Wimbledon’s Aborted Dublin Move: How a 1990s Stadium Dream Fell Apart
In the mid-1990s a consortium tried to relocate Wimbledon FC to a new 40,000-seat stadium outside Dublin, but the bid collapsed and the club later moved to Milton Keynes.
During the early 1990s Wimbledon FC struggled to secure a permanent home after ground-sharing with Crystal Palace, prompting chairman Sam Hammam to explore radical options. A Dublin developer had obtained permission for a 40,000-seat arena, and a group of Irish investors led by Tommy Higgins, Maurice Cassidy, former player Eamon Dunphy and U2 manager Paul McGuinness prepared a £6 million bid for a controlling stake in the club.
The plan attracted media attention but faced fierce resistance from Wimbledon fans, who displayed “Dublin = Death” signs, and from the Football Association of Ireland, which feared the project would damage the domestic league. After a year and a half of unanswered communications, Hammam sold 80 % of Wimbledon to Norwegian businessmen Bjorn Rune Gjelsten and Kjell Inge Rokke for £26 million, ending the Dublin talks. The stadium was never constructed, and Wimbledon moved to Milton Keynes in 2004, leading supporters to form AFC Wimbledon, now a League One side back at Plough Lane. The episode remains a nostalgic “what-if” for Irish football enthusiasts.
Why it matters
It shows how a missed cross-border club move could have reshaped Irish football and fan culture.
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