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Development of Tuam Stadium

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The biggest story is not the grant but the two million down the drain at Mountain South. Imagine what that would have done for Tuam Stadium or Ballinasloe or Loughgeorge? GDL (Galway) - Posts: 729 - 22/12/2017 00:27:20 2065831 Link
This is great news - and congrats. to the DAFTS committee. Tuam Stadium was always the Mecca for school kids of all the surrounding parishes, and I can't wait to see it given a new lease of life. For that reason, I think the development contributions, both business and private will now mushroom. With the new motorway serving North/South, it's location is ideal. Local businesses have recently indicated an increase in trade, so there's no reason why a revamped stadium can't be a huge success. Really (Galway) - Posts: 594 - 22/12/2017 15:19:54 2065873 Link
A few cross-cuttings points on all of this. 1) The whole mountain south thing, surley with house prices now at similar and maybe even above previous boom prices - its a good time to sell off mountain south or else....now bear with me... 1b) See off Tuam and Pearse stadium and build a decent (Pairc Uí Caoimh style) ~35k seater or mix of seating and terrace at mountain south along with gyms, training pitches etc. allowing training to be conducted at either Lough George or at the new facility, this would also free up availability of Lough George for other Galway teams. The_DOC (Galway) - Posts: 710 - 09/01/2018 11:25:07 2067473 Link
Replying To The_DOC: "A few cross-cuttings points on all of this. 1) The whole mountain south thing, surley with house prices now at similar and maybe even above previous boom prices - its a good time to sell off mountain south or else....now bear with me... 1b) See off Tuam and Pearse stadium and build a decent (Pairc Uí Caoimh style) ~35k seater or mix of seating and terrace at mountain south along with gyms, training pitches etc. allowing training to be conducted at either Lough George or at the new facility, this would also free up availability of Lough George for other Galway teams." Not sure about your specifics but you are spot on about reviewing everything together. What the County Board should do is get decide what would be ideal if we had to start from scratch. Then look at how they could go about making it happen. All options on the table. From selling grounds to raise funds to leaving all as it is. Most important thing is as is looked at as a whole and not just looking at each piece of infrastructure on a stand alone basis. Mayonman (Galway) - Posts: 1844 - 09/01/2018 12:11:03 2067484 Link
Replying To The_DOC: "A few cross-cuttings points on all of this. 1) The whole mountain south thing, surley with house prices now at similar and maybe even above previous boom prices - its a good time to sell off mountain south or else....now bear with me... 1b) See off Tuam and Pearse stadium and build a decent (Pairc Uí Caoimh style) ~35k seater or mix of seating and terrace at mountain south along with gyms, training pitches etc. allowing training to be conducted at either Lough George or at the new facility, this would also free up availability of Lough George for other Galway teams." Galway GAA bought Mountain South for €2.8m. They negotiated a deal to make payments to cover interest (mostly), and to date have paid €50k off Capital. This leaves €2.75m Capital still o/s. I gather the land is now up for sale - but they don't expect to get anywhere near boom time prices - maybe €1.25m. This will result in an overall loss of €1.5m+. Will just have to suck it up, and put every effort into development of Tuam Stadium. No way the powers that be will move on Pearce Stadium. Really (Galway) - Posts: 594 - 09/01/2018 23:28:22 2067602 Link
