Rugby World Cup bid - Castlebar/Westport involvement?

RED L4 0TH

McHale Park mentioned in the Indo as well as the IT.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/world-cup/here-are-the-12-stadiums-likely-to-be-used-in-irelands-rugby-world-cup-2023-bid-30802033.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/gaa-funded-for-stadium-upgrades-in-rugby-world-cup-bid-1.2026383

signostic

Elvery`s McHale Park could look like this with 4 stands in 2023.

Dudda

signostic wrote: »

Elvery`s McHale Park could look like this with 4 stands in 2023.

Not a hope IMO. Sure you know well they'll mess it up somehow. That new stand they built in McHale park is one of the few major stands of it’s size built in the last few years that has columns obstructing the views of spectators. It looks like a large cattle shed compared to some of the other modern stands and stadium refurbishments. They also messed up the floodlights and the press area which had huge trouble with planning permission and objections during construction. I think they were built differently to what they got planning permission for and McHale road residents objected.
While as a stadium it's adequate it's by no means inspiring when it could be.

signostic

Currently.......hard sitting!

kupus

I dont know why they didnt turn the stand around, and use the top pitch as the main pitch. For all the work that went on in there it still looks like a stadium from soviet russia during the 70's.

Cosmo Kramer

So, McHale Park has made the long-list of venues for the Rugby World Cup bid. Good news, but as it is a long-list it seems that some of the venues may be dropped before the tournament even if Ireland wins the bid to host.

It would be good to see some kind of local initiative to promote the county as a host venue. I'm not sure exactly what form that would take but the potential benefits of being part of the tournament would be huge. Hopefully it is turned onto something that people locally could really get behind.

irishgeo

Cosmo Kramer wrote: »

So, McHale Park has made the long-list of venues for the Rugby World Cup bid. Good news, but as it is a long-list it seems that some of the venues may be dropped before the tournament even if Ireland wins the bid to host.

It would be good to see some kind of local initiative to promote the county as a host venue. I'm not sure exactly what form that would take but the potential benefits of being part of the tournament would be huge. Hopefully it is turned onto something that people locally could really get behind.

the lack of hotels in castlebar could be an issue but im sure westport might cover it.

the ease of access to the place is a plus for castlebar.

considering the nightmare that is salthill to get in and out off.#

but galway has the connacht crowd. hopefully if connacht continue to do well it could be good for the bid.

Fr Tod Umptious

irishgeo wrote: »

the lack of hotels in castlebar could be an issue but im sure westport might cover it.

the ease of access to the place is a plus for castlebar.

considering the nightmare that is salthill to get in and out off.#

but galway has the connacht crowd. hopefully if connacht continue to do well it could be good for the bid.

Galway will always be selected before Castlebar, regardless of the location of the ground, it's a bigger city, more hotel rooms etc.

Galway is also more likely to get a higher profile game than Castlebar, for the simple fact that it's Galway.

A low profile game is not much use to Mayo form a economy POV, it's more that likely to attract a local crowd anyway, the high profile games that will attract the visitors will go to the high profile locations like Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Galway.

Places like Castlebar are just there to make up the numbers.

signostic

12 stadia named 2 to be dropped...
Aviva Stadium (Dublin), Thomond Park (Limerick), Ravenhill (Belfast) RDS (Dublin).
Croke Park (Dublin), Pairc Ui Chaoimh (Cork), Casement Park (Belfast), Fitzgerald Stadium (Kerry), Pearse Stadium (Galway), McHale Park (Mayo), Nowlan Park (Kilkenny) and Celtic Park (Derry)

High on the list to be dropped would be Derry and Castlebar imo

nuac

Mayo County Council should be asked to lead in putting a fact sheet together on what the county has to offer.

Copies asap to whoever decides

NB What is the present and anticipated broadband situation?

oscarBravo

nuac wrote: »

NB What is the present and anticipated broadband situation?

McHale Park can have up to 10Gb/s with 6-8 weeks' notice (assuming they're prepared to pay for it). Broadband isn't a problem.

Fr Tod Umptious

signostic wrote: »

12 stadia named 2 to be dropped...
Aviva Stadium (Dublin), Thomond Park (Limerick), Ravenhill (Belfast) RDS (Dublin).
Croke Park (Dublin), Pairc Ui Chaoimh (Cork), Casement Park (Belfast), Fitzgerald Stadium (Kerry), Pearse Stadium (Galway), McHale Park (Mayo), Nowlan Park (Kilkenny) and Celtic Park (Derry)

High on the list to be dropped would be Derry and Castlebar imo

I don't understand why they will be dropping 2.

England had 13, NZ had 13 but reduced it to 12 after the earthquake, and Japan is going with 12.

Why does Paddy think he'll get away with 10 ?

Is one being given away to Wales or Scotland for a vote or ate they worried about spreading it too thin on the ground county wide ?

yop

oscarBravo wrote: »

McHale Park can have up to 10Gb/s with 6-8 weeks' notice (assuming they're prepared to pay for it). Broadband isn't a problem.

