Casement Park in line for major overhaul - 40,000 all seater Stadium.

[donelli]

Clones stadium facilities are so poor but not surprising considering that bar the stop nets and plastic seats installed, no investment has been made there for 30 years.
Traffic wasnt bad yesterday. I did walk considerable distance to the town, but no hassle getting to clones (1.30pm) or leaving (straight after finish).
The atmosphere yesterday though was fantastic and the town was hopping. You don't see that atmosphere anywhere else in ulster. I was in thurles before for a hurling final and they have something similar.
Itll be great to see a new final stadium in casement, but never enjoyed the experience around that ground.

[seafoid]

Clones is a bit like Cavan's 5 all Irelands. Linked to the early decades of Northern Ireland. The GAA wanted a ground to host the Ulster Final
that it could control so Co Monaghan won the gig. There's no need for such an arrangement any longer.

[armaghniac]

Clones is a bit like Cavan's 5 all Irelands. Linked to the early decades of Northern Ireland. The GAA wanted a ground to host the Ulster Final
that it could control so Co Monaghan won the gig. There's no need for such an arrangement any longer.

There is a some truth to that. Do you really want to drive through Lisburn with flags on your car and have games where the pubs are not open on Sundays? The second problem has been removed, not sure about the first.
However, Clones was a important rail junction and quite a logical place for a central venue when it was first developed, especially in a period when big games often involved a well supported Cavan.

[trailer]

Clones is important and should be preserved to show us what the entire country would look like if it was under a nuclear attack.

[johnnycool]

Clones is a bit like Cavan's 5 all Irelands. Linked to the early decades of Northern Ireland. The GAA wanted a ground to host the Ulster Final
that it could control so Co Monaghan won the gig. There's no need for such an arrangement any longer.

No VAT on the gate money in the south, or that used to be the case.

[armaghniac]

Clones is a bit like Cavan's 5 all Irelands. Linked to the early decades of Northern Ireland. The GAA wanted a ground to host the Ulster Final
that it could control so Co Monaghan won the gig. There's no need for such an arrangement any longer.

No VAT on the gate money in the south, or that used to be the case.

Clones predates VAT.

[trailer]

Clones is a bit like Cavan's 5 all Irelands. Linked to the early decades of Northern Ireland. The GAA wanted a ground to host the Ulster Final
that it could control so Co Monaghan won the gig. There's no need for such an arrangement any longer.

No VAT on the gate money in the south, or that used to be the case.

Clones predates VAT.

And sanitation.

[The Watcher Pat]

Queue for the toilet was mental. One fella actually said "any more than 3 shakes its a w**k" Absolute brutal facilities..

[93-DY-SAM]

Ulster GAA needs to either find the funding from somewhere for Casement or invest serious money into Clones. I get the argument around tradition etc that goes around Clones and it is a tough one to argue against but the simple fact is things change and Clones is not fit to host these crowds any more.

[Armagh18]

Ulster GAA needs to either find the funding from somewhere for Casement or invest serious money into Clones. I get the argument around tradition etc that goes around Clones and it is a tough one to argue against but the simple fact is things change and Clones is not fit to host these crowds any more.

the town itself needs money spent on it, amount of derelict buildings with the paint peeling off them is a joke. I wonder how much it would take to get Clones to be a proper 35k plus stadium.

[STREET FIGHTER]

What was the parking and traffic like in Clones?

From other years we always waited an hour in the pub before trying to leave.

Was wondering could they "TRY" to have some sort of system where depending on where you park they assign you a time to come back to your car so that not everyone was trying to get out at the same time.
Obviously not everyone would follow it but lets say cars parked the furthest away get to leave first and maybe every 15 mins another departure slot for the next lot.

The traffic and parking was absolutely brutal for anyone who approached Clones from Fivemile town....

Small country roads....

Parking on one side eventually led to parking on both sides, for miles....

Combine this with walking pedestrians and it was a serious worry navigating through it all....an absolute danger...

