"We have one of the finest stadiums in the country where supporters can watch the match in comfort, we have the best road network for getting people to and from games, and we have a huge amount of hotels within 20 minutes of the stadium.

"A lot of work has been done on Elvery's MacHale Park in the past few years and in terms of capacity, nobody comes near us either, so if there's a battle to be named as the number one venue, then we'll be fighting tooth and nail for Castlebar."

The above comments made by the Mayo Chairman regarding McHale Park's advantages in being picked as the main stadium in the West. A few issues here;

1) Apart from the stand McHale Park is not comfortable, sitting on bare concrete lintels is a recipe for piles and with 3/4 of the ground uncovered the word "comfort" is stretched even further
2) A lot of money was spent on McHale Park, unbelievable money for one stand and a press box, again 3/4 of the ground remained the same. I reckon we could redevelop the whole of Pairc Tailteann in Navan for what was spent on one side of McHale Park.

However I actually think McHale Park is the best place for Connacht's main stadium as it has decent access and the best scope for redevelopment, Salthill is a parking and traffic nightmare and the Hyde would probably require more money spent on it than McHale would to be a quality 30'000 or so capacity stadium. McHale Park suffers the same as many other county grounds in terms of proper seating and covered accommodation but the Mayo chairman should accept that whilst the location and scope is the best the comfort levels need vast improving

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 02/02/2015 21:24:49    1689454

Hyde park is getting a face life and Salthill floodlights. I'm not sure why P Duffy has brought up this topic? Mayo,Galway,Roscommon have agreement in place to share Connacht finals and thats the way it should stay. Ulster have Clones Leinster Croke park and Munster will be Cork when the work is done but Connacht don't have to copy what others do.

Mr_Pundit (UK) - Posts: 677 - 02/02/2015 21:40:18    1689463

It should be in Dungannon or Omagh...

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 03/02/2015 08:29:42    1689482

The Mayo Chariman was only responding to Duffy's daft remark that Connacht only needs one Stadium. The current arrangement see's Mayo/Galway/Roscomon rotate on Home/Away venues and it has worked fine until now. Also when Cork is developed, Thurlas and Killarney will still be used for Munster football/hurling finals also so I don't know what he is on about there.

I agree on the concrete seating alright but sure an aul newspapaer or jumper under you will sort out the piles Richieq ;) Some of the seating the far side has seen the removal of concrete seats for the bucket seats you get in the stand so I don't know if the long term plan is to roll this out across the Stadium....its the color of the seats the riles me.....should be green and red.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11227 - 03/02/2015 09:27:20    1689491

RichieQ,
The only 2 teams to fully sell their season tickets were Mayo & Dublin, you can get a seat in the stand with the season ticket, let me guess, you havent a season ticket. If you are travelling to Castlebar to play Mayo this year in the championship, you can also buy a ticket for the stand and sit on a chair. Maybe your piles problem has been brought on by your own counties dower performances in championship and league, so i would propose that you pay the extra money for the stand ticket if Mayo drop down to Division 2.

It must be very hard to take a hammering by the dubs everytime ye play them, its no wonder ye dont upgrade navan. Hows division 2. Ouch!!!

Maigh Eo Abu

saddam (Mayo) - Posts: 414 - 03/02/2015 09:48:15    1689495

The Mayo Chariman was only responding to Duffy's daft remark that Connacht only needs one Stadium. The current arrangement see's Mayo/Galway/Roscomon rotate on Home/Away venues and it has worked fine until now. Also when Cork is developed, Thurlas and Killarney will still be used for Munster football/hurling finals also so I don't know what he is on about there.

I agree on the concrete seating alright but sure an aul newspapaer or jumper under you will sort out the piles Richieq ;) Some of the seating the far side has seen the removal of concrete seats for the bucket seats you get in the stand so I don't know if the long term plan is to roll this out across the Stadium....its the color of the seats the riles me.....should be green and red.