Replying To Mayonman: "Not sure about your specifics but you are spot on about reviewing everything together. What the County Board should do is get decide what would be ideal if we had to start from scratch. Then look at how they could go about making it happen. All options on the table. From selling grounds to raise funds to leaving all as it is. Most important thing is as is looked at as a whole and not just looking at each piece of infrastructure on a stand alone basis." Agreed. I'm not set on Mountain south or whatever but I do think that Galway should take a longer-term approach to this and look at all of their assets in terms of a 10-15-20 year plan. Then decide if its feasible to get pumping money into 2 stadia in a county our size, what the long term goal for Pearse stadium - it cant grow/develop much further, but the work required for Tuam is substantial and is also limited by residential area to the sides. Both stadia have their pro's and cons, am I the only one who remembers hours of traffic outside of Tuam stadium in the 90's? Pearse stadium needs no further traffic indictments! Why not see if there could be a stadium sharing option of Pearse stadium with Connacht rugby maybe or maybe a greenfield site new stadium share with Connacht Rugby - this would make sense and also foster keeping a 2nd stadium of the games that clash with rugby and /or wont justify selling out the ground. The location of mountain south and the new Galway-Gort motorway surely improves its location as a green field site for a 30-40 stadium not with motorway connectivity to Galway-Dublin, Galway-North Galway and Galway limerick (eventually Galway-Cork). It should also improve its selling capacity if Galway GAA want to offload the site. This is not a Tuam Vs Pearse argument, nor am I set on any one solution mentioned above or alternative to this - these are just suggestions as to the long-term vision the county has in terms of infrastructure. The_DOC (Galway) - Posts: 710 - 10/01/2018 11:32:05 2067628 Link
The_Doc, very sensible approach. Hopefully others in power will act similarly. Sentimentality is our enemy. What was right for the past may not be for the future. Get over it and move on. Full review of all assets followed by a plan for the future based on logic.....no emotion. Should be carried out by professional firm (KPMG, EY etc), not internally. Mayonman (Galway) - Posts: 1844 - 11/01/2018 11:01:40 2067777 Link
Replying To The_DOC: "A few cross-cuttings points on all of this. 1) The whole mountain south thing, surley with house prices now at similar and maybe even above previous boom prices - its a good time to sell off mountain south or else....now bear with me... 1b) See off Tuam and Pearse stadium and build a decent (Pairc Uí Caoimh style) ~35k seater or mix of seating and terrace at mountain south along with gyms, training pitches etc. allowing training to be conducted at either Lough George or at the new facility, this would also free up availability of Lough George for other Galway teams." stay with Pearse stadium. GAA don't have the money for a new development. Tuam is also worth investing in. I have never been there though. So am just speculating. galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2522 - 17/01/2018 09:48:05 2068796 Link
Replying To galwayford: "stay with Pearse stadium. GAA don't have the money for a new development. Tuam is also worth investing in. I have never been there though. So am just speculating." and if that was the recommendation of an independent review into the best use of assets into the future i'd have no issue. my only worry is that things will be done without some joined up thinking. Mayonman (Galway) - Posts: 1844 - 17/01/2018 14:59:00 2068894 Link
Galway's opening national league Division 1 tie at home to Tyrone Sunday week confirmed for Tuam Stadium. Belclare1 (Galway) - Posts: 1626 - 18/01/2018 08:22:04 2069018 Link
This is an absolute disgrace a double header in salthill was to be a good day.We have all Ireland champions and that's the respect the county board show them. bud14 (Galway) - Posts: 296 - 18/01/2018 10:29:54 2069039 Link
A double header would have been a great spectacle. The Galway County Board really need to try and be building the supporter base as one. Our double headers rarely get great figures but that's no reason to stop them. It's not the first time Tyrone have played in Tuam so I'm wondering was there some reasoning behind the move to appease them? And before any one jumps on me cause of my perceived agenda against Tuam Stadium, the fixture was originally fixed for Pearse Stadium as part of a double header so it would have had a lot of appeal. I don't understand the logic of switching it but I won't begrudge the game going ahead there. FallenStar (Galway) - Posts: 415 - 18/01/2018 10:37:17 2069043 Link
