GAA Stadium Standards

namloc1980 · 02-12-2017 10:55am

Why does it have to be a choice between the current dumps or massive white elephants? Decent small stadiums can be built. Look at this in Sweden. Nice small stadium with 7,000 capacity. Decent seats, comfortable and covered all around with no poles or pylons in the way.

02-12-2017 10:03pm

namloc1980 wrote: »

Why does it have to be a choice between the current dumps or massive white elephants? Decent small stadiums can be built. Look at this in Sweden. Nice small stadium with 7,000 capacity. Decent seats, comfortable and covered all around with no poles or pylons in the way.

Beautiful, reasonable to build and pragmatic......we just dont do it here though :pac:

Thats a cracking little ground though. Personally I think more counties should pool their resources together. Shane Curran gave a valid idea a few years ago with Roscommon and Westmeath if they developed a ground in Athlone for example a border town

OldMrBrennan83 · 02-12-2017 10:05pm

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Stephen15 · 02-12-2017 11:25pm

namloc1980 wrote: »

Why does it have to be a choice between the current dumps or massive white elephants? Decent small stadiums can be built. Look at this in Sweden. Nice small stadium with 7,000 capacity. Decent seats, comfortable and covered all around with no poles or pylons in the way.

Good for LOI club aswell. I think the plan is something similar for the new Dalymount Park as in coversed all the whole way around with no gaps between stands.

Bonniedog · 03-12-2017 12:12am

Stephen15 wrote: »

Good for LOI club aswell. I think the plan is something similar for the new Dalymount Park as in coversed all the whole way around with no gaps between stands.

No LOI team gets more than 4,000 at any game - that's Cork City, and average is something under 1,000. Should maybe buy them out as Cork County Board did with Turners Cross/PUíR. Be doing everyone a favour

Stephen15 · 03-12-2017 12:26am

Bonniedog wrote: »

No LOI team gets more than 4,000 at any game - that's Cork City, and average is something under 1,000. Should maybe buy them out as Cork County Board did with Turners Cross/PUíR. Be doing everyone a favour

But yet the new Dalymount is meant to be 10,000 and Tallaght holds 6,000

Bonniedog · 03-12-2017 12:31am

Stephen15 wrote: »

But yet the new Dalymount is meant to be 10,000 and Tallaght holds 6,000

Two freebies that never have more than 2,000 people in them and 500 cops outside when they play one another. Who's paying for Bohs and scum to get another hand out? they could play in the Phoenix park the amount of people who watch them

lim4ev · 03-12-2017 1:56am

What about the Gaelic grounds in Limerick the Mackey stand is a disaster since day one and now has the smelliest toilets in the universe they then go ahead and revamp all sides bar the Mackey stand side and make a marvellous job of the far side with an open stand that for me is the best stand in the country to watch a hurling match from. Now that was the good news part of my story for ye that wouldn't frequent it for club matches etc they won't let anyone across to the far side I've remonstrated many times with the stewards to let me across especially on a fine day rather than having to watch from the Mackey stand but to no avail and what's the reason???? There's no services there which means there's no electricity or water for the toilets can you believe that it just beggars belief and gets me angry. I'm a season ticket holder and recently got a letter looking for support for the senior team I won't be giving them a cent until this crazy situation is sorted

Mehapoy · 07-12-2017 1:13pm

lim4ev wrote: »

What about the Gaelic grounds in Limerick the Mackey stand is a disaster since day one and now has the smelliest toilets in the universe they then go ahead and revamp all sides bar the Mackey stand side and make a marvellous job of the far side with an open stand that for me is the best stand in the country to watch a hurling match from. Now that was the good news part of my story for ye that wouldn't frequent it for club matches etc they won't let anyone across to the far side I've remonstrated many times with the stewards to let me across especially on a fine day rather than having to watch from the Mackey stand but to no avail and what's the reason???? There's no services there which means there's no electricity or water for the toilets can you believe that it just beggars belief and gets me angry. I'm a season ticket holder and recently got a letter looking for support for the senior team I won't be giving them a cent until this crazy situation is sorted

They'd be better off selling the Gaelic grounds for housing and build a compact 20k all seater off the ring road, maybe near the race course, much handier for match day traffic and suits the county supporters more than having it practically in Clare...

nice_guy80 · 07-12-2017 2:57pm

namloc1980 wrote: »

