This is stupidity at its highest level. Let me start off by saying on a personal level it would be very handy for me m4/m50. However the gaa is supposed to be about pride in your parish and county. This money should be spent on Kildare Meath Louth Wicklow stadiums that already are there in modernization of all 4. I started a thread before saying these county boards must stand together and stand up for themselves. This is not about a Dublin country divide , I am sure majority of dub gaa fans would have to agree this money would be better served been spent upgrading newbridge, navan, Drogheda and aughrim.
As I said it would be easier access for me but that's not the point its about kids dreaming of playing in their county grounds and looking upon them as great places.
The 4 counties mentioned stand together and ensure this white elephant never gets going. Only Kildare Meath Louth Wicklow can stop this and do the right thing.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 03/12/2014 08:28:02    1676190

Think its a pointless idea and be a waste of time and money.
We don't need a 40 thousand stadium on the m50 for starters for Gaa games. We have an 82 thousand stadium not far from that so why build one half its size?
People seem obsessed with having to fill stadiums , who cares if there is 25 thousand or 40 thousand or 60 thousand in Croke park at matches they are all great crowds and are proving the stadium can comfortably accommodate anybody who wants to go to matches. It don't change what happens on the pitch and that's what we all go to matches to see.
People saying for Dublin's league games well it would reduce the attendance for them in my opinion as Croke park is centrally located with public access to it the best in the country, take matches out to the edge of Dublin and if not driving it will be harder to get to with limited public transport which wouldn't encourage parents to bring kids which has been one of the biggest successes about the spring series.
Then if Meath or Kildare where to play home games there it wouldn't do either county any good. They both need to promote the games inside their own county and having to travel at night to play home matches won't work , Kildare have played in croker before Dublin's league matches and they are not getting the numbers to travel to these games.
There is no rail service from Meath to Dublin which is another big problem in terms of getting support from Meath to travel at night to the m50.
Navan could be renovated to hold 35 thousand.
Kildare in my opinion need a new site as newbridge is awful place for them and would be pointless renovating as its stuck in the middle of town and there is less room than Parnell park for to work with even.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/12/2014 10:20:47    1676213

The M50 staduim would be the easiest venue for all Leinster counties to get to it makes perfect sense people why do up 4 stadiums in Louth meath wicklow kildare when we can build one that cathers for everyone, leixlip to the m50 takes 5 minutes bray two minutes clonee 2 minutes , we have the roads and infrastructure to deal with a 40 thousand staduim I was down in Tullamore for the 21 final I was stuck in a field for two Jaysus hours after the game a complete disaster and that was only a 15thousand attendance.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 03/12/2014 10:41:45    1676219

To make this viable Meath and Kildare will have to be moved there permanently. This means they will be ripped out of the community they serve and play their 'home' games in another county.
There will be no top level Gaelic Football played in those counties and it will die as a spectator sport as a result. Think about it. 2 counties not playing in their own county. Its MK Dons stuff.
The GAA and the Leinster Council in particular have no sense of how home games can be used for games promotion. For years they peddle neutral venues and doubles headers usually with no atmosphere and a boring match day experience.
They really need to think long and hard about this.

RoyalBadger (Meath) - Posts: 571 - 03/12/2014 11:09:50    1676227

As somebody who drives from Roscommon to Dublin numerous times a week would Kinnegad be an ideal location. Located right beside the motorway and there is plenty of land there where the development could take place. Westmeath are in desperate need of a new ground... Would this be suitable?

RebelAlliance (Cork) - Posts: 24 - 03/12/2014 11:31:34    1676232

RebelAlliance
County: Cork
Posts: 24

1676232
As somebody who drives from Roscommon to Dublin numerous times a week would Kinnegad be an ideal location. Located right beside the motorway and there is plenty of land there where the development could take place. Westmeath are in desperate need of a new ground... Would this be suitable?

Westmeath are building a new stand in Cusack Park and have been approved for a low interest loan from Croke Park to build it so that will certainly improve their situation, whilst the location would be fine in Kinnegad I still see no viability to buying a site and building a new stadium when grounds already exist with the scope for development to an acceptable capacity

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 03/12/2014 12:11:25    1676249

RebelAlliance
County: Cork
Posts: 24

1676232
As somebody who drives from Roscommon to Dublin numerous times a week would Kinnegad be an ideal location. Located right beside the motorway and there is plenty of land there where the development could take place. Westmeath are in desperate need of a new ground... Would this be suitable?

