"O'Connor Park needs to be more self sustaining," said Offaly chairman Pádraig Boland.

"It has the potential to do it. We need to be more focused on that. We have been run like a voluntary organisation. We need to be more professional.


Comments above of the Offaly chairman, very dissapointing to hear that Offaly have to resort to this. O'Connor Park has been held up as a fine example of what more of our county grounds should be like with a modern safe feel without an exorbitant capacity and yet it's lack of use sees Offaly having to go cap in hand after being brave enough to redevelop their ground in the first place. True it gets its share of hurling games, as all grounds in Leinster do, but more football matches would surely help the financial plight Offaly are in. The Dublin cash cow in Croke Park is supposed to build all our centres of excellence out in the sticks and help pay for all these improvements, ironically due to the preference of Croke Park for Leinster Football matches that money may now be used to bail out a county who had the foresight to improve their facilities to a standard and capacity that everyone wants. Leinster Council and county boards need to have a damn good look at this scenario as it is one that could easily repeat itself and certainly this will not help encourage other counties to improve their grounds to such a standard as set by O'Connor Park

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 19/02/2015 12:30:41    1694943

The reason they are in financial trouble......

Its Dublin. I dont know how or why.....but someone will come up with a reason soon. Dublin....split them in two, and ban them wearing blue!

JayP (Dublin) - Posts: 1772 - 19/02/2015 13:14:53    1694973

more so croke park getting all the games than anything id imagine

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 19/02/2015 14:08:57    1694999

I agree with you Richieq. You do have to wonder though what the county board were thinking of in terms of investing that amount of money in a redevelopment without apparently giving much thought to how it was going to pay for itself. It's another eye opener for those county boards who are thinking of building a Bertie Bowl. I would be advocating a policy from HQ of promising, written guarantee, more high profile games to counties who are willing to invest in the redevelopment of their ground. But, no money/grants etc. should be forthcoming from HQ until they see a proper business plan and most of all the area which outlines how the outlay is going to be covered. This should serve to incentivise CBs to consider ground development but also encourage them to come up with proper business plans to cover their investment. Definitely CP is overused. County sharing may be the other option???? Ground supply may simply be outstripping demand.

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 19/02/2015 15:24:24    1695032

Why are we blaming Croke Park or Dublin ?
If you can't afford it don't build it ..... we keep bailing counties out.... lets face it not many people on here know that Offaly are classifed as a weak and dissadvantaged hurling county - so they are eligible for more funding..... they get more than most of the weak counties put together.... but is this used to bail out the stadium debt!!!!

cuchulainn35 (Armagh) - Posts: 1673 - 19/02/2015 15:32:26    1695043

The problem at present is that counties are having to redevelop in a major way just to stay open, the Slattery report of 2011 had an immensely negative effect on some grounds. Pairc Tailteann, St. Conleths, Drogheda, Dr. Hyde Park all suffered badly in terms of cut capacity and in all fairness work was badly needed. If Tullamore hadn't been redeveloped I have no doubt it's capacity would be under 6'000 now and it wouldnt be use to man nor beast, I remember the old place well. I'm sure certain assurances were given with regards allocation of games at the time and when refevelomment of Tullamore started the total fascination with Croke Park hadn't kicked in fully. That in addition to the stringent Health & Safety stipulations at present mean that if you are redeveloping you have to do it to an exceptionally high standard and adhere to strict guidelines, guidelines which don't come cheap. Offaly made the right move to develop O'Connor Park, it was also a brave move but they have a ground that will satisfy their needs for years to come, it's a pity that Leinster Council don't recognise or appreciate the efforts of Offaly by granting more games to venues like Tullamore and end this nonsense of utilising Croke Park at every hands turn

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 19/02/2015 17:11:00    1695070

not blaming dublin in the slightest anyway..not really anything to do with them..the gaa goes on about doing up stadiums and all that yet never gives these stadiums any games of note rendering doing em up and all the facilities rather pointless..the best way to utilise each stadia would be a longer season with a set amount of home games

fabio8 (USA) - Posts: 2182 - 19/02/2015 17:29:28    1695076

The problem is the GAA play far too many matches in Croke Park that do not need to be played there. Take for example, the Leinster Semi final this year, it will more than likely involve Dublin and the two semi finals will be played as a double header in Croker. I cannot stand when Meath player in Croker and there is less than 20k people present for the game, the atmosphere is awful, it has an echoey empty feel when games are played there that do not tract big crowds. the GAA should for example move the semi final that doesn't involve Dublin out of Croker and to somewhere else in Leinster. So this year for example, Meath/Wicklow will meet Louth/Westmeath/Wexford. What the GAA need to do in this case is play this game in Tullamore/Portlaoise. it's not rocket science that when you pack 20k fans into a 20k stadium the atmostphere is going to be much better then putting 20k fans for one of the semi finals into an 82000 sweater stadium. Similary something like this has to be done more often, why not play an All Ireland quarter final/Semi each year in Semple stadium/Gaelic Grounds depending on location of two teams. it would make much more sense then dragging them to Croker where the stadium isn't even half full.

