Mr. Colm Walsh:

We have considered the matter in great detail. Ownership and dog pools are at the core of what drives business and income in stadiums. The largest challenge - not just for the IGB, but all stakeholders and participants in the industry - is to increase the level of ownership and restore the dog pools. Working with the stakeholders to achieve these aims is the challenge that we as an executive and the board face. We have plans in place and in development to promote and develop ownership. We will engage with stakeholders in the near future on how to progress the situation. The level of ownership has decreased from approximately 17,000 in 2009 to approximately 8,000 currently. One can see the impact of this on income lines in the stadia, for example, admission fees, food and beverage sales and expenditure on the Tote. We must work through this critical issue with the people in the industry as well as with the organisation. There is no magic road to recovery. There is no quick six-month fix.

We have been examining how to use our food and beverage model as a driver of attendance in the domestic market, for example, special offers and tailored packages on off nights. We would use it as a means of encouraging people into stadia. It would also be a driver in the corporate, incentive and tour operator markets.

We have had some success in recent years in growing the tour operator business and the volumes through the stadiums from tour operators. We are examining engaging with the tourism industry and international trade fairs to drive those numbers in the early part of 2015. Food and beverage is a critical part of that plan and how it looks and what we offer will help to drive attendances in the stadium network.

We are also examining having an increased sales resource and how we can do that effectively. The sales resource we have currently is very limited and stretched in that the people who are in the sales function cover a multitude of other tasks on a day-to-day basis in the stadiums. During the cost reduction phase staffing levels were reduced, therefore, the time available for selling and dealing with customers has been reduced. We are currently concluding a test whereby we are using third party call centres to provide support for the local stadium managers in terms of their sales. They do lead-generation work, business development and cold calling for us. That is very cost effective rather than trying to put a team of sales people on the road. We get an immediate response. We get database building and profiling of potential customers, be they corporate or individual parties. We will be running through an evaluation of that test programme in the coming weeks. If that is proved successful in terms of the revenue generated from it, we will then seek to run a number of those campaigns by stadium during 2015. It is a far more cost effective way rather than having sales people on the ground.

From a marketing strategy point of view, we are promoting the venues on the basis of a brand, a venue brand or entertainment brand within their local market. Previously the main plank of the marketing strategy would have been promoting the Irish Greyhound Board, IGB, but people do not travel to see the IGB. They go to Curraheen Park, Shelbourne Park or Harold’s Cross stadium. We have individual websites and webpages and our digital strategy for 2015 will see the individual local brands in those areas. Their websites will act as a hub for all social media activity and all digital activity and we will be able to engage with people, understand the profile of people coming through the gates, have better segmentation and be able to tailor and customise our activity and our offers towards people based on databases that have been and will be built during 2015.