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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 12:24:14 GMT
WORK on Austin Stack Park, which will commence at the end of May, is set to cost between €750,000 to €800,000, according to the Chairman of the Kerry County Board. The development work was approved at a meeting of the county committee last night in Tralee. Speaking to Jerry O’Sullivan on Radio Kerry’s ‘Kerry Today’ programme this morning, Chairman Pat O’Sullivan said the GAA have half the money and he will be meeting members of Tralee Chamber Alliance and Tralee area councillors on Tuesday afternoon about fundraising for the rest of the project. He said the laying of a new sand-based pitch will ensure Tralee will not lose out on any more games due to bad weather and it will be brought up to the same standard as Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney. “We’re hoping that the people of Tralee will row in behind it,” he told Radio Kerry. “At the moment, in our National League games programme, there are four [home] matches. We play two [in Tralee] and two [in Killarney] and if there’s three games we play two in Tralee and one in Killarney. But last year, because the weather was so bad, we had to move the Derry match to Killarney and Tralee lost out,” he said. He said the work will ensure Tralee does not lose out again on such games. In terms of the 2015 county hurling championship, he said he is hoping many of the games will be played in Abbeydorney, with the venue for the final to be decided at a later date. He also said it is hoped Austin Stack Park will be ready in March/April next year and there will be new floodlights in place when it re-opens. traleetoday.ie/austin-stack-park-work-to-cost-up-to-e800000/ |
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Post by baurtregaum on Apr 1, 2015 18:31:20 GMT
Any idea of what it might look like after?
I know they plan to put terracing at the Mitchels end but is there any upgrade in facilities for spectators? I was there Sunday and there was a pretty cold wind coming in from the west.
People will rightly point out that the players facilities are more important but for a country with a temperate climate having open terraces at GAA grounds seems odd to me.
For a ground where most of the important games are played between September and April better shelter for spectators would make sense.
Apart from Pairc Ui Rinn and Parnell Park I can't think of any other ground that provide this standard. I'm not looking for the Aviva here but some bit of shelter on terraces would be nice. .
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Post by southward on Apr 1, 2015 21:51:02 GMT
Any idea of what it might look like after? I know they plan to put terracing at the Mitchels end but is there any upgrade in facilities for spectators? I was there Sunday and there was a pretty cold wind coming in from the west. People will rightly point out that the players facilities are more important but for a country with a temperate climate having open terraces at GAA grounds seems odd to me.
For a ground where most of the important games are played between September and April better shelter for spectators would make sense. Apart from Pairc Ui Rinn and Parnell Park I can't think of any other ground that provide this standard. I'm not looking for the Aviva here but some bit of shelter on terraces would be nice. . Dunno about that. I like the sideline terrace in ASP. Standing up, you can stamp your feet if it's cold and there's usually a bit of shelter in a decent sized crowd anyway. Plus it gets whatever sun there may be and a North wind, the coldest, goes over your head. By contrast, the covered stand is like the North Pole on the best of days. |
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Post by kerrygold on Apr 1, 2015 22:15:11 GMT
Any idea of what it might look like after? I know they plan to put terracing at the Mitchels end but is there any upgrade in facilities for spectators? I was there Sunday and there was a pretty cold wind coming in from the west. People will rightly point out that the players facilities are more important but for a country with a temperate climate having open terraces at GAA grounds seems odd to me.
