Stadium arcadium
December 30, 2009For many motorists, it is now an icon of the north-east. Take a trip along the M1 past Dundalk on an autumn Friday evening, and you'll be struck by a floodlit beacon of a sporting arena a mile or two to the east. Dundalk Stadium, which opened for business for greyhounds in November 2003 and horseracing in August 2007, has quickly become one of the country's most feted sporting venues, attracting the entries of top-class horses and dogs from all over the country and further afield for its biggest races. For greyhounds, the Boylesports International and the Bar One Racing Irish Sprint Cup occupy the upper echelon of top-class racing, while the Diamond Stakes in horseracing has attracted the best in the business over the past two years. The Diamond's 2008 victor, Ralph Beckett's Muhannak, went on to lift the Breeders Cup Marathon, one of the world's most prestigious events, at Santa Anita four weeks later, while this year's winner, when the race was upgraded from Listed to Group 3 status, was Aidan O'Brien's multiple Group 1-winner Mastercraftsman.
All in all, then, in the space of a few quick years, Dundalk Stadium has become a staple of the Irish race-goer's diary. Central to its appeal is the fact that it is Ireland's only all-weather facility, offering perfect polytrack conditions regardless of the weather thrown up by Ireland's increasingly precipitous climate.
All-weather racing has been a common sight in the United Kingdom for the past 20 years, with the recently-opened Kempton and Great Leighs taking the number of synthetic race-tracks in England to five. The development of Dundalk, on the site of the old predominantly National Hunt track which closed its doors for the last time in 2001, has now seen Ireland join that progression. However, whereas some of the English all-weather meets - particularly those at Lingfield, Southwell and Wolverhampton - might attract a handful of bookmakers, a paltry quality of racehorse and a few hundred patrons more interested in revelry than events on the track, there is no doubt that Dundalk ranks as top-class in every sector, from entertainment and hospitality to the quality of sporting contest on view.
The chief executive of Dundalk Stadium is Jim Martin, a native of the town who played rugby with Dundalk RFC and Skerries RFC and gaelic football with Geraldines and Young Irelands during his own athletic career. Now he is concentrating on maintaining Dundalk's status as one of the brightest lights on the Irish sporting calendar. Certainly, in the six years or so since greyhounds first entered the traps at the newly-developed arena, the progress has been exceptional, and Martin and his crew are committed to maintaining the stadium's newfound position at the top of the racing spectrum. To do so, they must cope with the rigours of a changing economic climate which has made life difficult for businesses across all sectors.
He says: "We offer a night out for the people so we're in the entertainment business and things are tough for everyone in this business. We're definitely not immune to the downturn but we think we offer great value and we're still getting people coming through the gates. We have a great location, with easy access from both sides of the border, and we're happy that we cater for two sports at a very high level."
Greyhound racing takes place three times a week, on Monday, Friday and Saturday nights. In the Irish horseracing diary, though, Friday night has become Dundalk night, with the stadium offering top class racing in both codes, taking the committed punter and casual reveller alike from early evening into the night.
The "party night" atmosphere, married to a quality sports product, is something which only a few arenas were able to offer before the onset of Dundalk Stadium, and Martin admits that the venue has filled a void in Irish sport.
"We have at least 25 horseracing fixtures a year," he says, "with 20 of those taking place on Friday nights. The fixtures are generally in the spring or autumn, with the HRI [Horse Racing Ireland] recognising that we can race at the time of year when other tracks might not be able to. The Friday evening atmosphere is great. We like to think we can help people start off the weekend in style. The first race is usually at 6.30pm, so they can do their day's work and still get to the stadium in plenty of time. The last horse race takes place at 9.25pm, and then you have an eight-race greyhound card from 9.45 until around 11."
Nor do the race-goers need to rush for the exit door when the last dog crosses the brightly-lit winning line. Far from it, as Dundalk Stadium offers the complete entertainment package. "The people have the choice whether to stay on for the full night of entertainment," says Jim. "Overlooking the track we have the 400-seat 'Champions' restaurant which is run by Grainne and Aidan Stewart, who also have the Left Bank restaurant in town. The restaurant is very popular for birthdays, hen and stag parties and any occasion really. You also have Silk's bar and carvery and the Gallops and Sprinter's bars. Later in the evening, when the racing stops the music starts, and the bars remains open until half past 12, so people can really enjoy a full evening of entertainment here at Dundalk."
Martin's sporting commitments are restricted to events at Dundalk Stadium these days but it wasn't always so. He took to the GAA fields for Geraldines and Dundalk Young Irelands in his youth, but he makes no secret of the fact that it is rugby, for whom he represented Dundalk RFC with distinction, which remains his first love - and he singles out one of County Louth's finest for special praise.
"Rob Kearney from Cooley is one of the best I've ever seen," he opines. "He's been exceptional for Ireland for a couple of years and he took it to a different level for the Lions in the summer. He's been a regular performer at Croke Park for Ireland but I suppose if things had worked out differently he could have been a great midfielder for Louth." Tweet