Wow thats gas, I just changed the name of house to "McHale Park". See ye in 2 months so.

oscarBravo

Pay careful attention to the bit in the parentheses...! :pac:

yop

oscarBravo wrote: »

Pay careful attention to the bit in the parentheses...! :pac:

Ah its fine, my parents don't live here.

"So me the bandwidth"

whitey1

The fact that McHale park is right next to the train station is a major plus. I haven't been to a game in Pearce Stadium in years, but I heard it's an absolute nightmare to get in and out of

signostic

whitey1 wrote: »

The fact that McHale park is right next to the train station is a major plus. I haven't been to a game in Pearce Stadium in years, but I heard it's an absolute nightmare to get in and out of

Galway will always be given preference over Castlebar, its the spiritual home of Connacht rugby and taking the sport from there to a GAA stronghold would be sacrilege in the rugby supporters eyes..

naughto

signostic wrote: »

Galway will always be given preference over Castlebar, its the spiritual home of Connacht rugby and taking the sport from there to a GAA stronghold would be sacrilege in the rugby supporters eyes..

But with kenny from Castlebar it would swing in his favour god knows he has done f1uck all for the town

farmchoice

signostic wrote: »

Galway will always be given preference over Castlebar, its the spiritual home of Connacht rugby and taking the sport from there to a GAA stronghold would be sacrilege in the rugby supporters eyes..

rugby has become pretty popular throughout connaught, in mayo there are vibrant clubs in ballina castlebar and westport to name but a few.

in fact i always though it would be a good idea for connaught rugby to start moving a few games around the province, castlebar, roscommon sligo, even carrick on shannon they are all much better grounds then the sports ground .

promote the game all over the province in the long run its the only way to survive. its mainly a winter sport so wont really be in competition with the gaa for crowds, everyone's a winner!

The Lost Sheep

farmchoice wrote: »

rugby has become pretty popular throughout connaught, in mayo there are vibrant clubs in ballina castlebar and westport to name but a few.

in fact i always though it would be a good idea for connaught rugby to start moving a few games around the province, castlebar, roscommon sligo, even carrick on shannon they are all much better grounds then the sports ground .

promote the game all over the province in the long run its the only way to survive. its mainly a winter sport so wont really be in competition with the gaa for crowds, everyone's a winner!

I dont see it ever happening as affects so much more if you were to move connacht games around. Rugby has been strong in many of those clubs for years and theyve strengthened considerably in recent years but moving games every year just isnt viable. Maybe a pre season game but not any more than that

nuac

I agree with Farmchoice.

While many clubs around Connacht have grown, and developed facilities, there is keen competition with other sports for players, sponsorship and investment.

We should not be Galway-centric about this. It would be good for the game to give people outside Galway, including future players, the chance to see a variety of teams

farmchoice

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

I dont see it ever happening as affects so much more if you were to move connacht games around. Rugby has been strong in many of those clubs for years and theyve strengthened considerably in recent years but moving games every year just isnt viable. Maybe a pre season game but not any more than that

its a very simple thing to do, if Ireland can play the all blacks in Chicago connaught can move x number of games a year out of galway.
they dont have to of course but it seems like such a simple way of bringing it to the people and spreading the word, creating a buzz, perhaps the galway crew are afraid that if 20,000 people turn up in castlebar then they might find it very hard to justify going back to the sports ground!!!

Munster play games in both limerick and cork so its obviously doable and there is precedent.

The Lost Sheep

farmchoice wrote: »

its a very simple thing to do, if Ireland can play the all blacks in Chicago connaught can move x number of games a year out of galway.
they dont have to of course but it seems like such a simple way of bringing it to the people and spreading the word, creating a buzz, perhaps the galway crew are afraid that if 20,000 people turn up in castlebar then they might find it very hard to justify going back to the sports ground!!!

Munster play games in both limerick and cork so its obviously doable and there is precedent.

Its not at all that simple and Munster have always played in Limerick and Cork and they are both cities with substantial history of game played and can support crowds going.
Where exactly do you plan on getting more games played that would justify moving pro12 games?
They spread the word through training sessions, open days as moving games just isnt feasible bar maybe a pre season game

farmchoice

i dont understand what you mean by not feasible because unless i'm missing something it seems incredibly simple and entirely feasible.

firstly you call up the gaa and propose having two pro 12 games next year in castlebar, they will almost certainly agree to this as they are mad for money, you agree dates that suit all, this will be easy as the gaa season is more or less finished by October.

secondly you agree a fee to be paid to Mayo Gaa, as the ground has a capacity of more then 3 times the present connaught ground connaught are going to make a fortune out of these games so agreeing this figure will again be relatively straight forward.

thirdly promote it like hell, sell the tickets, friday night lights!!! carnival fireworks the lot

finally line the pitch turn on the flood lights open the gates and watch connaught play whoever in front of more the 20,000 people ( this will be easily attainable )

everyone's a winner, whats the problem?
the worst thing that can happen is you dont get the crowds and end up with 10,000,12,000 more then existing home games anyway.

nuac

Farmview's case for a match in Castlebar is enhanced by the ease of access to the pitch there compared to the chaotic state of Galway city traffic.