Westmeath are building a new stand in Cusack Park and have been approved for a low interest loan from Croke Park to build it so that will certainly improve their situation, whilst the location would be fine in Kinnegad I still see no viability to buying a site and building a new stadium when grounds already exist with the scope for development to an acceptable capacity

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 03/12/2014 12:12:37    1676250

just wondering why there has been little or no investment by Kildare, Meath, Louth and Wicklow in their stadiums over the last 20 years? why are they in such bad shape? when nearly every other county has invested in some form or other.

buckeen (Mayo) - Posts: 31 - 03/12/2014 12:21:28    1676254

buckeen

Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow are all back of the queue really because of their proximity to Croke Park, but their grounds need urgent repair because quite honestly it's going to get to a stage when health and safety are going to force these places to shut their doors.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 03/12/2014 12:40:42    1676259

I agree Clondalkin.Without any bias i think having this stadium near M50 is the best option.So be it if it happens to be in Meath or Kildare,as you rightly pointed out,its only a couple minutes from Leixlip and Clonee to M50.
Hill,i have heard many players moan about the lack of atmosphere in Croke Park,playing in front of a half empty stadium.I think Croke Park needs to have 30,000 + to brteak even.Maybe somebody couuld verify this.
Who mentioned the likes of Dublin, Meath and Kildare playin League games here?Ihad thought it was for championship games only.It is a neutral stadium/venue for all counties.
Why have the Meath,Kildare,Wicklow and Louth co boards done so little to improve their own grounds over the last 130 years? It is pathetic that these grounds are in such a dilapidated condition.Also none of these towns would be as accessible to traffic as the M50.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 12:44:25    1676261

the westmeath idea would be pointless
they dont get support in football or hurling to need a 40 thousand stadium
plus they are getting a new stand in cusack park so if it raises the capacity to 15 thousand its loads for what they get at games.
there should have been a 20 year plan put in place by the gaa when they decided upon redeveloping pairc ui choimh
and casement park.
there is a need for a 40 thousand stadium in each province to host provincial finals.
leinster has croke park
munster has several 40 thousand stadiums
connaught has mchale park holding 40 thousand
and ulster will have casement park holding 40 thousand
outside of that a plan to level off grounds should have been put in place
a 20-25 thousand capacity in all the rest of the countys is more than enough depending on each county.
you have a situation where a county like kerry has a 50 thousand stadium where the geography and the support levels
are not there for to need that big a stadium.
then you have kildare with a 6-7 thousand capacity which doesnt accomadate their support.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/12/2014 12:50:31    1676263

This is a bizarre idea to put a stadium next to the biggest bottleneck in the city. The M50 is an absolute disaster to get onto if there is anything on.

Why are the gaa obsessed about filling a stadium- surely cover the upper tiers of croker and thats 40k?

Dublin are being looked after again here- unfairly when meath and kildare are totally ignored despite huge populations.

lowballplease (Galway) - Posts: 935 - 03/12/2014 13:51:22    1676286

Gorey is the new Dublin, build it there I say.......:)

freddy2 (Wexford) - Posts: 215 - 03/12/2014 14:11:50    1676292

The M50 is only a bottleneck during rush hours,Mon - Fri.I imagine most games would be on the weekend and the M50 would cope just fine.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 14:28:31    1676308

Lowballplease you are so wrong it's scary the M50 is no bottleneck anymore with all the upgrades at newlands cross and all over the m50 it is not one bit a bottleneck. Your 10 years behind the times my man.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 03/12/2014 14:30:25    1676310

capacity needed
Munster
Semple Stadium 53,500 - 50,000
gaelic grounds 49,500 - 25,000
pairc ui chaoimh 45,000 - 25,000
fitzgerald stadium 45,000 - 20,000
cusack park 15,000 - 20,000
walsh park 17,000 - 20,000

Connaught
mchale park 38,000 - 40,000
pearse stadium 33,000 - 25,000
dr hyde park 18,500 - 20,000
markievicz park 19,000 - 20,000
Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada 9,000 - 20,000

