National Forum

M50 Stadium

(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post


Dont agree with your argument about the county grounds of the 4 counties mentioned.They are a disgrace and were left to go to rack and ruin through decades of neglect.Parnell Park is an adequate ground but im sure if we didnt have Croke Park in our county we would have upgraded our county ground to a much higher level.
As i said already,i didnt realise these counties would be playing home League games in this proposed new stadium.If that was the case i wouldnt be in favour of it.It would be fine for League quarter finals,semi finals etc and about 7/8 yearly championship games in both codes.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 14:57:14    1676328

Link

Moylagh,after 130 years ye dont even have a proper jacks?Yere county board must have flushed all the money down the pot.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 14:59:51    1676330

Link

cuderocket

do you go to league games?
parnell is not adequate for club championship final even anymore
as it was overcrowded this year
it would be pointless moving dublins league games to the m50
croker is idealy located for all parts of dublin to access
dart,bus and luas leave you walking distance to the ground
go to the m50 and you will reduce the attendances as it wont be as easy to access for anybody outside of those driving.
just like croker is more accessable for surrounding countys
like louth and kildare and wicklow all have train and bus routes leading to a walk away from croker
something that needs to be done is the reopening of the navan to dublin train line
and surely would make financial sense in all aspects of life

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/12/2014 15:18:12    1676342

Link

clondalkindub it is you who is wrong- I queue 7 days a week to get onto the M50. If there is a crash it turns into a carpark.

lowballplease (Galway) - Posts: 935 - 03/12/2014 15:27:56    1676346

Link

Hill I never said Dublin,or any other county should play home league games there.IBsaid maybe playing League quarters and semi finals would be an idea.And 7/8 championship games a year in both codes.Im in favour of it.Your not.Well see what happens.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 15:29:11    1676347

Link

Lowball,the M50 is free flowing on the weekend.Stop putting imaginary opstacles where there are none.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 15:42:02    1676354

Link

Man I'm on the M50 every day and yes when the toll was there and the roads weren't upgraded and Newlands cross wasn't done it was a car park/bottleneck but not anymore so you are wrong my friend , of course when there's a crash it's bad but that's obvious no? Championship games are on Saturdays and Sunday's when people are off work so it would easily be able for a 40 thousand staduim, man please don't tell me about my local roads I wouldnt preach to you about Galway roads.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 03/12/2014 16:11:12    1676363

Link

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.

Disagree there Navan is very accessible with the M3 running right outside the town, in relation to Navan the last major development was in 1987/88 when the existing terrace was built, banks extended, stand freshened up and pitch relaid, since then floodlights in 2006 and tarmacing all around the place is pretty much all that has been done apart from spending money on repairing parts of the stand roof and recently building ticket booths. It is true to say the successive county boards should have done more with the place but their was also the expense of buying and developing Dunganny as a centre of excellence which is now being completed with dressing rooms and all other facilities such a place needs, costing in the region of €2 million. This facility was needed to take the pressure off the pitch in Pairc Tailteann which is widely accepted to be one of the best in the country and to give all our teams a proper fit for purpose centre in which to train with all the proper facilities you would expect. There have been plans in place for a while to terrace the grass banks and renovate/replace the stand but it was only in the last year that a proper concise plan for the stadiums redevelopment was produced to include s brand new stand, new terraces at either goal end and the provision of new dressing rooms and media facilities on the existing northern terrace with possibly adding covered seating in this area also. The problem now is money given that a bank loan has been sought to complete Dunganny along with grants totalling €700'000 from Leinster and predominantly Central Council. This is the first time that Meath got significant funding for development as the initial funding given for the purchase and initial development of Dunganny was very paltry given our location in the greater commuter belt and the fact that we put no small amount of money through Croke Park's turnstiles ourselves over the years. The stadium plan is apparently with the Infrastructure Committees of both Leinster and Central Councils seeking funding to at least get the job started so whilst yes it is true to say successive county boards should have done more with Pairc Tailteann the plan is there to develop and it would certainly be more beneficial than building a waste of time and money along the M50. Individual county boards should not be blamed for the possibility of this stadium becoming a reality, it is the egos of some of those in command that need reigning in more so than pointing fingers at surrounding counties all of whom have to factor in their day to day expenses before embarking on major projects.