Why does it have to be a choice between the current dumps or massive white elephants? Decent small stadiums can be built. Look at this in Sweden. Nice small stadium with 7,000 capacity. Decent seats, comfortable and covered all around with no poles or pylons in the way.

no disrespect, but a GAA pitch is so much bigger than a soccer pitch

07-12-2017 6:38pm

nice_guy80 wrote: »

no disrespect, but a GAA pitch is so much bigger than a soccer pitch

But he is referring to stadium capacity as opposed to the pitch size and yes the pitch does make a difference to the overall project in terms of area squared but in terms of stadium capacity the poster in question had a valid point. A nice little 5-10k seater would more than accommodate alot of games under the new format with one or two large stadiums within each province. 7k seats in a modern stadium is better then 25k in a ramshackle

What we have instead is everyone trying to outdo each other to be the second largest GAA stadium in the country after Croker

lim4ev · 08-12-2017 12:43am

Mehapoy wrote: »

They'd be better off selling the Gaelic grounds for housing and build a compact 20k all seater off the ring road, maybe near the race course, much handier for match day traffic and suits the county supporters more than having it practically in Clare...

I'd go along with that too I think twud be for the best

djemba djemba · 08-12-2017 8:54pm

Never got around to posting this during the week. I was watching a F.A cup game last Friday night on BBC. Thought this was a great example of a small, modern and comfortable stadium.

They showed pictures of the dressing rooms on tv. Seemed to be put thought into the layout and not just a rectangle room with a bench around it.

http://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/mill-farm-afc-fylde.html

bucketybuck · 08-12-2017 9:05pm

Last Stop wrote: »

What do you mean white elephants? The majority of GAA stadiums are used throughout the year for both inter-county and club matches.

And what are the attendances at most of those games? 15000+ at club matches? At national league games? Don't make me laugh.

Most of those stadiums are white elephants because they are rarely if ever full, not because they are never used.

With the super 8s in football and the provincial groups on hurling, most county grounds are going to see significant more use over the coming years.

How on earth do you figure that? Extra matches between the big boys aren't going to make a blind bit of difference to the vast majority of county grounds.

marvin80 · 08-12-2017 9:53pm

djemba djemba wrote: »

Never got around to posting this during the week. I was watching a F.A cup game last Friday night on BBC. Thought this was a great example of a small, modern and comfortable stadium.

They showed pictures of the dressing rooms on tv. Seemed to be put thought into the layout and not just a rectangle room with a bench around it.

http://www.footballgroundguide.com/leagues/mill-farm-afc-fylde.html

That's a cracking stadium

piplip87 · 08-12-2017 10:01pm

ProudDUB wrote: »

Cavan. League game this past Spring. Traffic was murder getting through Virginia, for those eegits, poor misguided fools, twits, brave souls that went up that way. I've never been so glad to cross the border into Mordor before in me life.

Virginia really went all out for the Dubs though. There wasn't a chain or padlock left to be bought.

namloc1980 · 09-12-2017 12:32pm

nice_guy80 wrote: »

no disrespect, but a GAA pitch is so much bigger than a soccer pitch

Seems like you didn't get the point. Not talking about pitch size. You could build a stadium around a GAA pitch in the same way. Small capacity but comfortable and well finished. But we seem happy with the massive dumps we have up and down the country with rubbish facilities.

nice_guy80 · 09-12-2017 9:35pm

namloc1980 wrote: »

Seems like you didn't get the point. Not talking about pitch size. You could build a stadium around a GAA pitch in the same way. Small capacity but comfortable and well finished. But we seem happy with the massive dumps we have up and down the country with rubbish facilities.

costs a lot more to build a covered stand the length of the field at a GAA pitch than at a soccer ground

Tipp Red · 09-12-2017 9:39pm

Last Stop wrote: »

One thing that really strikes me is the poor quality of grounds in the commuter belt around Dublin. Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow have possibly some of the worst grounds in the country.

Again O Fearaill did say he'd like as president of GAA to develop a Stadium in North Leinster....whether this is in train or not I don't know?

bucketybuck · 09-12-2017 10:00pm

nice_guy80 wrote: »

costs a lot more to build a covered stand the length of the field at a GAA pitch than at a soccer ground

Who says the stand needs to be the length of the field? Build to the desired capacity, not the length of the sideline.

namloc1980 · 11-12-2017 12:15am

nice_guy80 wrote: »

costs a lot more to build a covered stand the length of the field at a GAA pitch than at a soccer ground

Build accordingly but to a decent standard, not the glorified cow sheds we have up and down the country. This isn't difficult to understand.

