Gaa takes over Mayo debt

[Lone Shark]

Okay, so what am I missing? I've read in the local papers here about a €10m refurb project being discussed to get HP back to Connacht Final standard, and I'm presuming we're not talking about solid gold urinals - so what is all the money theoretically going to be spent on?

[Lar Naparka]

I expect McHale to be named as the Connacht final venue, like Clones in the North, in the near future.
The stand and general seating may leave a bit to be desired but the facilities  are top class. Put it another way, the money needed to upgrade McHale Park to provincial venue status would be considerably less than the amount needed to re-vamp the Hyde or the Wind Tunnel.
I think HQ is still in favour of having a fixed provincial venue in all provinces.

IT was Central Council that started the ball rolling when the business of a selected Connacht venue   led to the fuss we've been discussing in this thread.
Their initial preference was for the Hyde to be selected but apart from concerns about the ownership of the grounds, it soon became apparent that the nature f the ground there was going to be a big hurdle.
I recall the term, "suitability of  terrain" being bandied about.
It meant that the foundations needed to support the extra buildings required would cost a lot of money but it was the cost of creating cap parking space (extensive drainage and underpinning etc.) that halted discussions on the Hyde's suitability for a central venue. 

[AZOffaly]

I think you only need a capacity of 25k to host a Connacht final which is a little over the capacity of O Connor park? Given the central location of Hyde park it is sure to get qualifiers,club semi finals and All Ireland U21 finals once it's redeveloped.

But in the case of qualifiers, club semis and All Ireland u21 games, the Hyde is perfectly capable of hosting them as it stands now. The only reason to redevelop it in terms of capacity is for Connacht finals, these are the only games that they can't host right now and might be able to get in future.

If you think the marsh that is the floodlight-less Hyde is capable of hosting serious as is you're totally wrong. It's not a good experience for player or supporter and it's not a good advertisement for Roscommon or the GAA right now. There's not enough working bathrooms to host anything over a few thousand people without importing port-a-cabins. The stadium needs modernisation either way. Not ensuring safety hats can't undercut the capacity of the ground (which was big enough to host 30k handily enough when it was newer) to below what John Prenty wants for Connacht finals would be less a white elephant and more an instance of insanity.

Lots of GAA grounds are crumbling and need significant renovation, and this is completely unavoidable. You're trying to appeal to casual supporters and people expecting certain standards of comfort and a lot of county grounds simply don't compare on basic amenities any more. None of the talk of the development of the Hyde has mentioned expanding it, it's intended to consolidate what's already there.

Do you still have to walk from the dressing rooms over to the pitch? I couldn't believe that.

[rosnarun]

i dont think any of the Big three will ever accept the fact that they will never hold a connact Final again.
like the last time they tried to designate hyde park Mayo and galway despite losing a vote just would not accept it.

If they are serious about the proposal then build a 30K to 40k modern all seater stadium that is that much better than the others that it would end arguments , Maybe an all weather 4G pitch quality Floodlights ect. could be used for a lot of qualifiers and maybe even quaterfinals if the counties suited .
maybe build it in Kiltoom or bite the bullet go for Athlone altogether with its Bus, Train and Motorway links

[Syferus]

I think you only need a capacity of 25k to host a Connacht final which is a little over the capacity of O Connor park? Given the central location of Hyde park it is sure to get qualifiers,club semi finals and All Ireland U21 finals once it's redeveloped.

But in the case of qualifiers, club semis and All Ireland u21 games, the Hyde is perfectly capable of hosting them as it stands now. The only reason to redevelop it in terms of capacity is for Connacht finals, these are the only games that they can't host right now and might be able to get in future.

If you think the marsh that is the floodlight-less Hyde is capable of hosting serious as is you're totally wrong. It's not a good experience for player or supporter and it's not a good advertisement for Roscommon or the GAA right now. There's not enough working bathrooms to host anything over a few thousand people without importing port-a-cabins. The stadium needs modernisation either way. Not ensuring safety hats can't undercut the capacity of the ground (which was big enough to host 30k handily enough when it was newer) to below what John Prenty wants for Connacht finals would be less a white elephant and more an instance of insanity.

Lots of GAA grounds are crumbling and need significant renovation, and this is completely unavoidable. You're trying to appeal to casual supporters and people expecting certain standards of comfort and a lot of county grounds simply don't compare on basic amenities any more. None of the talk of the development of the Hyde has mentioned expanding it, it's intended to consolidate what's already there.

Do you still have to walk from the dressing rooms over to the pitch? I couldn't believe that.

Ah sure of all the problem it has that's the least of it. The Hyde is the same now as it was 10, 15 years ago. The club house at the front is like something out of a 70s GAA timewarp.

It's deteriotated at an incredible rate the last five or so years with multiple planning issues that have effected the 'new' stand, most of the rooms and offices at the back of it had to be cemented it. And the local residents have been bitching about the mobile phone masts on the stand for God knows how long.

Everyone is pretty sick of the inertia with the Hyde and when we get to see well designed grounds like Tullamore it only makes matters worse.

The idea of shared county grounds has cropped up a few times and I wish it was explored in more details, there's a lot of credibility behind consolidating counties' resources and building modern grounds that are well used and not idle most of the year.

[Blowitupref]

I think you only need a capacity of 25k to host a Connacht final which is a little over the capacity of O Connor park? Given the central location of Hyde park it is sure to get qualifiers,club semi finals and All Ireland U21 finals once it's redeveloped.

