FRIDAY INTERVIEW: Michael Duffy, RDS
ON WEDNESDAY morning, the post-Dublin Horse Show clean up was in full swing at the RDS's 40-acre site in Ballsbridge.
Temporary stands were being dismantled, signs were coming down, a fork-lift truck was buzzing around the main arena and temporary seating was being readied for storage until next August's horsey jamboree.
The pools of water in the outside rings told a story of near monsoon showers that intermittently drenched the five-day show.
About 80,000 passed through the turnstiles this year and RDS chief executive Michael Duffy says the heavy rain failed to dampen spirits.
"The show was a great success," Duffy said. "The numbers were actually up this year. The feedback we've had from exhibitors was that they were pleasantly surprised by the level of activity. Of course rain drives a lot of people indoors, so that might have helped."
Horsing around doesn't come cheaply. When Duffy took the reins at the RDS in May 2004, the society was losing €350,000 a year on staging the show.
It now washes its face financially, while costing about €3.6 million to run.
"We have managed to eliminate the deficit and to develop the product," he explains.
Duffy had spent a decade in charge of Bord Bia, the semi-State agency charged with promoting Irish food, but felt the time was right for a meatier challenge.
After years of stagnation and decline, the RDS was on the cusp of embarking on a €100 million revamp of its facilities.
The aim was to provide it with a healthy income stream to underpin its "foundation" activities and justify its location on some of the most valuable land in the country.
It appealed to Duffy. "The RDS had decided that it was going to embark on a major development programme and that appealed to me. It's been fantastic."
He admits, however, that his knowledge of showjumping was limited. "I had a lot to learn, put it that way," he says with a smile.
To date, the RDS has spent €45 million and there are signs that the investment is paying off.
The number of events held at the Ballsbridge venue has doubled since Duffy took charge. About 1.8 million people now attend events at the RDS annually.
It recently launched its own ticketing website, rdstickets.com. Duffy hopes that the majority of tickets for events staged at the RDS will eventually be sold through the online facility.
"The licence initially will be for the RDS, but we see no reason why we can't extend that service . Because the technology is there, you are going to see more and more venues doing their own ticketing."
During Duffy's time, the RDS has spent €6 million - including €1.75 million in Government grants - upgrading its main arena, installing a new pitch, modern dressing rooms, floodlights and temporary seating. The stadium can now seat more than 18,000 people.
The timing was fortunate. With Lansdowne Road out of action until 2010, Leinster rugby needed a home and the new RDS arena was the perfect venue for its largely D4 fan base.
Leinster is believed to have signed a lucrative, 10-year plus deal with the RDS to host its Magners League and Heineken Cup home matches.
"It's been a great success from their point of view and the feedback we've had from fans has been fantastic," Duffy says.
Lansdowne rugby club are also tenants until the new Lansdowne Road opens.
The RDS will host this year's FAI Cup Final and Bruce Springsteen and Boyzone played to crowds of about 35,000 at outdoor concerts this summer.
"This is very expensive grass to cut . . . it was important that the arena was in use all year round," Duffy says from his office overlooking the pitch.
To most people, however, the RDS is all about the annual horse show. It's a show that attracts bowler-hatted toffs and working-class families in equal measure and is seen as one of the city's great social occasions.
It is sometimes forgotten that is also one of eight shows that make up the Samsung Super League, showjumping's international showpiece.
The FEI, the sport's governing body, is planning to shake it up next year, with fewer venues likely to host rounds.
Duffy is waiting to hear if Dublin will make the cut, but he is confident that the recent investment in its facilities will see it clear that fence.
"The feedback from the riders has been very positive," he said.
"They tell us that it's one of the best shows in the world, so we're hopeful that we'll be included ."
In parallel with revamping its sporting and conference facilities, the RDS decided to build four large office blocks, covering 18,580sq m (200,000sq ft) to generate additional income.
The first two have been constructed, with one substantially let to Irish Distillers and Six Nations Rugby Ltd.
The other remains vacant, but Duffy says the letting of the first building has generated enough revenue for the RDS to manage the risk associated with the ambitious construction project.
The RDS is currently saddled with a €34 million bank debt. It also spent €12 million of its own funds over the past three years on capital expenditure.
Duffy says the society will not build the other two buildings until tenants have been secured.
He says the RDS has so far weathered the economic storm. Trade and consumer shows are its bread and butter and business remains good for the traditionally busy September to Christmas period. "We haven't had any cancellations or received requests for reductions in space requirements from exhibitors," he said.
"The trade shows tend to hold up well because companies feel they need to be at them when things are tighter. Consumer shows might be different."
He acknowledges that competition will increase when the revamped Point Depot and the new National Conference Centre open for business.
"Our location and the spread of our facilities has served us well and will continue to serve us well," he says.
Duffy is no stranger to difficult times. He joined the IDA in 1981 when the economy was in the toilet, helping companies work through those difficult times. "It was the best training you could get."
His decade with Bord Bia coincided with two BSE crises and one foot-and-mouth crisis. "They really tested the mettle of everyone."
There was a time when the RDS considered selling its Ballsbridge base and relocating outside Dublin. It owned more than 70 acres in the 1970s, gradually selling off plots to keep the wolf from the door.
Its current 40-acre footprint is probably worth more than €1.5 billion, although the RDS's accounts give it a nominal value of €1,000. "I think that's what you call heritage accounting," Duffy says with a smile.
Regardless of the potential value of the land, Duffy says the RDS is going nowhere and there will be no more land sales.
"Dublin needs places like the RDS, it's part of the fabric of the city. It's played a huge role in the city over the years and will continue to do so."
ON THE RECORD:Name: Michael Duffy
Age:54
Job:Chief executive, Royal Dublin Society
Lives:Blackrock
Family:Married with five children
Career:Has a background in physics. Joined IDA Ireland in 1981 spending 13 years there, latterly managing its food division. Left in 1994 to become first chief executive of food promotion agency Bord Bia. He joined RDS in May 2004
Something you might expect:He enjoys watching rugby. His office overlooks the RDS arena, home to the Leinster rugby team
Something that might surprise:Duffy and his son are season tickets holders with Sunderland football club. "I was a fan BK [before Keane]," he says. "It goes back to when I was a child. My father took me to see them at Dalymount Park and Charlie Hurley was playing for them. It was very exciting."
Is he a fan of Keane?"Oh yeah, I'm a fan of success and not getting relegated in Sunderland's recent history is success. He's done a great job and hopefully he can take them to the next stage."