PoppinPoints (Meath) - Posts: 225 - 19/02/2015 17:33:40    1695079

cuchulainn35
County: Armagh
Posts: 1085

1695043
Why are we blaming Croke Park or Dublin ?
If you can't afford it don't build it ..... we keep bailing counties out.... lets face it not many people on here know that Offaly are classifed as a weak and dissadvantaged hurling county - so they are eligible for more funding..... they get more than most of the weak counties put together.... but is this used to bail out the stadium debt!!!!
19/02/2015 17:11:00

------
That's correct. Is it co-incidence that the sports council grants were dished out under the Brian Cowen government I think? You would have to ask what a second tier county in both codes wants with a state of the art 20,000 capacity stadium. When do they hope to fill it? Sometimes you just have to cut your cloth. O'Moore park is 30 mins up the road and holds 27,000. Do we seriously need two stadiums with combined capacity of 47000 within 30 mins of each other? Again I think quality shared grounds are the way to go where practical.

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 19/02/2015 17:58:32    1695086

Id have to agree, what is the point in playing both Leinster semis in cp? Pointless and counter productive to gronds such as O'Connor park that could well accommodate the crowds and would hugely benefit the local gaa and indeed local businesses.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 19/02/2015 18:06:42    1695088

I could be wrong but were the clubs in Offaly not paying for this over the past number of years selling tickets and fundraising . 200,000 isn't that much when you consider I'm sure it cost Offaly 5 or 6 million euro in the first place to do it up. I say fair play to Offaly they have a top class stadium with wonderful dressing rooms, toilets , press box, stand etc if only every other county had the same we would be in far better state. They could get more revenue in if they held a few concerts which in turn they could pay back the 200,000.

ke40 (Kildare) - Posts: 209 - 19/02/2015 19:09:49    1695103

Does anybody not think that there is a need for a 40k sweater stadium in Leinster? I think it would make perfect sense. Leinster semi finals could be played there, All Ireland quarter finals, League finals etc.

PoppinPoints (Meath) - Posts: 225 - 19/02/2015 19:14:06    1695106

ke40
County: Kildare
Posts: 14

1695103
I could be wrong but were the clubs in Offaly not paying for this over the past number of years selling tickets and fundraising . 200,000 isn't that much when you consider I'm sure it cost Offaly 5 or 6 million euro in the first place to do it up. I say fair play to Offaly they have a top class stadium with wonderful dressing rooms, toilets , press box, stand etc if only every other county had the same we would be in far better state. They could get more revenue in if they held a few concerts which in turn they could pay back the 200,000.
19/02/2015 19:14:06

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Combination of government grants, Leinster council funding, central Council funding and Offaly's own fundraising. In a Utopian world, yes it would be great if every county had a ground like that. It would also be great if the north side of Dublin had a Luas line. Unfortunately economic realities mean that neither is possible. How many people attend the average Offaly football or hurling match? 2013 Offaly v Tyrone in football qualifier, O'Connor Park the attendance was 5000. In 2013 hurling championship v Kilkenny attendance was 8000. I still remain to be convinced as to why Offaly need a 20000 capacity stadium. Surely downsizing to something more affordable would have been the way to go.

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 19/02/2015 20:02:42    1695134

Well said Joxer

We don't need the white elephants in every county...
I have alot of time for Offaly and what they achieved in the 80's and 90's but they always had a dedicated but small support base.
Up north we have a decent ground in Omagh, Armagh, Enniskillen and Newry --- none in Belfast and wait for it ... 3 county grounds in Monaghan ( hm!!!)
A ground of less than 20,000 is ample. But if Offaly only owe 200,000 on the ground i wonder how they did it --- was this through local political support....
The Athletic Grounds have a considerable bill still to be paid.... which is significantly higher than O'Connor Park....

cuchulainn35 (Armagh) - Posts: 1673 - 19/02/2015 20:18:15    1695141

Offaly only owe 200,000. This is peanuts.

Their hurlers want to play their games in Birr. I wonder is this whole thing a dig at the offaly hurling community who have reservations about travelling to Tullamore? Possibly an Offaly person is best place to speak about their internal politics.

