Waterford GAA thread - mod warning post #1 and #51

Jjjjjjjbarry

The return of Shane Bennett is the best Waterford news all year.

DeiseDawg

I see Bob Dylan and Niall Young to play in Nowlan Park, neither registered with a Leinster club. Wonder will Munster Council object.

PTH2009

DeiseDawg wrote: »

I see Bob Dylan and Niall Young to play in Nowlan Park, neither registered with a Leinster club. Wonder will Munster Council object.

I heard they have a membership with a club in Carlow lol

Reading in the news and star "no holding back in any competition' were in by Fanning

Mulbert

DeiseDawg wrote: »

I see Bob Dylan and Niall Young to play in Nowlan Park, neither registered with a Leinster club. Wonder will Munster Council object.[/quot

Have to say fair play to kk gaa, but on a personal level, last few times I've been to their concerts, both were brutal.

Much better fare than Jedward though.

PTH2009

Mulbert wrote: »

DeiseDawg wrote: »

I see Bob Dylan and Niall Young to play in Nowlan Park, neither registered with a Leinster club. Wonder will Munster Council object.[/quot

Have to say fair play to kk gaa, but on a personal level, last few times I've been to their concerts, both were brutal.

Much better fare than Jedward though.

Didn't we also have a drunk Shane McGowan play a fundraiser for us too ??

deiseach

Meanwhile, down on Leeside...

Revealed: Páirc redevelopment costs soar towards €110m

Friday, December 14, 2018 - 06:00 AM

By Michael Moynihan
Follow @MikeMoynihanEx

Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna says the cost of redeveloping Páirc Uí Chaoimh has escalated to an eye-watering total of €110 million, almost €25m higher than the €86 million total estimated following the completion of works last year.

McKenna was speaking in the wake of revelations that Croke Park will now run the new Cork stadium, and he accepted that solving Cork’s GAA financial issues is a ‘10 to 15-year set-up’.

“It became clear in the middle of the year that the amount spent on the stadium way exceeded what people thought,” McKenna confirmed to the Irish Examiner yesterday.

“We’re probably close to €110m as a final cost, and what was the ability to pay that?

“As an Association we needed to take a far closer look at exactly what the position was - not so much ‘why is this happening’ as ‘where are we, and what can we do to stem the problem?’ That was the genesis of it.

“In order to stem the debt or put a shape to it, we needed an experienced management team involved.

“I think if it wasn’t an aligned set-up, you’d be talking about a receivership or something like that.

The ability to pay that amount of money back wasn’t there, but that’s not how we operate as an organisation.

Where did the overrun come from?

McKenna described that as “a difficult question to answer”.

“Building projects are notorious for overruns but projects can be brought in on time and on budget. It’s about having good people and good controls.

“Costs certainly escalated, and that’s problem A.

“But the building is there, it looks well, people’s experience of it is positive. It would have been far worse if the work had stopped halfway through and we’d have been left without one thing or another. It’s been finished to a very high standard but the cost is way in excess of what was expected,” he said.

“That’s the building side. The other side is running it as a business, which is a specialty.

“Stadia as we know them now weren’t there 20 years ago, back then they were just fields with a roof over the seats.

“Croke Park was probably the first in the world to go beyond that and we have a very good team who work in that space.

“We’d be mad not to use their experience with hospitality, bars, all of that (in Cork).”

McKenna pointed out that staff in Croke Park had to learn on the job when it came to stadium management.

“The best example I can give is Croke Park, which is regarded - rightly - by GAA people as theirs. We report every year to the Congress on how it’s run, questions can be asked - we field questions on where the beef comes from, the use of the stadium is governed by Central Council and so on.

“It’s a positive set-up and we pay a dividend every year - but it wasn’t always like that. The first year of operations Croke Park lost €2m, the bars lost €800,000 - it was a basket case, so we’re not painting ourselves as angels here. We learned our trade the hard way.

What Cork County Board - and Cork GAA people - need is the stadium, which is there to be used, and they don’t need the concern of feeling it’ll be an anchor on top of them.

“What we’re looking to put in place is a system which ensures it’s not an anchor where the stadium can be used and that it’ll be seamless.

“We’re like the guys in the theatre who put up the sets and draw the curtains, but we’re not the actors.

“How the hurlers and footballers perform, that’s what’s important and that’s what will lift Cork.”

In terms of Croke Park’s role on Leeside, those from GAA HQ take a hands-on role, he added.

“We said we’d look at this in a collegiate way and we felt we needed to put some support behind the loan and to put a management team in place to take hold of the asset - very much like Croke Park.

“It stays strongly as a GAA base. I’ve seconded Tom Grealis to go down there (as temporary manager) but that’s short-term and we’ve had people down in Páirc Ui Chaoimh from Croke Park, people who have experience in different areas, for a couple of days a week at a time.

“We have a fair handle on the accounts now, we have a budget together for next year and a strategic plan together for the next three years.”

The Croke Park stadium director stressed the bright side but acknowledged it would not be a quick fix: “There are a lot of positives there. We’re looking at premium tickets, the hospitality business, and there’s huge potential there.

“We need to bring the synergies from Croke Park to bear here, but this is a 10- to 15-year set-up. It’s not going to be solved in a hurry.

“At least (a decade). The debt is not €110m remember, that’s the final cost right now - early on in the process €70m or €75m was mooted as a cost - but this is not a three-year project.”

But the concerts!

KrustyUCC

Prob means more Munster finals in PUC from now on

hardybuck

Annoyed about that because it apparently it didn't impress the officials working in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, in terms of proper cost benefit analysis etc. before the funding was approved by Government.