But in the case of qualifiers, club semis and All Ireland u21 games, the Hyde is perfectly capable of hosting them as it stands now. The only reason to redevelop it in terms of capacity is for Connacht finals, these are the only games that they can't host right now and might be able to get in future.

It was capable of hosting the 2011 and 2012 Connacht finals however since then the health and safety crew has lowered its capacity. A redevelopment Hyde park will be running for all those mentioned games the stadium in its current shape would be overlooked.

I remember reading the redeveloped will exactly decrease the capacity from 30,000 to 25,000 talk of moving the pitch closer to the stand and removing the concrete benches.

[whitey]

Pearse Stadium should be a non starter. Its impossible to get to from many parts of Mayo and Roscommon with out going through the heart of Galway City.  In addition to that, I be
ieve that parking is also a huge issue with the neighbours.

Big games have in the past coincided with other events such as the Airshow and the Galway Races which contributed to nightmare traffic scenarios.  I heard of Mayo supporters who turned around and went home after 3/4 hours on the road.

Havent been in the Hyde in years, but again parking and traffic are huge issues on big match days. I remember as a kid parking the far side of town and having to walk at least 2 miles to get to the stadium. (At least it felt that far)

McHale Park is on the right side of town for both Roscommon, Galway, Sligo and Letrim supporters.  Theres tons of parking and within a half mile of the park, you could be on your way out of town one one of 4 National Primary Roads.  Not to mention, the train station isnt even half a mile from the stadium

[seafoid]

Pearse Stadium should be a non starter. Its impossible to get to from many parts of Mayo and Roscommon with out going through the heart of Galway City.  In addition to that, I be
ieve that parking is also a huge issue with the neighbours.

Big games have in the past coincided with other events such as the Airshow and the Galway Races which contributed to nightmare traffic scenarios.  I heard of Mayo supporters who turned around and went home after 3/4 hours on the road.

Havent been in the Hyde in years, but again parking and traffic are huge issues on big match days. I remember as a kid parking the far side of town and having to walk at least 2 miles to get to the stadium. (At least it felt that far)

McHale Park is on the right side of town for both Roscommon, Galway, Sligo and Letrim supporters.  Theres tons of parking and within a half mile of the park, you could be on your way out of town one one of 4 National Primary Roads.  Not to mention, the train station isnt even half a mile from the stadium

Pearse stadium should have been sold to NAMA. It's in the wrong place.
Tuam and Ballinasloe are far better locations for big GAA matches.

[mjg]

Pearse Stadium should be a non starter. Its impossible to get to from many parts of Mayo and Roscommon with out going through the heart of Galway City.  In addition to that, I be
ieve that parking is also a huge issue with the neighbours.

Big games have in the past coincided with other events such as the Airshow and the Galway Races which contributed to nightmare traffic scenarios.  I heard of Mayo supporters who turned around and went home after 3/4 hours on the road.

Havent been in the Hyde in years, but again parking and traffic are huge issues on big match days. I remember as a kid parking the far side of town and having to walk at least 2 miles to get to the stadium. (At least it felt that far)

McHale Park is on the right side of town for both Roscommon, Galway, Sligo and Letrim supporters.  Theres tons of parking and within a half mile of the park, you could be on your way out of town one one of 4 National Primary Roads.  Not to mention, the train station isnt even half a mile from the stadium Werent you the clever kid to be driving

[GalwayBayBoy]

I expect McHale to be named as the Connacht final venue, like Clones in the North, in the near future.

Absolutely no chance.

I despise the location of Pearse but it's a fine stadium and they are putting floodlights in so zero chance they are giving up the few big games they get every year. Unless someone gives them a small fortune for the land. Which they probably should have taken over 10 years ago. Either way its a non runner.

Has to be remembered that the Galway hurlers are not going to play home games in Castlebar. So Pearse is going nowhere in the short term anyway.

[macdanger2]

Designating one ground as the venue for Connacht finals would give a massive advantage to whichever county it was

[Rossfan]

Imagine trying to get sponsorship for GAA affairs in Ros Town if we let
them take Connacht finals away permanently from the Hyde!

[Lone Shark]

Imagine trying to get sponsorship for GAA affairs in Ros Town if we let
them take Connacht finals away permanently from the Hyde!

Now apply the same logic to Tuam. Should we bring Connacht finals back to Tuam?

Designating one ground as the venue for Connacht finals would give a massive advantage to whichever county it was

And designating three grounds gives a massive advantage to those three counties over the others. Yet no one is arguing that there should be Connacht finals in Carrick, Sligo or Ruislip. That's not an argument to hold Connacht Finals in the Hyde, it's an argument to hold Connacht finals everywhere.

[muppet]

Imagine trying to get sponsorship for GAA affairs in Ros Town if we let
them take Connacht finals away permanently from the Hyde!

Now apply the same logic to Tuam. Should we bring Connacht finals back to Tuam?

Designating one ground as the venue for Connacht finals would give a massive advantage to whichever county it was

And designating three grounds gives a massive advantage to those three counties over the others. Yet no one is arguing that there should be Connacht finals in Carrick, Sligo or Ruislip. That's not an argument to hold Connacht Finals in the Hyde, it's an argument to hold Connacht finals everywhere.

I was thinking the exact same thing.

[Syferus]

Of course Connacht finals should be back in Tuam. Even now it's a more enjoyable venue than Pearse. Real football country. If only we could go back in time.

Doing Pearse rather than Tuam was one of the biggest f**k-ups in Connacht GAA history, up there with the Hyde ownership issue.