It will be soon easier to get into Galway city by boat from Cong rather than via Claregalway junction:)

farmchoice

nuac wrote: »

Farmview's case for a match in Castlebar is enhanced by the ease of access to the pitch there compared to the chaotic state of Galway city traffic.

It will be soon easier to get into Galway city by boat from Cong rather than via Claregalway junction:)

ya another good point.

connaught rugby is at a crossroads now, after years of barely hanging on its starting to stand on its own two feet but it will only be able to sustain this in the long term if it harnesses every bit of support it can get. galway city is not enough or near enough to sustain that, it has to become a province wide movement and to do that it needs to think outside the box. i know loads of people, Gaa people, who now ''follow'' the rugby team, but they are unlikely to go to an actual game as it stands at the moment, i truly believe that if you held a game in castlebar next year you would easily get 20,000 people at it.

the sports-ground is not an easy or comfortable place to go especially with kids and especially if you are an occasional supporter.

connaught people are incredible supporters of their teams, the support the gaa teams get is actually unparalleled when compared to the populations of the counties.
if you could harness even a fraction of this connaught rugby has a great future, but you need to realize that the traditional ruby community is not large enough to achieve this it has to expand and it can with a bit of imagination.

The Lost Sheep

farmchoice wrote: »

i dont understand what you mean by not feasible because unless i'm missing something it seems incredibly simple and entirely feasible.

firstly you call up the gaa and propose having two pro 12 games next year in castlebar, they will almost certainly agree to this as they are mad for money, you agree dates that suit all, this will be easy as the gaa season is more or less finished by October.

secondly you agree a fee to be paid to Mayo Gaa, as the ground has a capacity of more then 3 times the present connaught ground connaught are going to make a fortune out of these games so agreeing this figure will again be relatively straight forward.

thirdly promote it like hell, sell the tickets, friday night lights!!! carnival fireworks the lot

finally line the pitch turn on the flood lights open the gates and watch connaught play whoever in front of more the 20,000 people (this will be easily attainable)

everyone's a winner, whats the problem?
the worst thing that can happen is you dont get the crowds and end up with 10,000,12,000 more then existing home games anyway.

There is no hope of Connacht getting 10000/12000 at any venues
That the venue is 3 times bigger doesnt mean Connacht would get crowds to fill or near fill it.
Have you been to Connacht games in the Sportsground. Demand doesnt exist for such a big ground for games.
How is 20000 easily attainable? I steward at Connacht games. Involved in sport at so many levels. 20000 isnt in any way attainable for Connacht

farmchoice wrote: »

ya another good point.

connaught rugby is at a crossroads now, after years of barely hanging on its starting to stand on its own two feet but it will only be able to sustain this in the long term if it harnesses every bit of support it can get. galway city is not enough or near enough to sustain that, it has to become a province wide movement and to do that it needs to think outside the box. i know loads of people, Gaa people, who now ''follow'' the rugby team, but they are unlikely to go to an actual game as it stands at the moment, i truly believe that if you held a game in castlebar next year you would easily get 20,000 people at it.

the sports-ground is not an easy or comfortable place to go especially with kids and especially if you are an occasional supporter.

connaught people are incredible supporters of their teams, the support the gaa teams get is actually unparalleled when compared to the populations of the counties.
if you could harness even a fraction of this connaught rugby has a great future, but you need to realize that the traditional ruby community is not large enough to achieve this it has to expand and it can with a bit of imagination.

Connacht dont focus on galway city alone. If you think they do you have never been at a game. Connacht are doing huge work to bring sport to all areas of the province but moving pro12 games isnt the answer. Sportsground isnt an ideal ground but moving isnt the answer.

farmchoice

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

There is no hope of Connacht getting 10000/12000 at any venues
That the venue is 3 times bigger doesnt mean Connacht would get crowds to fill or near fill it.
Have you been to Connacht games in the Sportsground. Demand doesnt exist for such a big ground for games.
How is 20000 easily attainable? I steward at Connacht games. Involved in sport at so many levels. 20000 isnt in any way attainable for Connacht

Connacht dont focus on galway city alone. If you think they do you have never been at a game. Connacht are doing huge work to bring sport to all areas of the province but moving pro12 games isnt the answer. Sportsground isnt an ideal ground but moving isnt the answer.

i know they dont ( just focus on galway)and i dont mean to run down anyone involved they have done a great job expanding the base.

im only suggesting giving it a try move two games next year and promote it like hell, you might be very surprised with the result you will get.

watch attendances at allianz league matches in mayo and roscommon this year, mayo alone are going to get hugh crowds 25k plus, there is a huge appetite for big sporting events and if rugby get out there they can tap into it.
the worst that can happen is it doesn't work out, but there is nothing to lose by trying, absolutely nothing.

oscarBravo

I can tell you this much: any game Connacht play in Castlebar, whether pre-season or Pro12, I'll be there with the other half. I've only made it to a couple of games in Galway, they're just a hassle to get to.

Westernyelp

oscarBravo wrote:

I can tell you this much: any game Connacht play in Castlebar, whether pre-season or Pro12, I'll be there with the other half. I've only made it to a couple of games in Galway, they're just a hassle to get to.

Me too