I think places like Drogheda, Aughrim, Navan should be rebuilt ..not into Bertie Bowls but into stadiums that are comfortable for about 10,000 people (perhaps more in Navan).

Pairc Ui Chaoimh 60,000 redevelopment is a bit too much. However, the place and area did really need a spruce up. it's a kip.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 20/02/2015 08:54:27    1695200

Well O Connor Park isn't just for Offaly , it hosts 4 or 5 big games each year , the sell out between kilkenny and galway last year was unreal atmosphere . Of course Offaly is a smaller county but there was 8 or 9 thousand at the Offaly senior football final between rhode and edenderry. Kilkormacs first senior hurling win few year back had over 10,000 at it . Portlaoise is the only other venue that can hold 20 - 25,000 and how could we play all county games in one venue? New bridge is reduced can't hold big games , Navan is the same . What would be the point in o Connor park holding just 5- 10,000 , at least now it can host big games boost the local economy with 20,000 visitors , if the capacity was 10,000 it would be left waiting to play a county final in October and be of no use to anyone for the rest of the year. It's not as if Croke Park can't afford it , deals should be done to upgrade other grounds , I'd much rather owe 200,000 on a new ground than owe 300,000 on paying expenses and a manager for 3-4 years of winning nothing.

ke40 (Kildare) - Posts: 209 - 20/02/2015 09:22:16    1695204

bennybunny
County: Cork
Posts: 2686

1695200
Offaly only owe 200,000. This is peanuts.

Their hurlers want to play their games in Birr. I wonder is this whole thing a dig at the offaly hurling community who have reservations about travelling to Tullamore? Possibly an Offaly person is best place to speak about their internal politics.

I think places like Drogheda, Aughrim, Navan should be rebuilt ..not into Bertie Bowls but into stadiums that are comfortable for about 10,000 people (perhaps more in Navan).

Pairc Ui Chaoimh 60,000 redevelopment is a bit too much. However, the place and area did really need a spruce up. it's a kip.

----

Yeah, I think each province should have a large ground capable of holding big championship games. PUC in Munster, CP in Leinster, Casement in Ulster and Pearse Stadium in Connacht. But, this notion of every county or every second county, having a 20,000 capacity ground is not a runner. Like I said O'Moore and O'Connor Park are 30 mins apart and hold 47,000 between them yet on average are less than 1/4 full for games played there I would say. It makes no sense. These grounds should be 12-15000 capacity, well furnished and financially sustainable with funds generated from within the county. If every county had to finance the running of 20,000 capacity stadiums there simply would not be enough big games in the calendar to distribute around to subsidise the upkeep, unless HQ decided to do something radical like actually properly market and promote the IC league championships and make this a premier competition. That would draw in the crowds but that would be forward thinking in fairness.

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 20/02/2015 12:37:38    1695280

There needs to be another one outside of croke park. Problem is croke park been used for nonsense games like both Leinster semis final, league semi and league finsls, and above all the stupid spring series.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 20/02/2015 12:48:56    1695286

royaldunne
County: Meath
Posts: 6759

1695286
There needs to be another one outside of croke park. Problem is croke park been used for nonsense games like both Leinster semis final, league semi and league finsls, and above all the stupid spring series.

---
That's one of the big problems. GAA have to justify the existence of the 80000 seater stadium. If you took the spring series out of it (never like league matches there anyway) and take out the LSFC games then you have an idle stadium for all but Aug and Sept of the year where you will play 2 semis in each code and a final in each code, 6 games where the stadium will probably be at 50% capacity in 3 of them. Maybe the sport is no longer as popular as it once was??

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4700 - 20/02/2015 13:21:22    1695299

Joxer
County: Dublin
Posts: 1956




That's one of the big problems. GAA have to justify the existence of the 80000 seater stadium. If you took the spring series out of it (never like league matches there anyway) and take out the LSFC games then you have an idle stadium for all but Aug and Sept of the year where you will play 2 semis in each code and a final in each code, 6 games where the stadium will probably be at 50% capacity in 3 of them. Maybe the sport is no longer as popular as it once was??

You could argue either way. I think the leagues are better attended than ever (accounting for the recession-2005-2007 were probably slightly bigger attendances than 2014). The provincial championships (in Munster anyway) are way down in attendances. The All-Ireland semis are probably up in attendance. I remember Cork V Antrim (1986), Cork v Galway (football-1987) Cork V Monaghan (football-1988) had very low attendances. Many of Kerry's semi finals in the early 1980s had very low attendances as well.

bennybunny (Cork) - Posts: 3917 - 20/02/2015 13:41:19    1695307