Stadio Bliss.
Clones is great, only people who have never been and likely will never go there have an issue with it. Hopefully the GAA and Irish government will make funding available for a new stand there.
Antrim GAA can now look to get facilities which suit their needs, either on the Casement site or further improvement at Corrigan Park. This would be a much better outcome for Antrim GAA than the Casement white elephant.
My issue isn't with Clones. I just prefer the big cities for the big games. I absolutely hate trips to Thurles which Im constantly told I have to love because of "tradition".
More of an issue with parking in a City though Clones isn't great for parking. Parking in fields a few miles from the ground.
I'll be generous and say Clones has 'character'. I've lost count of the times I've been to Clones and indeed have enjoyed some great days out there. But let's face it. It is of its time. It has had no meaningful investment in over 30 years. 90% of the patrons are exposed to the elements. Access to the biggest part of the ground (in terms of capacity), the Hill, is via gravel covered walkways. The bulk of the seats are benches. It has had it's capacity reduced from 37,000 to a little over 28,000.
I accept that the dream of a truly modern GAA stadium appears to have now gone, but it does not mean that we as GAA patrons should continue to Put up with outdated facilities in the 21st Century. We should be demanding better.
All does issues can easily be solved with money
A very modern (UEFA standard) Casement Park could be built with money, but it ain't going to happen.
It has had no meaningful investment in over 30 years.
Basically and only because the GAA has had it's eye on another prize. Traffic management is not rocket science if the will is there but if the attitude is (as a Chair of the Ulster Council told me personally) 'I don't care how they get out as long as they get in' then no super shiny new stadium is going to solve the problems
My concern Francie is only with the ground itself. Not even talking town facilities, parking or traffic management. St Tiernach's Park is really outdated and does not meet the needs of the modern era. The size and scale of any attempt to modernise it would be huge.
Nothing in the region of 400 million. 400 million would revamp the town and surrounding villages too.😁
Well Casement would only technically have been in a big city, in reality it is a residential area on the edge of the city with nothing for fans before/after a match. I don't see any advantages the Casement site has over Clones.
There is not more of an issue. There is far less of an issue you might just have to pay for it or pay for a bus and park and ride. There is also way way more public transport options allowing people to leave the car at home.
I still get to be in Belfast afterwards same as I would rather be in Cork over Thurles after a game. More food and drink choices and certainly far more interesting ones than Supermacs or whatever.
It probably suits the drive in and out people but for me personally the match is about more than that.
There is more hassle same as in Dublin. Belfast is not even central in Ulster. It's on the North east, so logistically not even straightforward from other part of Ulster.
You would not be fan so off a burger outside the Creighton hotel on championship day so.
Who was it that initially suggested casement for the euros? I thought it was the british gov.
GAA made a bit of a balls of their initial plans looking for a higher capacity stadium than needed and also messing up the evacuation plans.
It was the only choice outside of a green field site.
You can't build infrastructure to individual need. The vast majority demonstratively want to see the game and have a bit of craic with likeminded people (who were also at the game) before going home. Go into central Dublin or Belfast after a game, you might never know it was on.
The bidders, FA, SFA, WFA, IFA, FAI probably came up with the idea of using Casement.
It was also part of the illfated IRFU bid for the 2023 RWC back in 2015, when it was still bogged down in a planning dispute with the local residents.
Slight thread drift, Only 6 games in Dublin and apart from FAI/IRFU with the time of year its on would there be much of an actual Financial gain for the Country as the hotels would be full of tourists anyway.
Casement would have suited the drive in and out people as much, if not more so than Clones. Casement wouldn't have suited anyone who wants to enjoy the atmosphere before/after a match.
Only those living in Belfast city centre would go into Belfast after a match in Casement, nobody else would both. Going from Casement into Belfast isn't comparable with going from PUC into Cork.
Can't speak for anyone else but I would bother going into Belfast. Anyone travelling by public transport would also.
Generally people know which pubs in Dublin, Cork and Limerick to go to. Belfast would be the same if it actually had big matches. Atmosphere in those small towns is shte with everyone up on top of eachother fighting to squeeze into the tiny few pubs and the one takeaway. Thurles is an absolute disaster when it's raining.
After the last Limerick Vs Cork game we met people in every pub on the route from Croke Park to Heuston both there and back.
Pubs close to Croke Park maybe. Nothing stopping groups meeting in bigger towns in Clones at any time. A good portion would always do that but the bigger attraction seems to be arriving early en masse and staying 3 or 4 hours after for the atmosphere and craic.
It's not just around Croke Park. Say full pubs all up O'Connell, Abbey and Parnell St. Pretty much anywhere between Heuston and Connolly along the LUAS line. Also most teams have pubs they go to for whatever local connection. I am talking a full Croke Park now not when they put on some shte football QF that has no reason to be in Dublin.
Small towns are amazing when it's small stadiums that the town can cope with. Ennis for instance is my favourite away day but 45,000 in Thurles is shte.
Yeh and it’s the same if you go to Clones. Monaghan town will do well if traffic is coming that way etc.
What I am saying is the bigger attraction (not for you) is to get as near to the ground and atmosphere before and after. And not everyone is going ti be satisfied or happy with that. The dissatisfied are the loudest vessels though, nothing is ever satisfactory.
Clones is fine with me, if some money goes there for improvement.
Ulster people do not want a small stadium in which they will be unable to get tickets. Such a thing would suit Antrim and be of some use as a neutral venue, but adds little to Ulster as a whole.
Clones was originally chosen as a rail hub, it is hardly the centre of the road system.
Many GAA grounds have limited sites, e.g. with more space on side than the other. Casement has a decent site, so you could probably use the basic design for a stand somewhere else.
Well yes I meant a small but high spec stadium for Antrim. Ravenhill is 18k which is pretty small but whatever level the county is at its time for the GAA to stop building cheap empty stadiums so the new Casement should have both the capacity and hospitality facilities of a proper stadium.
I hope you are not calling me the empty vessel because I have outlined that I am very satisfied with many places and solutions. It's only one very specific thing I don't like.
Where did I say 'empty'?
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