Ron Dixon

Canadian, Ron Dixon, first came to the attention of the Dundee public, when plans for a new ice rink in the city had been proposed. The Chairman of Dundee-Angus Ice Rink PLC, Malcolm Reid announced that Dixon was to fund the 4 million project.

Dixon’s interest in taking control at Dens Park came at a precarious time in the club’s history.

Andrew Drummond, had recently taken on the role of D.F.C. Chairman, in October 1991, replacing Angus Cook. Both he and his fellow directors weren’t keen on relinquishing control of the club, and suggested that Dixon should purchase 26% of the shareholding. He, however, was keen on acquiring 50.1%. He offered to pay 37.5p a share, to achieve the required amount needed, which were valued at 10p at the time.

If the directors agreed to this, he said he would “restructure the financial side of the club, secure the overdraft and pay off the long term loans.” He would also “underwrite a £1.5 million share issue.”

By Christmas, 1991, he had obtained 29.9% of shares, and expected to take overall control of the club withn a few weeks. He increased his shareholding to around 71%, by the end of January 1992, purchasing 16% of former board member Robert Prentice’s shares, and 25% of Andrew Drummond’s.

On 29^th January 1992, an extraordinary general meeting took place at Dens Park, with fifty shareholders in attendance. Dixon’s plan to double the clubs shares, which he called the “People’s Charter”, and would hopefully raise £2.4 million of new investment, was unanimously passed.

The previous day he had announced that Dens Park could be on the verge of a £4 million upgrade, with the Scottish Government investing £2 million, and Dundee F.C. matching it. He was also keen to add an ice sports complex to the ground though admitted that it was a “purely speculative idea.” He also said that he had first thought about getting involved with the club, whilst playing poker at the Western Club, Glasgow with Malcom Reid.

January 1993 saw Dixon embroiled in the Scottish Leagues proposal for a 14-12-12 league set up. Speaking on behalf of the club, he stated that Dundee F.C. were backing the “Super League” clubs, and would be voting against the League’s proposal.

By the end of the 1992-93 season, Dundee F.C. accounts showed that they had made a small profit of £7,593. Returning to the Premier League had helped, leading to higher gate receipts. He hoped to make £500,000 profit in the year ahead.

1993 was a year of potential for Dundee F.C., a £1.7 million grant from the Football Ground Improvement Trust had been applied for. Unfortunately it was refused in July due to the club not having full planning permission for the £3.9 million grandstand to replace the South Enclosure.

In August good news was announced at the Annual Meeting in the Angus Hotel, Ron Dixon proudly stated that “for the first time in sixty five years the club had made an operating profit.” It was an interesting period, with lots of plans being worked on such as re-seating the Provost Road, a social club and pub on site, a new car park, and a dog racing track to name a few. Some of these projects had a two to three year time expectancy.

Rumours of money worries started to surface in January 1994. The sale of Billy Dodds to St Johnstone only added fuel to the fire. Malcolm Reid, vice-chairman, denied that the club was heading for collapse, and insisted that they would stay full-time if relegated.

Greyhound racing returned to Dens Park for the second time in its history in October. It had taken longer than expected to fulfil Dixon’s plans, being part the original plans for the grounds regeneration. The ice rink and conference centre had been put on hold due to cash problems.

Ron Dixon made one of his increasingly rare appearances in November 1995, for the Coca Cola Cup Final, when Dundee met Aberdeen. It had been an absence of nearly a year, in which he “exiled himself as he wasn’t needed.” For a lot of his tenure Dixon wasn’t seen at Dens Park, controlling the club from his home in Canada. He had many business interests in other parts of the world.

Returning to Canada in December, he felt he wouldn’t be at the helm for much longer, offering to sell the club to Malcolm Reid and Jim Duffy. The pair couldn’t raise the funds required so the deal didn’t come to pass.

Dixon wasn’t prepared to invest any more cash in the club. With the new Bosman rule regarding transfers, and the team failing to achieve promotion, money was very tight. The finances would have to be restructured during the summer, though part-time football was emphatically denied.

It would be eleven months before Dixon paid Dens another visit. This caused fans to panic, thinking he was about to sell a player to raise funds, as the previous year Morten Weighorst had been sold to Celtic.

The Dixon era to drew to a close in 1997, returning to the Dens Park for the final time, he was facing two bankruptcy actions for unpaid legal fees.

A price of around £1.2 million had been put on the club, Dixon intimated that he had had two formal offers, and hoped that a deal could be done quickly. He was looking to cut all ties with Scotland, and had also put his house, and Ballygroggan farm (located on the Mull of Kintyre), up for sale.

Peter Marr looked to be favourite to take over, after Dixon said he matched his criteria, though a price was to be agreed. Marr had first approached Dixon at the Coca-Cola Cup Final the previous November, but felt the asking price was too steep.

After protracted talks in April, a cancelled trip to Canada, and a delay whilst the Takeover Panel checked over the paperwork, Peter & Jimmy Marr started to lose patience. However a deal was finally agreed, and the Marr’s took control in June.

Ron Dixon died in a car crash in Mexico in 2000.