12-12-2017 12:54am

nice_guy80 wrote: »

costs a lot more to build a covered stand the length of the field at a GAA pitch than at a soccer ground

Your talking about a section and a half of seating at the very most.

TCDStudent1 · 12-12-2017 2:40am

O'Connor Park in Tullamore is my favourite provincial venue. Good facilities, very handy to park and to get in / out of. Also not far from town centre.

OldMrBrennan83 · 12-12-2017 6:33am

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CK22 · 02-01-2018 9:00pm

As the last posters have said, O’Connor Park and the Athletic Grouds should be the standard for most small grounds. I am in favour of terraces, but maybe only on the goal sides. Some of the so called white elephants are crumbling. Fitzgearld Stadium was supposed to be a showpiece stadium for the RWC. Like have ye seen the state of the main stand, or the benches behind the goals. The bigger grounds should be going along the lines of the new Casement Park. All covered, good services, and a terrace behind one of the goals. Although I love Thurles, as a stadium, it’s an absolute kip. Even the new PUC, could’ve been much better, even having a roof over the City and Blackrock ends would improve the aesthetics of the ground.

CK22 · 02-01-2018 9:02pm

This is the new Casement, hopefully this one gets built.

Ray Donovan · 02-01-2018 10:31pm

CK22 wrote: »

As the last posters have said, O’Connor Park and the Athletic Grouds should be the standard for most small grounds. I am in favour of terraces, but maybe only on the goal sides. Some of the so called white elephants are crumbling. Fitzgearld Stadium was supposed to be a showpiece stadium for the RWC. Like have ye seen the state of the main stand, or the benches behind the goals. The bigger grounds should be going along the lines of the new Casement Park. All covered, good services, and a terrace behind one of the goals. Although I love Thurles, as a stadium, it’s an absolute kip. Even the new PUC, could’ve been much better, even having a roof over the City and Blackrock ends would improve the aesthetics of the ground.

I don't know if I'd label O'Connor Park as a "small" ground. It can hold 20,000 and single-handily destroyed Offaly GAA!!

CK22 · 02-01-2018 10:33pm

Ah it wasn’t OCP which ruined Offaly GAA. That’s a forum for another day.

LooseCannonUF · 02-01-2018 10:39pm

Ray Donovan wrote: »

I don't know if I'd label O'Connor Park as a "small" ground. It can hold 20,000 and single-handily destroyed Offaly GAA!!

The people runnng it did.
The reason that the Faithful Fields Centre of Excellence is debt free is because the county board didn’t have anything to do with it. It was 10-12 GAA men with business and sporting expertise. County board were handed the keys.

O’Connor Park is a fine stadium. If only we could eliminate this Hurling should be in Birr BS argument, and wipe off the debt sooner, the better.

CK22 · 03-02-2018 11:03pm

I see Meath have got planning permission for a 4 Stand, fully roofed, all seater stadium costing just €19million. Interesting to see if it actually happens. But it’s mad to think that it’s 2018 before we are getting a county board who are planning for a fully roofed stadium. I’m a fan of some terraces if they are well maintained, so the all seater doesn’t make much of a difference to me.

04-02-2018 11:32pm

CK22 wrote: »

I see Meath have got planning permission for a 4 Stand, fully roofed, all seater stadium costing just €19million. Interesting to see if it actually happens. But it’s mad to think that it’s 2018 before we are getting a county board who are planning for a fully roofed stadium. I’m a fan of some terraces if they are well maintained, so the all seater doesn’t make much of a difference to me.

Navan at present is a shockingly poor ground for a relatively successful GAA county tbh. I would however be more concerned at the lack of success in Meath since 1999. Other than the Eamon O'Brien years, they havent shown anything resembling promise. Surely more priority should be given to the actual team?

The Lost Sheep · 04-02-2018 11:39pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Navan at present is a shockingly poor ground for a relatively successful GAA county tbh. I would however be more concerned at the lack of success in Meath since 1999. Other than the Eamon O'Brien years, they havent shown anything resembling promise. Surely more priority should be given to the actual team?

How are they not prioritising the actual team though? The stadium needs redevelopment and the money being spent on the stadium works which is much needed wont make the team be more competitive.

