Croke Park's changing face

On Sunday September 1993, Derry defeated Cork in the All-Ireland senior football championship final to capture the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time. It was an historic day in the annals of the GAA - for more reasons than one.

Late that evening, Derry's throngs left the famous Jones Road venue and headed home, taking their time along the N1 and N2, savouring every second of this sweet success.

Croke Park would never see a day like this again.

The very next day, the heavy machinery came in and started to remove the old Cusack Stand. It was the beginning of a complete makeover which is still ongoing and will transform GAA headquarters into a phenomenal stadium.

The GAA is moving ahead of the times, leading the way, breaking new ground all the time, as the spectacular redevelopment of the Associations home proves.

On its completion, Croke Park will be one of the finest stadia not just in Europe but anywhere in the world. Its status will be testament to the exceptional foresight and vision of the GAA as well as the exemplary craftsmanship invested in the standard-setting edifice.

Throughout the entire project, GAA chiefs and the various contractors hired have enlisted the services of only the finest architects, designers and general tradesmen.

Only the very best have been invited to contribute.

No two words are more synonymous with gaelic games than ‘Croke Park'. The most impressive sporting arena in the country has been used by the Association since before the turn of the last century, although it wasn't until 1913 that the Gaelic Athletic Association became owner of the ground formerly owned by Frank Dineen and, before him, Maurice Butterly and previously known as the City and Suburban Racecourse. It was purchased for the princely sum of £3,500 and immediately renamed after the GAA's first patron, Archbishop Croke.

For the next 40 years, Croke Park was developed here and there as and when finances allowed.

The original ‘stands' appeared as follows:
Hill 16 - 1916
Hogan Stand 1924
Cusack Stand - 1937
Canal End - 1949
Nally Stand - 1952
Croke Park boasts a history that is more than just sporting and has as a result become a symbol of Irishness and nationalism. Tragically, it was the scene of the Bloody Sunday shootings in 1921, when Tipperary footballer Michael Hogan was one of 13 people shot dead by the Black & Tans. It was in honour of Michael that the original Hogan Stand got its name. Hill 16, meanwhile, named after the Easter Rising of 1916, was actually constructed from the rubble remaining in O'Connell Street - then Sackville Street - after that insurrection.

Croke Park has been undergoing major redevelopment since 1993, but recent renovations began even before then with the rebuilding of Hill 16, which was completed in 1989.

Central Council began to examine ways to increase the capacity of the old stadium in the early ‘80s, prompted by incidents at the end of the 1983 All-Ireland football final when crowd movement caused by heavy rain resulted in injury to a gateman - it could have been much more serious.

A plan was set in motion to comprehensively redevelop the ground and bring it up to modern standards of safety and amenity. Stadia were visited overseas and a team drew up a master plan. The overall design was completed in 1991, for a total capacity of 80,000.

One of the considerations was the special requirements resulting from the games taking place on such a large field. The need to have the crowd as close as possible resulted in a unique three-tier design. Downtown location also threw up planning problems which had to be addressed.

Plans for the complete redevelopment of the stadium were unveiled in 1992.

The first phase of construction was to build a new stand along one side of the pitch. The Cusack Stand was demolished and officially re-opened as the New Stand on June 5th 1996. It is 180 metres long and 35 metres high, seating 25,000 people. The accommodation includes 46 hospitality suites of varying sizes overlooking the pitch.

Safety is paramount. The stairs and ramps allow an evacuation time of less than eight minutes. The bottom area is a ‘service area' where the people who work and play are accommodated. The various categories of spectators are separated horizontally in the next three layers and there's also a main concourse and mezzanines which cater for spectators with disabilities, a premium level, box level and upper concourse.

No stone has been left unturned to ensure that matters such as scale and colour co-ordination are finished to the highest possible standards of excellence.

Needless to say, erecting a stadium of this size in an inner city area presented major difficulties and many aspects were defined by environmental issues. For example, studies ensured that houses in the area would not lose sunlight in the morning or evening. While it is virtually impossible to construct a large edifice in a city without overshadowing something else, no relief from environmental regulations was sought at any time during construction.

The cost of Phase I was £35m (which was raised through funds from 46 executive suites, 2,880 premium seats, 5,000 term tickets for ordinary seats, National Lottery funding and GAA resources), with the total cost for the three-sided development estimated at £110m. On completion, the new stadium will have a floor area of 16 acres.

The New Stand has been heralded as a massive achievement for an amateur sporting organisation. It was completed on time and to budget, a tribute to the sheer professionalism used in every facet of the project.

The Canal End was next to go and was demolished following the 1998 All-Ireland finals. This phase was completed, despite some unforeseen delays.

The Hogan Stand was taken down in October 1999 and is currently nearing completion.
Once the cost of turning Croker into a showpiece stadium has been cleared (ten years was the original projected repayment period but it will probably run beyond this), the GAA intends to pump the extra revenue generated back into redeveloping other grounds around the country.

The third phase is the most expensive as it incorporates extra features such as media facilities, restaurants and a VIP area.

It has been calculated by the GAA that Croke Park will cost £750,000 per annum to run and maintain - or £7.5m over the ten-year repayment period. To help pay for this, it will be used for several non-match activities. For example, a conference and banqueting centre has been opened, offering state-of-the-art facilities in a unique, historical environment for anything between 12 and 3,000 people.

Sensationally, it was announced at this year's annual congress on Friday April 6th that the GAA would receive £60,000,000 from the Government towards the redevelopment over the next three years. This money would be paid in three annual installments of £15m plus a final settlement of £15m for work on the northern end to render the stadium ready for the 2003 Special Olympics, when the opening ceremony will be held.

This brought to £85m the amount given to the redevelopment from public funds over a seven-year period. The promise of further Government aid for games development was seen as more good news.
The new-look Croke Park represents a new era in spectator comfort - not to mention playing facilities. As most people reading this will already know, it is truly awesome.