Replying To FallenStar: "A double header would have been a great spectacle. The Galway County Board really need to try and be building the supporter base as one. Our double headers rarely get great figures but that's no reason to stop them. It's not the first time Tyrone have played in Tuam so I'm wondering was there some reasoning behind the move to appease them? And before any one jumps on me cause of my perceived agenda against Tuam Stadium, the fixture was originally fixed for Pearse Stadium as part of a double header so it would have had a lot of appeal. I don't understand the logic of switching it but I won't begrudge the game going ahead there." Id imagine they are worried that the pitch in Pearse wont hold up with two games back to back. Belclare1 (Galway) - Posts: 1626 - 18/01/2018 12:14:15 2069061 Link
Replying To Belclare1: "Id imagine they are worried that the pitch in Pearse wont hold up with two games back to back." Fair point. Weather is brutal at the moment even for this time of year. FallenStar (Galway) - Posts: 415 - 18/01/2018 13:08:05 2069069 Link
Replying To FallenStar: "Fair point. Weather is brutal at the moment even for this time of year." Ah ya. Sure no pitch could hold up to two matches this time of year... Like the two games on in Croke Park is madness... and the two on in Páirc Uí Chaoimh is crazy... and the two on in Aughrim should mean people are subject to sanity tests... not like Pearse Stadium was kitted out with a brand new pitch this time last year... oh wait... SamandLiamSoon (Galway) - Posts: 603 - 19/01/2018 08:05:28 2069198 Link
I think you'll find with a lot of those headers that they are football only or that the football is played first. And decisions like these to protect the pitch ensure its in excellent condition all year round. Not just for league games. It wouldn't be my primary motivation when it comes to scheduling double headers but i can understand their logic to some degree. FallenStar (Galway) - Posts: 415 - 19/01/2018 12:16:22 2069258 Link
Anyone know what the attendance was in Tuam on Sunday? JDF (Galway) - Posts: 322 - 30/01/2018 13:06:57 2072382 Link
Replying To JDF: "Anyone know what the attendance was in Tuam on Sunday?" I think it was 3,300. galwayford (Galway) - Posts: 2522 - 31/01/2018 11:22:58 2072727 Link
The Pro's and Con's from last Sunday Pro's Held its first Division 1 game in 7 years Galway won The Spiritual Home myth was trotted out by Tomas O'Sé later that evening Con's A rough estimate of 3'300 were in attendance. The reason I put this here because when compared to other teams (minus Roscommon) in their opening NFL home games from 2017, the figure of 3'300 pales in comparison. 10,080 for Mayo, 16,331 for Cavan, 6,110 for Tyrone, 6,320 for Donegal 7,983 for Monaghan 8,991 for Kerry 28,305 for Dublin. They have a sizeable population obviously but they regularly sold out Parnell Park back in the day without any fuss. The crowd of 3'300 also included a sizeable contingent from Tyrone according to Galway Bay FM. The counter excuses of Galway v Antrim splitting support and the weather etc. aren't good enough. Where was support when its home needed it? According to puckemhard on the Galway v Tyrone thread, cars were robbed. Parking was a nightmare which I would firmly believe. Not that Pearse is any better but both grounds share similar traits. Shane Reynolds aka Galway Footballers Homepage had a decent spot to take live videos of the game for the FB page. I've always been of the opinion it will take a lot more than dressing rooms to upgrade Tuam Stadium. Kevin O'Dwyer said the goal is for Tuam to be 18'000 all seater that can host Championship games. If by all seater he means McHale Park standard then the ground will need even more investment and work to reach that figure. Would be fantastic to have such a facility in Tuam that could regularly host League games when best suited. More importantly however, a huge emphasis should be placed on mobilising our support on a similar scale of Mayo. Tuam can only hold 6'500 in its current state I believe. There was no good reason in my eyes why it shouldn't have filled that amount. There is enough people in Tuam and surrounding areas will gladly praise the myth but won't bother going to the games, especially in Salthill. Until it starts pulling those kind of figures, then I won;t have much time for the nonsense coming from the North West. FallenStar (Galway) - Posts: 415 - 01/02/2018 15:01:08 2073110 Link
I should add that feel free to add any Pro's and Con's of your own to the debate. We'll focus on the football in the rest. FallenStar (Galway) - Posts: 415 - 01/02/2018 15:28:33 2073121 Link