Ha yeah many's a jumper I've used to protect the backside from the harshness of damp concrete, must agree with you on the seat colouring alright I did find that strange. Incidentally do any Mayo people feel that returning the goal ends at McHale to proper terraces would be of benefit, or at least one end?? I know I'd rather stand than sit on those lintels!!!

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 03/02/2015 10:21:31    1689504

McHale Park does have a nice 'bowl/theatre' effect but my biggest gripe is why they reinforced the new stand with outdated pylons. Most modern stadia have a more modern means for doing this. On a rare occasion that you get stuck behind one of these pylons Connacht final day only day in truth) the view is obstructed.

kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1946 - 03/02/2015 10:59:46    1689516

I don't get your argument. The man responded to a question about the best stadium in connacht. You agree with him. Where is the issue?

As for the concrete, go up the back and stand up, or, pay the extra few pound and go into the stand ya miserable yoke! I agree that it should be seated, but surely the gaa should maybe step in and get that done, instead of wasting millions down in cork for no real reason at all...

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 03/02/2015 11:39:13    1689534

Offside_Rule
County: Antrim
Posts: 1941

1689482
It should be in Dungannon or Omagh...

SSShh

You'll set off Gary!

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13705 - 03/02/2015 12:11:36    1689558

RichieQ,
The only 2 teams to fully sell their season tickets were Mayo & Dublin, you can get a seat in the stand with the season ticket, let me guess, you havent a season ticket. If you are travelling to Castlebar to play Mayo this year in the championship, you can also buy a ticket for the stand and sit on a chair. Maybe your piles problem has been brought on by your own counties dower performances in championship and league, so i would propose that you pay the extra money for the stand ticket if Mayo drop down to Division 2.

It must be very hard to take a hammering by the dubs everytime ye play them, its no wonder ye dont upgrade navan. Hows division 2. Ouch!!!

Maigh Eo Abu

Eh ok now that you've got that off your chest what was the point there tell me??? In case you doubt my intent here I was not having a cheap pop at Mayo over their ground I was wishing to highlight that in my opinion 3/4 of the ground doesn't constitute "comfort". And I fully acknowledge that Pairc Tailteann in its entirety doesn't constitute comfort and is long overdue an upgrade which might I tell you is planned after we finish a €2 million training centre currently under construction. You will also note that I endorsed McHale Park as the main stadium in the west and agree with all the other reasons your chairman outlined. As for being hammered by the Dubs well they didn't hammer us two weeks ago and the only real hammering was last years Leinster Final so at least be factual if you want to have a pop, I could think of many reasons why you might have such unnecessary angst in your system but seeing as my point wasn't to have a go I won't respond in kind

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 03/02/2015 13:23:22    1689606

I cant understand how they can spend that much money on a stand and still build it with 70s style concrete poles obstructing the view. It's actually laughable. I dont really understand the need for a main Connacht stadium. As it is, all 3 viable places have big pros and cons. Salthill is probably the best 'stadium' with floddlights etc and is in Connachts main town/city but has problems when the wind blows and is a nightmare to get parking and with traffic. Castlebar is exactly easy for a lot of people to get to either, and like Roscommon is a much smaller town, with the aforementioned laughable stand. Hyde would need serious redevelopment to be thought about, and the town is a serious negative. Probably the best option for sheer 'handiness' sake though

jafallon (Galway) - Posts: 489 - 03/02/2015 13:39:44    1689616

jafallon: Salthill is probably the best 'stadium' with floddlights etc

It does not have Floodlights.

yew_tree (Mayo) - Posts: 11227 - 03/02/2015 13:57:35    1689628

SSShh

You'll set off Gary!

You saying I'm gone fishing MesAmis..... ;-)

Offside_Rule (Antrim) - Posts: 4058 - 03/02/2015 14:14:50    1689644

Planned sorry. Presume we are talking about a Connacht stadium in the future tense, hence why Hyde Park is in the discussion

jafallon (Galway) - Posts: 489 - 03/02/2015 14:38:49    1689660

Indeed Yt. And McHale park does have them... I think some people haven't set foot in these grounds in 10 years they way they are talking...