Bonniedog · 04-02-2018 11:43pm

Why are people so obsessed with the state of grounds? Is it some sort of subliminal remorse over the chappies not getting the rugby world cup?

Navan is great place for a game. If you want a pint or something to eat, you are hardly in the Mauritanian desert. Its practically in middle of the town. Same with Thurles. 90 minutes without a drink.,,,, stop the torture :-)

04-02-2018 11:45pm

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

How are they not prioritising the actual team though? The stadium needs redevelopment and the money being spent on the stadium works which is much needed wont make the team be more competitive.

Do they honestly need an all seater swanky stadium? Fair enough renovating but is there a need to build an actual all seater? It wont help their results on the field whatsoever. See Offaly above.

04-02-2018 11:48pm

Bonniedog wrote: »

Why are people so obsessed with the state of grounds? Is it some sort of subliminal remorse over the chappies not getting the rugby world cup?

Navan is great place for a game. If you want a pint or something to eat, you are hardly in the Mauritanian desert. Its practically in middle of the town. Same with Thurles. 90 minutes without a drink.,,,, stop the torture :-)

Grassy banks this day and age look fairly poor given the huge footballing success Meath had in the 80s and 90s. Navan needs some renovation but not as extravagant as what is being proposed.

OldMrBrennan83 · 04-02-2018 11:49pm

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04-02-2018 11:57pm

Patww79 wrote: »

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A very fair point but the other side of that argument is that stadiums within the towns at least bring a bit of trade to the town. Thurles is absolutely magic on big match day. Without the presence of Semple Stadium though, id have to wonder where Thurles would be today in terms of its growth.

From a supporters point of view i absolutely agree though that navigating through busy towns trying to find parking and trying to muscle into aggressive traffic to get a quick exit can be highly frustrating.

Bonniedog · 05-02-2018 12:04am

Deleted User wrote: »

A very fair point but the other side of that argument is that stadiums within the towns at least bring a bit of trade to the town. Thurles is absolutely magic on big match day. Without the presence of Semple Stadium though, id have to wonder where Thurles would be today in terms of its growth.

From a supporters point of view i absolutely agree though that navigating through busy towns trying to find parking and trying to muscle into aggressive traffic to get a quick exit can be highly frustrating.

Give me Thurles and Navan any day rather than some soulless dump like Salthill. Which ironically is outside the city and possibly the worst place to get in and out of on a match day, even when Dub hurlers are playing and there's maybe 3,000 there. Perfect location imho is Nowlan Park, and nice enough seating if you are into all that! Tullamore is good spot too. Perfect for a lot of Leinster SHC games. Gives Galway some bit of a break!

OldMrBrennan83 · 05-02-2018 12:09am

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The Lost Sheep · 05-02-2018 12:18am

Deleted User wrote: »

Do they honestly need an all seater swanky stadium? Fair enough renovating but is there a need to build an actual all seater? It wont help their results on the field whatsoever. See Offaly above.

What is wrong with having all seats in a ground. Did i say it would help their results on the field. It wont but it can help in other ways if its a better facility for everyone going to games.

Deleted User wrote: »

Grassy banks this day and age look fairly poor given the huge footballing success Meath had in the 80s and 90s. Navan needs some renovation but not as extravagant as what is being proposed.

There is nothing extravagant in what and considering it includes addition of floodlights that were a H&S risk then why is it a problem

Deleted User wrote: »

A very fair point but the other side of that argument is that stadiums within the towns at least bring a bit of trade to the town. Thurles is absolutely magic on big match day. Without the presence of Semple Stadium though, id have to wonder where Thurles would be today in terms of its growth.

From a supporters point of view i absolutely agree though that navigating through busy towns trying to find parking and trying to muscle into aggressive traffic to get a quick exit can be highly frustrating.

Its up to town authorities as well as the GAA to provide better parking for games in towns. Providing P&R services. And games in grounds outside of towns can still provide trade for a town

05-02-2018 12:19am

Bonniedog wrote: »

Give me Thurles and Navan any day rather than some soulless dump like Salthill. Which ironically is outside the city and possibly the worst place to get in and out of on a match day, even when Dub hurlers are playing and there's maybe 3,000 there. Perfect location imho is Nowlan Park, and nice enough seating if you are into all that! Tullamore is good spot too. Perfect for a lot of Leinster SHC games. Gives Galway some bit of a break!

Ballinasloe would have been surely the best place for Galway to develop a county ground? Just off a motorway on the main Dublin Road, shaves a good hour extra off the journey to Salthill and convenient in terms of both the hurling and football population?