For a ground where most of the important games are played between September and April better shelter for spectators would make sense. Apart from Pairc Ui Rinn and Parnell Park I can't think of any other ground that provide this standard. I'm not looking for the Aviva here but some bit of shelter on terraces would be nice. . Dunno about that. I like the sideline terrace in ASP. Standing up, you can stamp your feet if it's cold and there's usually a bit of shelter in a decent sized crowd anyway. Plus it gets whatever sun there may be and a North wind, the coldest, goes over your head. By contrast, the covered stand is like the North Pole on the best of days. I'd take "Soul Less Bowl" any day at Stacks Park. A compact 10-15k all seater circular enclosed covered stand with a retractable roof, high quality steak burger barbees and nice socialising facilities embedded. Think of what you could with soul less Bowl, the event centre, with the retractable roof, in terms of generating finance. |
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Post by onlykerry on Apr 2, 2015 10:02:01 GMT
Number 1 objective for ASP is to fix the pitch and make it playable and available more often. Perhaps the plan is still to sell up and move out when the right offer comes along or is it to be a long term facility - I suspect the long term plan is to move to a state of the art facility when the right offer comes in for the current venue. Remember we were ready to move on out until the financial crash put a halt. Parking and space to do a proper development are not great at current location - why a site at or near the IT was not bought and developed as the county centre of excellence with a 15k seater stadium is beyond me.
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Post by buck02 on Apr 2, 2015 11:35:40 GMT
New lights, a new pitch, new turnstiles and maybe a terrace behind the Horans goal as that part of the ground wouldnt meet the standards should Kerry need to play a championship game there in the future. That would be the guts of the €800k gone?
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Jigz84
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Post by Jigz84 on Apr 2, 2015 11:59:15 GMT
A lick of paint to the Stand and Office Buildings wouldn't go astray either, it's an eyesore at the moment.
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Post by baurtregaum on Apr 2, 2015 13:54:04 GMT
I know the place is limited enough in what they can do to it but I would hate to see it being sold. It is in an ideal place for Saturday night league games which bring a bit of business to the town. It has a great history too. It must be one of the oldest Sportsgrounds in the country.
I'm just saying that spectator facilities at County grounds could be improved a little. I wouldn't go overboard worth it though!
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Post by givehimaball on Apr 2, 2015 16:19:51 GMT
New lights, a new pitch, new turnstiles and maybe a terrace behind the Horans goal as that part of the ground wouldnt meet the standards should Kerry need to play a championship game there in the future. That would be the guts of the €800k gone? That doesn't sound like too much different from what the lads across the border are doing to Parc Ui Chaoimh - except they are paying 100 times the cost. |
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Post by onlykerry on Apr 2, 2015 16:32:21 GMT
New lights, a new pitch, new turnstiles and maybe a terrace behind the Horans goal as that part of the ground wouldnt meet the standards should Kerry need to play a championship game there in the future. That would be the guts of the €800k gone? That doesn't sound like too much different from what the lads across the border are doing to Parc Ui Chaoimh - except they are paying 100 times the cost. Extra cost is probably a combination of danger money and higher transport costs getting everything and everybody to the back of beyonds where Pairc Ui Chaoimh is located. Now that is an example of putting a stadium in a daft location - but then they built their airport at the place in the area most prone to fog...... |
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Post by glengael on Apr 3, 2015 10:10:09 GMT
They might consider doing some modernising of the scoreboard as well. Maybe go mad and put one at each of end of the pitch.
Mind you, a nice few bob was spent in Killarney 5 or 6 years ago and they neglected to put a scoreboard on the nice shiny new dressing room building so maybe I'm a bit being ambitious.
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mossie
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Post by mossie on Apr 6, 2015 22:29:52 GMT
The figures mentioned seem big for just a pitch upgrade?
I am a bit baffled where all the money will come from! Money was put into Fitzgerald Stadium, the Currans Project is in the pipeline and now Austin Stack Park. Think a few bob was spent on Caherslee as well.
Venues for county championship games will be interesting. I guess Fitzgeerakd stadium will score big times especially for the final stages of the football.
Back in last development of Tralee, a load of County Hurling Championship games were played in Causeway. Cracking games and big crowds as well. The 1990 county final was played there. Pitch is in poor shape there now so that might rule it out. Abbeydorney is mentioned for some of the 2015 games. Lerrig ( Kilmoyley's pitch) must also be in the shake up. A fine hurling venue and has hosted Munster club hurling involving Kilmoyley, munster club football and county senior football championship games involving Ardfert and St Brendans.
