Pairc Ui Chaoimh re-development

blue note

ShamoBuc wrote: »

But I don't think it was an opportunity missed at all. Having a compact stadium of 25k for example would simply mean that there could Never be a Munster final ever again in Cork. That is simply not an option and rightly so.
Plenty of league games in páirc in rinn for a better atmosphere if needed.

Waterford v tip, limerick or clare is certainly suitable as a neutral venue.

I don't really understand people going on about issues with traffic and parking. These issues were there for the last number of years, they were never going to be addressed or changed unless the páirc was built somewhere different. As mentioned before in this thread, go to any stadium for an attendance of 45k and you have issues, plain and simple. Thurles is a bottleneck with traffic jams for hours after any game. I got a bus from Anfield to the city centre after a match, 45 mins it Took, you can walk it in about 30-35 mins.

Waterford vs Tipp is the only suitable pairing for a neutral venue. Thurles is far more suitable for Waterford, Clare and Limerick. And it's also useful for Cork home championship games with counties who they have a home and away agreement with.

The issues with traffic and parking are one of the reasons that people didn't like Cork as a venue before (the other big one was the uncomfortable stadium). The stadium I believe is very nice now, but the traffic and parking issues are far worse than Thurles / Croke Park from my experience and from talking to others about going to games there. In fact, I don't know why I'm qualifying that statement - traffic and parking are much worse in Cork than in Thurles / Croke Park.

It is nice that you'll have home games and Munster finals there, but sure I'd like home games and Munster finals in Waterford too and I'm sure Clare people would be the same. That doesn't mean that we should have six stadiums big enough for it! In reality two stadiums of that size would be plenty for the province considering how many games of that size are played each year. Each of the other counties having grounds similar to Tullamore / Nowlan Park would be the goal after that - really nice stadiums that would be pretty full for league and championship games.

The money that was wasted on this is nothing short of disgraceful. And it hasn't gotten anything like the criticism it deserved. I thought we'd at least get a few articles on it when the EU wanted an investigation into it's justification, but that seemed to just disappear. I'm angry about it as a tax payer and a GAA member and from talking to a taxi man down in Cork he seemed to have no idea that this was costing the Cork GAA people a lot of money. The county board are just plain dishonest about that and that also makes me angry!

blue note

ShamoBuc wrote: »

Thurles is a bottleneck with traffic jams for hours after any game.

Sorry, I just noticed this line after I posted my reply. That's completely untrue. I've been going to Thurles for 20 years and have never taken hours to get out of the town. In fact in recent years I've gotten out in no time after getting to my car (I'd typically park a bit after the Anner).

One of the reasons I like going to Thurles is because the traffic moves after the games.

SusieBlue

I'm a resident in the area and I can categorically say parking is an issue. Cars were dumped in any available spot with no consideration for those living nearby. I saw many neighbours blocked into their driveways by match goers. One day we had to park a 25 minute walk from our house because we couldn't even get to our own house, the road was closed!

ShamoBuc

WhiteRoses wrote: »

I'm a resident in the area and I can categorically say parking is an issue. Cars were dumped in any available spot with no consideration for those living nearby. I saw many neighbours blocked into their driveways by match goers. One day we had to park a 25 minute walk from our house because we couldn't even get to our own house, the road was closed!

Parking is if course a huge issue for locals and rightly so. But it has been a problem for donkeys years, a new stadium was never going to change that. Cars should not be allowed park in the vicinity on match day, apart from locals obviously.

blue note wrote: »

Sorry, I just noticed this line after I posted my reply. That's completely untrue. I've been going to Thurles for 20 years and have never taken hours to get out of the town. In fact in recent years I've gotten out in no time after getting to my car (I'd typically park a bit after the Anner).

One of the reasons I like going to Thurles is because the traffic moves after the games.

Hours might have been an exaggeration but it took me 55mins to get onto the dublin road from thurles after the Munster final thus year and I was parked close enough to the Anner.

Also how much of a walk is it from the Anner to the pitch? Park the same distance away from the páirc and traffic is not as bad. The problem is people wanting to park down by the páirc and expecting to get away quickly.
Anyway, I'm off down the X......parking will be a bítch tonight

Shedite27

Impressive testing of the floodlights last night....


https://twitter.com/libertygrill/status/913485523007787009

ShamoBuc

They looked fcúcked to me, you couldn't play a game with lights like that

salmocab

Those lights look great, the LEDs might mean they can be utilised for concerts which would be brilliant

KCAccidental

jaysus I hope they don't use the strobe setting too much. Half of Montenotte will have seizures.

Roger Hassenforder

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/push-to-name-pairc-ui-chaoimh-stand-after-jack-lynch-460679.html

I see the County Council want to name the new stand Jack Lynch/or other subject to vote.

I'd prefer Michael Collins stand

Any other suggestions?