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 03/12/2014 16:19:55    1676364

Link

Good detailed post Richie.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 16:28:21    1676371

Link

Posters I'm not saying this cause I want a staduim in dublin I'm saying the M50 is 100% the right option, meath n kildare posters just want it in there county and that's the best reason they have nothing else.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 03/12/2014 16:42:39    1676373

Link

Croker needs 30,000 euro to break even to open it. So that is only 3000 in paying a tenner.inter & junior finals even make money

shea (Kerry) - Posts: 409 - 03/12/2014 16:53:53    1676377

Link

Looks like were on our own on this one Clondalkin,in agreeing with the powers that be in the Leinster Council.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 16:57:19    1676379

Link

Why is a 40,000 capacity stadium needed on the M50 or anywhere else for that matter? How many games a year would it hold? Some remidial work on Portlaoise would bring that back up to comfortably accommodate 30,000. Nolan Park and O'Connor Park are perfectly acceptable venues for crowds of circa 20,000. Wexford Park is a fine stadium that is completely underused. They are 4 mid sized stadia that can cater for most matches in the province. The only Leinster fixtures that traditionally draw big crowds are Dublin v Meath and Dublin v Kildare and even with Meath and Kildare at a low ebb, either of those fixtures would exceed 40,000 and will always take place in Croke Park. 30,000 is more than enough for all the other fixtures that take place in the province. A new 40,000 stadium is completely unnecessary.

There is more of an issue in north Leinster where Navan should be prioritised. It wouldn't take a massive amount of investment to bring it up to a decent standard, certainly less than it would be to purchase a greenfield site off the M50 and build a new stadium from scratch. Aughrim and Drogheda need modernizing but a 10-15,000 capacity would comfortably cater for Wicklow and Louth's needs. Newbridge is a different story as it is simply not feasible to redevelop on the existing site given the space constraints. Kildare GAA were promised a greenfield site under the town's development plan but a new stadium would have to be funded through the sale of St Conleth's Park and that won't happen until land values are more buoyant.

The fact that this is even being considered speaks volumes about the GAA's attitude towards the other Leinster counties. Laois, Offaly, Kilkenny and Wexford should be equally annoyed at this proposal as it will take more games out of their grounds some of which are underused for inter county activity as it is.

beir_bua (Kildare) - Posts: 746 - 03/12/2014 17:16:51    1676387

Link

Lads,is it 30,000 people,or 30,000 euro that Croke Park needs to break even on match day?

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 17:25:53    1676390

Link

I'd settle for seats in Fitzgerald stadium.

KingdomBoy1 (Kerry) - Posts: 14092 - 03/12/2014 17:27:13    1676391

Link

cuederocket
County: Dublin
Posts: 1504

1676390
Lads,is it 30,000 people,or 30,000 euro that Croke Park needs to break even on match day?


It's a myth that Croke Park needs a certain number of people in attendance to break even.

It's a myth that continually gets time on air and in print but it makes no sense when you think about it.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13718 - 03/12/2014 17:31:58    1676392

Link

I thought i heard Croke Park talk about this mes.They must have quite a lot of costs on match day?

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 03/12/2014 17:35:48    1676396

Link

cuederocket
County: Dublin
Posts: 1505

1676396
I thought i heard Croke Park talk about this mes.They must have quite a lot of costs on match day?


But you can reduce certain costs if there are less people expected at a match.

The Cumann na mBunscol finals don't cost the GAA a single penny despite it only having a few hundred at any match.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13718 - 03/12/2014 17:49:20    1676398

Link

cuederocket
County: Dublin
Posts: 1505

1676347
Hill I never said Dublin,or any other county should play home league games there.IBsaid maybe playing League quarters and semi finals would be an idea.And 7/8 championship games a year in both codes.Im in favour of it.Your not.Well see what happens.

so you would build a new stadium for 4 or 5 countys and none of them use it for home league games????
that would make no sense at all

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 03/12/2014 18:03:29    1676401

Link

I think this idea came around that there was a certain amount that Croke Park needed to break even when the initial refurbishment was completed and there was a substantial bank loan to be paid back.

However the situation is completely different now that all the loans are paid back.

Obviously there are certain cost every time that Croke Park is opened - mainly in terms of casual staffing. However in terms of the overall costs of the stadium a huge chunk of the operating costs would be fixed costs - so the marginal cost of holding an extra event would be pretty low.

besidetheditch (Dublin) - Posts: 81 - 03/12/2014 18:05:39    1676403

Link