A few fields were open on the outskirts of the town to facilitate parking but it took hours to get there...

On the way home and only for 2 good souls (a man and a women) directing traffic both on the road and for vehicles trying to leave one of the fields we'd still be there!

[Estimator]

Parked approx 1.7miles (according to google maps) from the ground on the Lacky Rd, which at various stages on the walk in and out was at an absolute standstill. God help some of the local traffic that got caught up in that, especially those that were trying to go against the grain.
Those who'd had parked in the fields, or on the roadside closest to Clones were in for a long sit as the sideroads and fields beyond were being emptied out. And if you were heading in the direction of Fivemiletown, you didn't stand a chance. Took a couple of scenic country roads to avoid it and it made a massive difference in travel times.  In fairness, everyone on the way out seemed in decent form and there was no arguments about letting cars out etc. But 100s of people walking on a narrow country road with vehicles all around isnt the best.

As for the facilities within the place, they have always been horrendous. I was in the O'Duffy terrace for the Ulster Final in 1993 and it hasn't changed one bit since then.  For the crowd that they have packed in there, the amount of toilets is shocking, though at least they sorted the plumbing, at last years final you had to wade through piss just to make it to the overflowing trough.

[Armagh18]

Parked approx 1.7miles (according to google maps) from the ground on the Lacky Rd, which at various stages on the walk in and out was at an absolute standstill. God help some of the local traffic that got caught up in that, especially those that were trying to go against the grain.
Those who'd had parked in the fields, or on the roadside closest to Clones were in for a long sit as the sideroads and fields beyond were being emptied out. And if you were heading in the direction of Fivemiletown, you didn't stand a chance. Took a couple of scenic country roads to avoid it and it made a massive difference in travel times.  In fairness, everyone on the way out seemed in decent form and there was no arguments about letting cars out etc. But 100s of people walking on a narrow country road with vehicles all around isnt the best.

As for the facilities within the place, they have always been horrendous. I was in the O'Duffy terrace for the Ulster Final in 1993 and it hasn't changed one bit since then.  For the crowd that they have packed in there, the amount of toilets is shocking, though at least they sorted the plumbing, at last years final you had to wade through piss just to make it to the overflowing trough.

You didn't see me then, I'd a seriously thick head on me! Luckily traffic wasn't too bad where i was so I didn't get any more annoyed lol

[seafoid]

Parked approx 1.7miles (according to google maps) from the ground on the Lacky Rd, which at various stages on the walk in and out was at an absolute standstill. God help some of the local traffic that got caught up in that, especially those that were trying to go against the grain.
Those who'd had parked in the fields, or on the roadside closest to Clones were in for a long sit as the sideroads and fields beyond were being emptied out. And if you were heading in the direction of Fivemiletown, you didn't stand a chance. Took a couple of scenic country roads to avoid it and it made a massive difference in travel times.  In fairness, everyone on the way out seemed in decent form and there was no arguments about letting cars out etc. But 100s of people walking on a narrow country road with vehicles all around isnt the best.

As for the facilities within the place, they have always been horrendous. I was in the O'Duffy terrace for the Ulster Final in 1993 and it hasn't changed one bit since then.  For the crowd that they have packed in there, the amount of toilets is shocking, though at least they sorted the plumbing, at last years final you had to wade through piss just to make it to the overflowing trough.

The quintessential GAA experience . I have had the pleasure in Thurles, Castlebar and Limerick

[OakLeaf]

On the way home and only for 2 good souls (and man and a women) directing traffic both on the road and for vehicles trying to leave one of the fields we'd still be there!

I was in the same field as you. Those pair that were directing traffic were a godsend! The lads that were supposed to be stewarding just upped and left. It wasn't too bad after the Lacky Road started moving (we headed back over in the direction of the Roslea Road), but that was an hour and 20 minutes after we arrived back at the car

Looking forward to Casement being built.