Portlaoise Panthers air grievances over use of St Mary's Hall

The Portlaoise Panthers basketball club and Portlaoise Parish, the owners of St Mary's Hall in Portlaoise, have become embroiled in a dispute surrounding the facility.

The Panthers club released a lengthy statement last week criticising the condition of the hall and the committee that oversee the facility.

Issues surrounding the heating of the hall and continuous leak in the roof have been highlighted along with claims that the Hall committee have failed to engage with the club over how things could be improved for both parties.

The statement said that, “While poor and dirty facilities are obviously a massive problem the poor upkeep of the hall of late has got the point where it is putting the health and safety of our members at risk. With the heating frequently not working (and when it is working it has to be requested to be turned on) there are continuing problems with condensation on the floor and walls.

“At times certain areas of the hall floor resemble an ice rink. It is only a matter of time before a player suffers a serious injury due to this. The persistent leaks in the roof have at times led to a game being called off in the middle of a game.

“Unfortunately, the incompetency goes much deeper than just the day to day running of the hall. In July 2018, Portlaoise Panthers committee met with the committee from St Mary’s hall to discuss the proposed renovations.

“The hall committee advised that the planned renovations would cost €620,000.00 with a grant approved of €260,000.00, leaving a funding shortfall of €360,000.00. Originally it was proposed that Portlaoise Panthers would fund €120,000.00 and the hall/Parish would fund the remaining balance of €240,000.00. We were then advised that the hall could not secure the additional €240,000.00.

“Based on the additional funding not being available to the hall committee, we advised that the Club would look for a €220,000.00 loan from Clann Credo and provide €90,000.00 from our own funds and additional fund raising, leaving the hall committee with just €50,000.00 of a balance to fund. To be in a position to secure the borrowing, the club would have to enter a lease arrangement with the Parish/hall to guarantee set hours to secure club income to meet the repayments. We were advised that Parish/Hall could not agree to that request.

“While this was happening and with the club having no faith in the committee they felt they would have to pursue alternative means of investing in the sports hall. The club were able to secure funding amounting to 330K. One would assume that a committee responsible for a sports hall who were actually interested in doing what’s best for the community the hall serves would be delighted with such a development but to the club’s amazement there was zero interest in working together.

“We were completely dismissed and the committee were happy to allow the hall to continue to deteriorate and continue to be an embarrassment for all those who use it and also invite others from around the country to use it.”

St Mary's Sports hall committee hit back over claims from Portlaoise Panthers

The issue of rental fees was also documented in the statement and the basketball club that caters for massive numbers now feel that the rent in the region of 45,000 euro per year is not sustainable going forward.

On the issue of the rent they pay to the Portlaoise parish, the statement read;

"The rental fees the Panthers must pay to the hall each year makes basketball easily the most expensive sport to play in Portlaoise.

“On average the club will pay St Mary’s Hall €45,000 every year. The club has no choice but to pass these fees onto their members or the club simply would not survive.

“The high membership fees have a particularly negative effect on the children in our community. Fees for children range from €240-€280 and if the parent, as often is the case, pays themselves their fees are from €350-€450.

“It’s just a simple truth that many parents cannot afford these fees year on year. Being in the middle of town the club has always felt it is very well placed to give kids a very realistic outlet to focus their energy.

“St Mary’s Hall is walkable from almost every part of town but one must wonder how many kids are forced to stay away because of the high membership fees/high hall costs.

“There are other organisations who would also rent the hall. It is often rented out for birthday parties etc. but where does the money go? It appears nobody outside of the committee actually knows.

“There are no financial statements published and when we ask for one to be produced as the club has done on numerous occasions, the request is simply ignored by the hall committee and the parish. At no stage has the money which is being taken in by the hall been reinvested into the hall itself.

“Just recently during the summer the hall was so run down we as a club were forced to take matters into our own hands again and completed a refurbishment ourselves which was solely funded by the club costing in excess of €10,000.00.

The strongly worded statement didn't pull any punches and continued;

“The one thing our club wants to do most and the one thing we cannot do at the moment is grow. In Portlaoise, St Mary’s Hall would be very much considered a community hall. Questions have to be asked what community does it serve?

“As the hall is owned by the parish one would assume the hall is to be used for the benefit of the community of the parish.

“Rarely have the inadequacies of so few held back so many. It’s not just the club they are hurting, it’s the people of Portlaoise and in particular the kids of Portlaoise.”

While the club also rent facilities in Portlaoise College and the Holy Family Primary school, St Mary's Hall is their main venue in the town.

Other grievances mentioned in the statement included a lack of re-investment into the facilities in the hall, the condition of the toilet and changing facilities and condensation on the floors and walls.

Signing off on the statement, the basketball club commented;

“Portlaoise Panthers Basketball Club are calling for the immediate resignation of all members of the St Marys Hall committee to allow a fair and elected committee from all stakeholders to be put in place.

“A committee who will work with all relevant parties and organisations who use St Mary’s hall. A committee whose objective will be to provide improved and enhanced facilities for the community and a committee who will be open, willing to engage and provide financial transparency.”

Since they released the statement last week, the Portlaoise Panthers have since called for St Mary’s Sports Hall admin group to told a special AGM as a matter of urgency.