Standy McStandFace...

qhe0i9zvfgdou8

Roger Hassenforder wrote:

I'd prefer Michael Collins stand

How many all Ireland medals does Michael have

yabadabado

Lia Famous Lavender wrote: »

How many all Ireland medals does Michael have

I believe the same amount as the man whom the stadium is named after.

Doltanian

Jack Lynch was a Fianna Fail traitor who turned his back on the Irish in the North, Collins was a true patriot, it should be the Michael Collins Stand.

The_Kew_Tour

JBM stand?

No politics, although his son played a Foreign game, some of you will rule him out on that

Roger Hassenforder

yabadabado wrote: »

I believe the same amount as the man whom the stadium is named after.

Ooooch
Well played!

whisky_galore

Doltanian wrote: »

Jack Lynch was a Fianna Fail traitor who turned his back on the Irish in the North, Collins was a true patriot, it should be the Michael Collins Stand.

Already has a barracks and a bridge named after him,

Roger Hassenforder

whisky_galore wrote: »

Already has a barracks and a bridge named after him,

And the tunnel

clerk

Was down in the premium section for a look around. It's a class set up. The views of the pitch are superb no matter where you are sitting in that section. The function part is very impressive. They're going to rake it in off the corporate section. Plus there is parking for circa (and l'm guessing here) 400 vehicles so it's perfect for a function. Would be absolutely class to be in there on a big match day. It's at a similar level to Croke Park but the pitch view is better.

Noticed on Sunday that they have a tier on the City end terrace that allows people to walk all the way across the front of the terrace which makes for easy movement, similar to the set up in front of the main stand in independent park. Also on Sunday for whatever reason (and it's the same this Sunday to the best of my knowledge) that they only opened up the first tier of the main stand, which meant it was packed for kickoff of the first game.

For Sunday you'd be probably better off going to the other stand as you will get up higher for a view. A lot of people went to the main stand for a nosey but it was only the first tier open so it was all the one. There seemed to be little or no one in the Premium level. Why they kept the top tier closed l have no idea.

The seats are a massive improvement. Proper adult seats now.

Overall it's very impressive to be honest.

Cape Clear

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/push-to-name-pairc-ui-chaoimh-stand-after-jack-lynch-460679.html

I see the County Council want to name the new stand Jack Lynch/or other subject to vote.

I'd prefer Michael Collins stand

Any other suggestions?

Standy McStandFace...

The Dave Barry or Dinny Allen stand surely.

whisky_galore

Roger Hassenforder wrote: »

And the tunnel

Was referring to Collins, not JL.

munchkin_utd

clerk wrote: »

<snip>There seemed to be little or no one in the Premium level. Why they kept the top tier closed l have no idea.
<snip>

if you do open it then you need that many more stewards during the game, staff a shop and whatnot upstairs and after the game you have to clean up, which you can save on if you just dont open it in the first place.

JP Liz V1

The Pope invited next year

Shedite27

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

The Pope invited next year

What game?

JP Liz V1

Shedite27 wrote: »

What game?

To headline his own concert titled I got friends in high places

GavRedKing

No hope of hosting a RWC game now anyway.

Fabio

I didn't think it was great considering €35 million of public money was spent on it.

tototoe

I didn't think it was a great stadium either tbh, but I've only been once.

namloc1980

Fabio wrote: »

I didn't think it was great considering €35 million of public money was spent on it.

tototoe wrote: »

I didn't think it was a great stadium either tbh, but I've only been once.

Honestly what do people expect from a €70m stadium. Genuinely curious what would you expect?

tototoe

namloc1980 wrote: »

Honestly what do people expect from a €70m stadium. Genuinely curious what would you expect?

Half decent facilites for food and drink, half decent sight lines to the corner of the field from my seat, a speaker system that was clear enough to know what was actually being said by the announcer, a roof that might keep you dry in the rain in your seat in the stand would be realistic expectations from a stadium that was pretty much built from scratch. They had no land or houses to buy either.

It's poor location is something they can't change really.

GavRedKing

namloc1980 wrote: »

Honestly what do people expect from a €70m stadium. Genuinely curious what would you expect?

My main gripe is that they knocked both stands behind the goal to replace them with near exact replicas with better access to come and go (which was badly needed, I'll admit). They then seemingly dumped the budget into one show piece stand.

It looks like there was no joined up thinking and they went with 1 massive stand, a stand opposite it that looks good and 2 tinpot all standing sections behind the goals. I dont think an all seated, fully covered stadium was doable within the budget but I dont think they made enough of what they had.

It doesnt matter now though, its done and it wont be chaning anytime soon.

Shedite27

I think they focused the money on what was going to be used. The main stand, the conference facilities will repay themselves over time. The terraces are used a handful of times a year and in the end of the day, they do what they're supposed to.