This article is from page 71 of the 2011-12-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 71 JPG
PLANS and costings for the redevelopment of the main stand at Cusack Park are being drawn up by architects as the Clare County Board’s initial response to the recent health and safety audit that has reduced the ground’s capacity by over 10,000.
Board chairman Michael O’Neill told delegates to Thursday’s annual Convention that Horgan, Lynch and Company from Cork have been employed by the board to draw up new plans for the redevelopment of the 75-year-old seat of Clare GAA after the recent Slattery Report reduced the capacity to 14,864.
O’Neill made his comments on foot of a motion that was tabled by St Joseph’s Miltown delegate, Noel Walsh, which called for the county board to appoint a new sub-committee that would address the reconstruction of the main stand.
“The ground is becoming a little bit more dilapidated, particularly the main stand,” said former Munster Council chairman, Walsh. “It was decided back in Fr Mac’s time to do something about it, but it’s a problem, a perennial problem that there’s no money to do it. I understand that it was decided to sell a section of ground to refurbish the main stand,” he added.
“We are where we are with Cusack Park,” interjected chairman Michael O’Neill.
“The point I am making that it was eight years ago that the county committee had decided to go ahead and do that – they had decided unanimously to do that. For some reason it didn’t happen,” responded Walsh.
“Despite the fact that there is a shortage of money – plans should be drawn up with people who do that down in cork , Horgan and Lynch should be asked to put forward plans.”
“I don’t want to cut across you,” interjected O’Neill. “Can I outline that that (employing Horgan/Lynch) is in progress at the minute. Two years ago we would have met all the relevant authorities here in Clare. Our capacity was something in the region of 25,000/27,000 people.
“Nobody had any disagreement with that. There is no problem, in my opinion with having 25,000/27,000 over there. We have to carry out works there. We have a fair idea at this stage about what they are. We haven’t them costed yet, but that will certainly be done in the not too distant future,” the chairman added.
“If our capacity reaches a certain minimum size we would be in a very weak position when it comes getting high profile games like All-Ireland under 21 semi-finals, or big Munster championship games,” warned Walsh.
“I remember in 1993, 19000 attended Clare against Cork in senior football. The Clare football team wouldn’t attract that attendance now, but you never know. If the capacity is that low we won’t be able to enter into a home and away arrangement in senior hurling either,” he added.
“The capacity is more than 12,000,” countered O’Neill. “It’s capable of taking nearly 15,000. We need to put in extra turnstiles. It wouldn’t take an awful lot to bring it up to 20,000, but certainly to bring it up to 25,000 would take a fair bit of money. That’s where we’re at at the moment. All the things that you talk about are in situ at the moment – we are in discussions with Horgan/Lynch,” added O’Neill.
“I would like to see the report of Horgan/Lynch at a board meeting during the year,” responded Walsh. “I go back to the time of Brendan Vaughan’s time in the 1970s. There was very little money around in ’78 when he set up a committee and he got debenture loans – we got a wonderful county ground at that time that was superior to any other county ground in the country at that time,” he added.
During Mr Walsh’s three-year term as Munster Council chairman from 1995 to 1997, he secured substantial funding for a pilot project to erect floodlights at Cusack Park.
However, Clare GAA turned down opportunity to be the first ground in the province to have floodlights, with the grant aid totalling around £100,000 being grabbed by the Kerry County Board for Austin Stack Park in Tralee.