| SURVIVAL IN SIGHT FOR DUNDEE FOOTBALL CLUB Short term survival is in sight for Dundee Football Club, and the immediate prospect of liquidation is receding by the day, according to Tom Burton, Ernst & Young, Administrator, Dundee Football Club. "Costs have been reduced to a manageable extent and this together with additional revenue generated from the CIS cup run, gate receipts and player sales means that the shortfall in funding needed to take us to the end of the season is down to ý350,000. "The fund raising activities of Dee4Life, the directors and the club itself are vital and with continuing commitment on everyone's part, we now believe the shortfall can be covered. "The lower cost base also means that the club has a clear path to financial stability over the longer term. The club's latest projections show that operational breakeven can be achieved by Season 2005 /06. "Clearly, additional investment will be required to bridge the gap and work is already underway to identify potential sources. We will now increase our focus on this area and also begin work on proposals to restructure the club's debts. The Administrator also moved to clarify two more issues facing the club - speculation around the ownership of Dens Park Stadium and the need for undersoil heating. "Contrary to speculation placed on various internet message boards over the past few days, I can confirm that the stadium is owned by Dundee Football Club Ltd, and has been since 1920. " said Tom Burton. "We are concerned about the effect that inaccurate speculation of this kind can have at a time when supporters, directors and the club are working so hard to ensure the long term survival of the club. "Huge efforts are being put in and it is very important that this work is not undermined. With the stability of the club at stake it is the very least that we should expect." "Secondly, we are aware that failure to have undersoil heating in place by next season would put the club in breach of SPL rules and could, technically, lead to the club's expulsion from the League. "The costs of such a system for Dens have been estimated at ý150,000, and given that the postponement of the Hearts game may have cost the club ý20,000 in lost revenue, the economics are fairly obvious. "Hence, although we hope that it will not be an issue for us as administrators, the costs of undersoil heating have been included in our assessment of the additional investment required for next season." Ends... 07 January 04 If an addressing or transmission error has misdirected this e-mail, please notify the author by replying to this e-mail. If you are not the intended recipient you must not use, disclose, distribute, copy, print or rely on this e-mail. The contents of any attachment to this e-mail may contain software viruses which could damage your own computer system. While hatch-group has taken every reasonable precaution to minimise this risk, we cannot accept liability for any damage which you sustain as a result of software viruses. You should carry out your own virus checks before opening the attachment. |