Ulster
Casement Park 40,000 - 20,000
St Tiernach's Park 35,000 - 20,000
breffni park 32,000 - 20,000
healy park 26,500 - 40,000
celtic park 22,000 - 20,000
MacCumhail Park 18,000 - 25,000
athletic grounds 19,500 - 25,000
pairc esler 20,000 - 20,000
brewster park 20,000 - 20,000

Leinster
Croke park 82,000 - 82,000
o moore park 27,000 - 20,000
o connor park 20,000 - 20,000
nowlan park 24,000 - 25,000
wexford park 20,000 - 20,000
pearse park 10,000 - 20,000
aughrim 10,000 - 20,000
pairc tailteann 17,000 - 25,000
St Conleth's Park 8,000 - 25,000
dr cullen park 21,000 - 20,000
gaelic grounds(drogheda) 4,000 - 20,000
cusack park(mullingar) 11,000 - 20,000
parnell park 10,000 - 20,000
*parnell capacity taken into account on the premises of the footballers playing in croke park*

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/12/2014 14:32:23    1676312

Another pie in the sky idea of the type that seems to be floated annually during the silly season. Difficult to see the logic behind it. As others have said, for a the same price you could make another 6-10 county grounds into decent 10-20K venues. Most counties don't need anything bigger than 10K, a few in the 10-20K region, the bigger ones are already accommodated for. Taking Navan as an example, all it needs is a new stand, terracing behind the goals (optional as I don't see the problem with the grass banks), and decent toilet facilities. With the minimum work, you'd have approx 15K stadium and it wouldn't cost the earth. A lot of counties are probably in a similar situation.

moylagh (Meath) - Posts: 484 - 03/12/2014 14:37:23    1676317

cuederocket
County: Dublin
Posts: 1494

1676261
I agree Clondalkin.Without any bias i think having this stadium near M50 is the best option.So be it if it happens to be in Meath or Kildare,as you rightly pointed out,its only a couple minutes from Leixlip and Clonee to M50.
Hill,i have heard many players moan about the lack of atmosphere in Croke Park,playing in front of a half empty stadium.I think Croke Park needs to have 30,000 + to brteak even.Maybe somebody couuld verify this.
Who mentioned the likes of Dublin, Meath and Kildare playin League games here?Ihad thought it was for championship games only.It is a neutral stadium/venue for all counties.
Why have the Meath,Kildare,Wicklow and Louth co boards done so little to improve their own grounds over the last 130 years? It is pathetic that these grounds are in such a dilapidated condition.Also none of these towns would be as accessible to traffic as the M50.


the lack of atmosphere comes from what happens on the pitch
dublin played monaghan in front of 70 thousand plus this year in quarter finals with no atmosphere
dublin played mayo in the league in front of 22 thousand with a brilliant atmosphere this year
i dont buy into it at all.
croke park only needs 30 thousand to break even if all areas of the ground are open
for league games the lower levels and middle of hill are only opened so does not need any amount, as they only
open the areas required for each game.
it is a ground which is ment to be used by all them counties as a home ground for league and some of them for championship.
you hardly think they would build it and only use it for two or 3 matches in june.
very unfair to say that about them countys grounds when we ourselves have only a 10 thousand capacity ground.
its down to the gaa funding the grounds that is the problem, they have seen not fit to keep them grounds upgraded
as they have relied on croker basically to host everything.
navan used to hold over 30 thousandand be packed for championship games involving dublin in the 80tys and 90tys
but since croke park redevelopment they have not utilised the ground and thus not putting the money into it to kee
it as a modern 30 thousand stadium which would be suitable for leinster quarter finals involving dublin
and any of louth,westmeath,laois,offaly or longford.

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/12/2014 14:44:14    1676320

cuederocket
25,000 is the break even figure I heard quoted in a documentary about Croke Park.

lilywhite1 (Kildare) - Posts: 2991 - 03/12/2014 14:51:14    1676324

all county grounds should have a 20 thousand minumum capacity i feel
the chart i done is to take into account modernising the stadiums over 20 years
downsizing or upsizing depending on current capacity
the 20 thousand stadiums should comprise of two 6 thousand stands and two 4 thousand terraces
the 25 thousand stadiums should comprise of a 10 thousand stand, a 5 thousand stand and two 5 thousand terraces

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/12/2014 14:53:36    1676326