Bonniedog · 05-02-2018 12:20am

Whatever happened to walking? Most times I go to Thurles we park on the Dublin road side of the town and walk the rest of the way, interrupted by several beverage stops. You can't park anywhere near Croke Park either but no-one whinges about it. Just enjoy the mingling with the masses!

BTW, Salthill is a suburb of the city so hardly in "middle of nowhere." It does, or should, serve a warning to anyone like DCB planning to build a similar suburban stadium.

OldMrBrennan83 · 05-02-2018 12:26am

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TCDStudent1 · 05-02-2018 12:30am

Personally I much prefer ground that are in town centre, or near it.

Ballinasloe would never have been considered for a stadium as it's right on the east of the county - it's a big trek from some parts of Connemara to get there. Athenry would have been better suited perhaps.

Borders no.2 · 05-02-2018 12:42am

The decision to do up Pearse Stadium was a horrific political decision and as a result Galway is a mess in terms of grounds. Tuam is a dump and would require a massive investment to bring it anyway up to spec. Athenry is the home of hurling and great for club matches but is no way fit to hold any major game. Ballinasloe is a good pitch and has lights but the place is in a crazy state of disrepair.

I really like Tullamore as a venue. Nice ground, good pitch, it's a 2 minute walk into town and it's easy enough escape from after the game.

TCDStudent1 · 05-02-2018 12:43am

Borders no.2 wrote: »

The decision to do up Pearse Stadium was a horrific political decision and as a result Galway is a mess in terms of grounds. Tuam is a dump and would require a massive investment to bring it anyway up to spec. Athenry is the home of hurling and great for club matches but is no way fit to hold any major game. Ballinasloe is a good pitch and has lights but the place is in a crazy state of disrepair.

I really like Tullamore as a venue. Nice ground, good pitch, it's a 2 minute walk into town and it's easy enough escape from after the game.

Also would be one of my favourites.

Condenser · 05-02-2018 12:48am

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Ballinasloe would have been surely the best place for Galway to develop a county ground? Just off a motorway on the main Dublin Road, shaves a good hour extra off the journey to Salthill and convenient in terms of both the hurling and football population?

Nope, Athenry is the ideal place and should still be done. Apex of 2 motorways. Dead centre of the hurling and football heartlands. Easily commutable from Galway city. Sell Pearse, put a top class pitch in athenry and put a 15000 seater stadium with good facilities around. Short walk into town centre and area to develop parking closeby.

05-02-2018 1:24am

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

What is wrong with having all seats in a ground. Did i say it would help their results on the field. It wont but it can help in other ways if its a better facility for everyone going to games.

Meaths first priority should be with the development of their players. Yes Navan is an absolute kip at present but all seater, state of the art ground could cost unbelievable money. Money that could and should be put into player development.

Yes do up the ground by all means and install floodlighting fair enough but spunking millions in a ground that will only be used a couple of times a year is absolute madness.

grbear · 05-02-2018 9:41am

Condenser wrote: »

Nope, Athenry is the ideal place and should still be done. Apex of 2 motorways. Dead centre of the hurling and football heartlands. Easily commutable from Galway city. Sell Pearse, put a top class pitch in athenry and put a 15000 seater stadium with good facilities around. Short walk into town centre and area to develop parking closeby.

In an ideal world you'd be right but I think any talk of stadium investment in Galway will be clouded by the possibility of holding concerts, especially with the new calendar leaving April and most of August and September open even if the footballers were able to make the Super Eights consistently. Most likely the County Board will be content to make some minor improvements to Tuam, Athenry and Balinasloe while still hoping to develop a goose that lays golden eggs in Galway city once the proposed ring road gets the go ahead.

CK22 · 04-07-2018 10:03pm

Ok just getting this going again. I was in the Town End in Thurles on Sunday, and look, you can’t beat a Munster Final in Thurles, but I felt at risk at times. There was plenty of occasions where people were pushed and created a Hillsborough-like scenario. I was lucky that I was at the top of the terrace, but I would fear that someday at a big match, those rails are going to buckle and problems will occur. Semple is outdated and I would not be confident in the future. Even the fact that when leaving the Town End, you are going down a slope, rather than steps. I’m in favour of keeping terraces, but I think that rail seating needs to be considered as a safer alternative to the traditional.

GAA Stadium Standards

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