Richie, what county grounds are comfortable? Similarly, what ground doesn't have some level of congestion after a match? Not even croke park can claim that one... You are setting one rule for McHale park and a different one for every other ground.

TheMaster (Mayo) - Posts: 16187 - 03/02/2015 14:46:34    1689663

Even with the variance in argument I think the current Connaught arrangement works well so why break it if it is not broken. Pearse Stadium will have its lights soon so evening games will be an option (nothing currently can be done about access until the new City bypass kicks into gear which is a few years off yet). I think the bigger issue is we need more high class games at these venues. I do not buy the argument that all major games should be in Croke Park. As pointed out earlier the Kerry/Galway and Mayo/Cork q/fs could have been a double header in Limerick. Certainly up to q/finals matches should not be in Croke park apart from the Leinster Final or if Dublin and Meath meet earlier in Leinster. The league semi finals and final should be in provincial venues.

kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1946 - 03/02/2015 15:18:39    1689682

TheMaster
County: Mayo
Posts: 12540

1689663
Indeed Yt. And McHale park does have them... I think some people haven't set foot in these grounds in 10 years they way they are talking...

Richie, what county grounds are comfortable? Similarly, what ground doesn't have some level of congestion after a match? Not even croke park can claim that one... You are setting one rule for McHale park and a different one for every other ground.

Very few I admit, for the spectator watching a match I would class O'Connor Park as excellent with a great stand and terracing and if it had more covered areas it would be even better, Nowlan Park deserves credit for having some cover on all its stands and terracing, Limerick's Gaelic Grounds would improve comfort greatly if they roofed the uncovered stand and I will never understand the reasoning behind building a seated stand in this country with no roof. The days of sitting in bare concrete seating or rigid timber benches are gone, especially given the cost of going to games these days, that why I actually think McHale Park would be better if its goal ends were terraces and then proper seating put into the area across from the current stand and maybe at least partially covered, then your comfort levels increase significantly, there are some who prefer a terrace and some who prefer a seat in a stand and both types should be catered for. I'm glad to hear Padraig Duffy speak of the need for more covered and seated accomodation in county grounds and certainly McHale Park is not the only ground in need of such a facility but I don't think I've ever heard any other ground outside of Croke Park being described as having comfort which is why I drew attention to the point, again no offence intended in just making an observation, of course lots of other venues are far worse than McHale our own Pairc Tailteann being a prime example, hopefully the coming years will see investment in such improvements.

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 03/02/2015 18:25:47    1689761

Even with the variance in argument I think the current Connaught arrangement works well so why break it if it is not broken. Pearse Stadium will have its lights soon so evening games will be an option (nothing currently can be done about access until the new City bypass kicks into gear which is a few years off yet). I think the bigger issue is we need more high class games at these venues. I do not buy the argument that all major games should be in Croke Park. As pointed out earlier the Kerry/Galway and Mayo/Cork q/fs could have been a double header in Limerick. Certainly up to q/finals matches should not be in Croke park apart from the Leinster Final or if Dublin and Meath meet earlier in Leinster. The league semi finals and final should be in provincial venues.

Agreed, Q/Finals certainly could be outside Croke Park and the examples you give from last year highlight that point excellently.

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 03/02/2015 18:28:27    1689764

Offside_Rule
County: Antrim
Posts: 1942

1689482
It should be in Dungannon or Omagh...


Whoo hooo.......I'm going to frame this quote ;-)

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3017 - 03/02/2015 21:10:28    1689839

Duffy's comments seems more with defending the waste of money in Cork. The current arrangement does work well but if the Gaa do insist on one ground then i would have to say Roscommon as it is the most central county ground in Connacht and also Ireland.

ros1 (Roscommon) - Posts: 1211 - 03/02/2015 21:10:44    1689840