McHale Park ...The new Stand

[blast05]

Re the media tower  ... something along the lines of Omagh - stand on one side and a monstrosity of a media tower on the opposite side.
Certainly agree that a 7.5K stand with a roof that did not require poles to support it would have been a better spend of money. The poles do not obstruct the view however even nearly as badly as the old ones .... and btw, Pearse stadium has very thick poles about 4 or 5 rows from the back  - and each pole completely destroys the experience for 5 -10 people.

[stephenite]

It's the seats that annoy me.

[ballinaman]

It's the seats that annoy me.

+1 ffs , blue!!

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Lads it's a fine stand. The poles are hardly noticeable. Ye would look for a problem in an orgy in heaven, ffs. I take great pride every time I pass along the ring road behind McHale Road. As for those complaining on McHale road, complaints for complaints sake methinks, I wonder how many of them are not blow-ins and I see they have hired a serial complainer solicitor to get involved.

[GalwayBayBoy]

It would look well in Hyde Park in fairness.

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

It would look well in Hyde Park in fairness.

Are you having a dig at both Mayo & Roscommon there?

It would dwarf the stands in Pearse or Hyde Park.

[GalwayBayBoy]

It would look well in Hyde Park in fairness.

Are you having a dig at both Mayo & Roscommon there?

It would dwarf the stands in Pearse or Hyde Park.

Jays you're fierce touchy about an auld stand.

[stephenite]

It's a shite stand - money wasted by wasters

[quiltylads]

What a lump of lard....what's withthe permanent poles in the middle obstructing everyones view?Could they not have spent a few more bob building a cantilevered stand ...looks like something out of the 30's . Who built this heap? and why did they allow this go ahead ? Developers were sh1t buy the look of it

http://www.castlebar.ie/JLoftus/McHale_Park_Stand_Update.shtml

What's with the neutral blue seating? Couldn't they hae done Green/Red every second section?

[stephenite]

What a lump of lard....what's withthe permanent poles in the middle obstructing everyones view?Could they not have spent a few more bob building a cantilevered stand ...looks like something out of the 30's . Who built this heap? and why did they allow this go ahead ? Developers were sh1t buy the look of it

http://www.castlebar.ie/JLoftus/McHale_Park_Stand_Update.shtml

What's with the neutral blue seating? Couldn't they hae done Green/Red every second section?

Exactly - or Red seating with a white lettering as Gaeilge, or vice versa. Options abound for anyone with half an imagination. And don't anyone bleat about cost - if you're going into debt, different colours of the seats is not going to make too much difference.

[Tubberman]

The poles are a bit obtrusive - you'd think that in 2009 it would be standard design to have a cantilevered roof (not that I have any idea about designing stands or anything else!).
I was told by someone working underneath the stand that the facilities are very impressive - large dressing rooms and huge warm-up areas. It also has rooms for the match officials, and will house the county board offices. So maybe that's why it's such a large stand. If they built a 7.5k capacity stand, they probably wouldn't have been able to fit all those facilities in.

But the seats really annoyed me when I saw them! How hard would it have been to put in green and red seats - or at least spell out MAIGH EO on them! It's not a massive deal, but it's something you'd think would have been done without a second thought.

The media tower is going to be modified as far as I know - reduced in height and have a different finish on it so it doesn't look like a military installation! But that saga will prob go on for a while. The whole plannig this was handled terribly - by the county board and by the designers. But it's also worth pointing out there are two Castlebar councillors who have no fondness for the GAA and are loving this...

[prewtna]

that stand - its something that annoys me every time i see it. i ranted earlier about it so i wont go into it again but its just symptomatic of the recent celtic tiger attitude - 'il build a bigger house than you no matter what it looks like or how it cripples me'. i fully agree it is an improvement on what was there before but nevertheless theres so much wrong with it.

[Lar Naparka]

When the idea of redevelopment was first talked about, I was impressed by the County Board's initiative and farsightedness. I still am but having seen the pics posted here earlier; I can see what the fuss with local residents is about.
Janey: Long Kesh or Crossmaglen barracks wouldn't look out of place here!
It's good to know that the facilities being provided are going to be first rate and are a welcome sign that Mayo is moving with the times but it's the local people who will have to look at it all year long.
It's a bit like the old saying about spoiling a ship for a happorth of tar, isn't it?

[joemamas]

mchale park is a joke.

1) they dont need the bloody media tower at all. simple solution like in gaelic grounds in limerick - stick the cameras above in the roof with all associated gantries and walkway access - commentators too and have the rest of the press up along the back wall in ther own area. not as if we would be losing much 'corporate' space for executive boxes or the likes.

2) the poles! in the name of jaysus!!! take a look at hyde park or salthill - admitadely much smaller stands but no poles. why do we need a 10,000 seater stand? we dont! 7500 is plenty and use the money in the balance to build a decent fecking roof.

3) paying for it. the county board have imposed more development draw tickets upon the clubs of mayo. our club cant sell what we get in a standard year never mind the extra, so the club has to fork out instead. that money could be paid to coaches or give young lads gear or anything - maybe drain the fecking training pitch we have.

4) orientation - its facing west!! the prevailing wind rain and evening sun all come from there! its on the wrong side of the bloody pitch. 

if you want an example of what not to do when building a stand see mchale parks new stand. total disaster.

could not agree more on the posts, in this day and age it is beyond stupid. I am all for developement and planning for the future, but the likelihood of filling that stand more than twice a year are slim to say the least, our county final had maybe 3,000 . the stand looked empty, Bizarre planning if you ask me, wonder where the ultimate approval decision for the design came from.

[muppet]

Lads it's a fine stand. The poles are hardly noticeable. Ye would look for a problem in an orgy in heaven, ffs. I take great pride every time I pass along the ring road behind McHale Road. As for those complaining on McHale road, complaints for complaints sake methinks, I wonder how many of them are not blow-ins and I see they have hired a serial complainer solicitor to get involved.

This rhetoric sounds very familiar. It continues that ' most of the residents didn't object' and therefore we are in the right. It ignores the fact that most of the residents don't live under the tower of Crossmaglen.

The blow-ins on McHale Road are not those living there.

The stand is on the east side because there was no way they would ever get planning on the west side. The houses there would never see the sun again. The tower that has been built on the west side does not comply with the planning. The residents have done nothing wrong and are being treated very poorly and have every right to protest.

I have always considered the McHale Road residents to be a big part of match day, decorating their houses on green & red, and many of them played for and are/were members of Castlebar Michels club. The new conflict between residents and McHale park seems to have a lot to do with those who took it off the Mitchel's hands.