Duffy: M50 stadium not a priority

December 05, 2014

A brand-new stadium along the motorway with a capacity of 40,000 would serve all counties in the province.

GAA director-general Paraic Duffy says the development of a new stadium near the M50 won't be happening in the immediate future.

Speaking on the All Stars tour in Boston last week, GAA president Liam O'Neill said there was a need for a 40,000 capacity stadium to cater for Dublin and the counties surrounding it. However, Duffy has insisted that such an infrastructure isn't a priority for the Association at the moment.

"I don't want to be seen to contradict the uachtarán, but my understanding is that the priority is to get Casement and Páirc Uí Chaoimh built," Duffy said at the launch of the 2015 GAAGO online streaming service yesterday.

"The idea has always been there. In the ideal world you would have a stadium of around that somewhere near Dublin, but I think at the moment the next few years in terms of financial resources - our investment in Páirc Uí Chaoimh is well known; €20 million is the direct GAA contribution and Casement is roughly the same. That's broadly €40 million."

The director-general hasn't ruled out such a plan at some stage in the future.

"That is an idea we would have but it's not short-term. We simply wouldn't have the resources to do it. It's not going to happen in the next three years, let's say. Our goal would be to get Páirc Uí Chaoimh completed and Casement completed and get Hawk-Eye into those places. There's also a lot of work on health and safety upgrades. That's the priority," he continued.

"Obviously the Rugby World Cup will mean hopefully improvements to stadia as well. Beyond that then the priority might be another stadium around Dublin."


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