Then they get the project approved and absolutely burst their budget!? This is an absolute outrage! How can the GAA say that the funding for Cork teams won't suffer? Waterford ran into trouble, were supported, but nowhere near this scale and it went on to impact the budget available for teams.

KrustyUCC

They can say it publicly but of course the debt will effect how they teams are run

The stadium was originally meant to have been around €70 m now €110 m

Over 50% over run

Scandal

Need a full external investigation from HQ

PTH2009

https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/gaa/waterford-county-board-chairman-paddy-joe-ryan-resists-call-to-boycott-munster-championship-892034.html

deiseach

https://twitter.com/Paraic_Fanning/status/1073539078942023680

I appreciate it's not Paraic Fanning fault, and part of the fault lies with those who have saddled the entire Association with an eight-figure bill for Páirc Úi Chaoimh, but asking Waterford GAA fans to buy a season ticket when we don't know where our 'home' games are going to be played doesn't feel right.

deiseach

KrustyUCC wrote: »

Prob means more Munster finals in PUC from now on

If I didn't laugh I'd cry.

KrustyUCC

Might just happen

deiseach

KrustyUCC wrote: »

Might just happen

Of course it will happen! Too big to fail.

Jjjjjjjbarry

Where is first home league game on against Offaly? Weren't we supposed to lose home advantage for that? GAA website says venue TBC. I'm holding off on season ticket until I know more on that.

Gardner

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Where is first home league game on against Offaly? Weren't we supposed to lose home advantage for that? GAA website says venue TBC. I'm holding off on season ticket until I know more on that.

since we lost home advantage i suppose we will play the game in Fraher Field

Relhcstirt

9th Feb 2019.

Scotland v Ireland 2:15
Ballygunner v Ballyhale 5:00

Happy days no clash of time.

PTH2009

Relhcstirt wrote: »

9th Feb 2019.

Scotland v Ireland 2:15
Ballygunner v Ballyhale 5:00

Happy days no clash of time.

Nice day for the high stool ha

They really need to announce where the Offaly legaue game will be played.

Mastermcgrath

Why does Thurles have to get every game? For example Wexford Park is geographically closer to both Ballygunner and Ballyhale, why not share the love for a change?

PTH2009

https://hoganstand.com/Waterford/Article/Index/293727

windy shepard henderson

PTH2009 wrote: »

https://hoganstand.com/Waterford/Article/Index/293727

ah paddy joe , ....

i highly rate his success rate as chairman or his involvement on the county down through the years on the board, the late 90s to 2008 its fairly impressive , the whole thing nearly fell in the few years he stepped down from the board but this is cave man stuff

the same thing happened up here when davey was in charge , they will learn how to cope in time .....but not without making themselves look foolish first

Deisefacts

PTH2009 wrote: »

https://hoganstand.com/Waterford/Article/Index/293727

His own son and daughters are the worst. God help anyone that has a different opinion then “daddy”. What people put on Twitter, fb and here is only what’s being said in the pubs, shops,streets and crossroads of every parish in the county. They wouldn’t go on Eamon Keane because he challenged them. Paddyjoe spoke to people about meetings that they had with players and blackened their names. Anyone who doesn’t agree with their vision of Walsh Park is only an idiot according to them. Their treatment of the lads over last years minor football is disgraceful. Paddyjoe would remind you of a big baby. As for Pat flynn, the real reason we are going to loose our first home game is because of him. Anytime anything is played outside the county he has to send correspondence to croke park. So he knew what was going on last April and still left Derek off with his camp and challenges knowing that it was club only month.

PTH2009

bar a few good moments (ballygunner winning the munster club and other clubs performances in Munster, the footballers winning a championship game vs Wexford etc) this board and waterford GAA has been a mess in 2018 but happy xmas to everyone and lets hope for better days in 2019. It all starts again sooner than we think :D

PTH2009

TDB gone from the panel ?

Anyone else hear

Gary Gurny

PTH2009 wrote: »

TDB gone from the panel ?

Anyone else hear

Havent heard that ?

DLS2THECORE

Patrick Curran will miss a large chunk of the league due to a broken hand

PTH2009

DLS2THECORE wrote: »

Patrick Curran will miss a large chunk of the league due to a broken hand

Ah balls was hoping he would be available. Without the Ballygunner lads we have no other choice but too use the panel and hope to see new faces during the league too. 1B might not be a bad place to be after all

Any more news on who's in/out of the panel ??. We face Cork in the Munster league on the 2nd Jan in Mallow in our first competitive game of the season and then Clare in Dungarvan on the 6th Jan

Mastermcgrath

http://www.hoganstand.com/Waterford/Article/Index/293490

Great to see this man fit and ready to go

Has ad an awful time with injuries over the years, hard to imagine he's still only 23. We havent seen even a fraction of his potential yet I feel...

PTH2009

Very quite here the last while don't knw if a good thing or a bad thing

Anyways Clare beat Cork by 2 point today in the opening round of our Munster League group. So if we beat Cork (wed 2nd Jan Mallow) and Clare (6th Jan Dungarvan) we will make the final against more than likely Tipp. Amazing too think the start or the league vs Offaly in the unknown venue is less than 4 weeks away

Niallers87

PTH2009 wrote: »

Very quite here the last while don't knw if a good thing or a bad thing

Anyways Cork beat Clare by 1 point today in the opening round of our Munster League group. So if we beat Cork (wed 2nd Jan Mallow) and Clare (6th Jan Dungarvan) we will make the final against more than likely Tipp. Amazing too think the start or the league vs Offaly in the unknown venue is less than 4 weeks away

Clare beat cork by 2