AGM in November, at which point members will be able to vote on the direction we take.

We note today’s media reports about the imminent purchase of Dens Park by FPS and will consider the implications for the club as we obtain more information on the matter.

Keith Winter (Chair)

society updates

Dee4Life and South East Section team up for Tifo

We are delighted to be sponsoring the South East Section’s first ever tifo at Saturday’s game v Kilmarnock. 🇨🇷

Coloured cards will be placed on every seat in the South Enclosure for fans to raise as the team takes to the park. A Dee4Life flyer containing a details on who we are and what our objectives are along with a QR code to allow you to join the Trust is printed on the reverse side of the cards and we hope as many of you will choose to sign up.

This forms part of the activity we have planned for Saturday’s game, which we are the matchball sponsors of. Four Dee4Life members who won our competition earlier this week will enjoy a day in hospitality while our directors will be on hand out side the Bobby Cox and Main Stand handing out flyers and answering any questions fans may have before kick-off.

You may also notice the new Dee4Life advertising boards on display at the trackside.

Members of the South East Section in the Derry at Dens Park.
Some of the SES squad who have helped add to the atmosphere at Dundee games.

The SES lads and lasses have done a great job in helping to improve the atmosphere at Dens over the past 18 months so let’s join them in getting behind the team and greet them with a sea of blue, white and red when they emerge from the tunnel.

society updates

Entry issues, tannoy system, stadium maintenance – update

Dear members,

I spoke with DFC General manager Greg Fenton last week to discuss several issues that members have raised with us. I have summarised these, and Greg’s responses, below.

As we outlined in our recent partnership proposal, we want to work with the club to resolve issues as well as raising them. Our proposed next steps are outlined in italics.

A section of the Dundee support in the Bobby Cox Stand at the Motherwell game. Image: Derek Gerrard Photography.

Tannoy system

Several members were concerned that the South Enclosure tannoy system that has been inaudible for several seasons is now a bigger issue given the need for VAR updates.

    Answer – the club invested in the SE tannoy in the summer and are monitoring the situation to test for its effectiveness. 

    We have received mixed feedback from the Motherwell game, with some fans reporting an improvement and others noting no change. We have offered to liaise with the company that DFC use to see what further options there are to improve the tannoy system and to potentially fund any improvement.

    Ticketing

    As we shared with you at the start of the month, we have been discussing this longstanding complaint of fans with the club, have proposed temporary solutions and have offered to support the introduction of eTicketing.

    Answer – the club felt the new collection booth worked well in reducing club shop queues prior to the Motherwell match and are considering additional resources that would make it quicker and more convenient for fans to purchase and collect tickets.

    Our offer of support remains in place and we are happy to explore any other ideas members might have.

    Condition of South Enlosure seats

    Dee4Life directors and members reported finding broken and dirty seats upon arriving at the Motherwell match.

    The condition of some of the seats in the South Enclosure prior to the first game of the season.

    Answer –  all seats were cleaned in the days prior to the opening match of the season and stained and/or broken ones have now been removed, with replacements in place for the Hearts game.  Seats in the areas worst affected by bird droppings are covered until 1pm pre-match.

    As the club only has covers for a fraction of the total number of seats we are looking at whether we can fund more.

    General stadium maintenance

    Members expressed disappointment at finding old signs, bottles, cones and general debris upon arriving at the ground last week.

    Answer – the club would appreciate any support to help clean up articles that litter the ground.

    Earlier in the summer we helped connect the club with tradespeople willing to help out with stadium maintenance and we are liaising with individuals and other groups to see what further assistance we might collectively provide.

    In addition, we were also asked to contact the club by a member regarding concerns about disabled access following on from the new parking restrictions introduced by the local authority. We thank DFC Disability Access officer Declan Gall for providing a speedy response confirming that disabled parking places for supporters are available on Provost Road and North Isla Street.

    Any members who would like to provide their own feedback or raise any issues they’d like raised with the club then please do not hesitate to get in touch by emailing contact@dee4life.com.

    Regards,
    Kenny Valentine,
    Dee4Life Director