I wonder will we see the County Hurling Final played in Killarney? It would be novel
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Post by givehimaball on Apr 7, 2015 12:17:12 GMT
I have heard that Tralee businesses have been approached for a serious chunk of the planned funding for Austin Stack Park, but that the response was fairly negative overall.
General line seems to be that the amount being looked for is far too high when compared to the likely benefit for businesses.
Anyone hear anything more on this?
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Post by kerrybhoy06 on Apr 7, 2015 12:27:30 GMT
I have heard that Tralee businesses have been approached for a serious chunk of the planned funding for Austin Stack Park, but that the response was fairly negative overall. General line seems to be that the amount being looked for is far too high when compared to the likely benefit for businesses. Anyone hear anything more on this? Have heard the same and the negative reaction seems reasonable as the amount being looked for is very high- could only be justified if you were going to have the odd Munster final in Tralee |
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Post by onlykerry on Apr 7, 2015 12:43:09 GMT
Did the Kerry GAA get a non refundable deposit from the developers that were proposing to buy ASP and develop new grounds at the Racetrack? Rumour at the time was that money changed hands - I could be 100% wrong - anybody know anything. If yes then this money should be used to fund proposed works. In No then back to square 1.
Would need to get some guarantees about matches to get local support.
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Post by givehimaball on Apr 7, 2015 13:42:12 GMT
Did the Kerry GAA get a non refundable deposit from the developers that were proposing to buy ASP and develop new grounds at the Racetrack? Rumour at the time was that money changed hands - I could be 100% wrong - anybody know anything. If yes then this money should be used to fund proposed works. In No then back to square 1. Would need to get some guarantees about matches to get local support.That stuff you mentioned about the developers does sound familiar - may have only been talk at the time though. I doubt that any guarantees about matches would do much to in the way of increasing support- some businesses saying that matches being on in the Park made little or no difference to their takings and some say it hurt their business due to issues with parking. Be interesting to see how it plays out. |
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Post by baurtregaum on Apr 7, 2015 19:54:56 GMT
Did the Kerry GAA get a non refundable deposit from the developers that were proposing to buy ASP and develop new grounds at the Racetrack? Rumour at the time was that money changed hands - I could be 100% wrong - anybody know anything. If yes then this money should be used to fund proposed works. In No then back to square 1. Would need to get some guarantees about matches to get local support.That stuff you mentioned about the developers does sound familiar - may have only been talk at the time though. I doubt that any guarantees about matches would do much to in the way of increasing support- some businesses saying that matches being on in the Park made little or no difference to their takings and some say it hurt their business due to issues with parking. Be interesting to see how it plays out. I suppose it depends on the game. A Sunday afternoon game might put some people off coming into the town with the crowds and traffic . Mayo played a Saturday night game there a few years ago. They seem to have a large travelling support so a night game would be great for pubs, b&bs etc, you would presume. Moving it out to Ballybeggan would be pretty nonsensical and of no benefit to the town businesses. Thank god that never got off the ground. The best venues are centrally located. E.g Killarney vs the Pairc |
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Post by veteran on Apr 7, 2015 21:23:27 GMT
I have heard that Tralee businesses have been approached for a serious chunk of the planned funding for Austin Stack Park, but that the response was fairly negative overall. General line seems to be that the amount being looked for is far too high when compared to the likely benefit for businesses. Anyone hear anything more on this? I am that surprised to hear this. I am afraid the same lack of support obtained some years ago when the local business people and indeed Tralee folk in general gave only feeble support to the Tralee races, with the result that the races were eventually lost to the town. When that happened the local people said it was a crying shame that a meeting with so much history could not be preserved. Crying over spilt milk springs to mind .Closing the stable door after the horse had bolted to Killarney might be more apt. |
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Post by kerrygold on Apr 7, 2015 22:12:20 GMT
I have heard that Tralee businesses have been approached for a serious chunk of the planned funding for Austin Stack Park, but that the response was fairly negative overall. General line seems to be that the amount being looked for is far too high when compared to the likely benefit for businesses. Anyone hear anything more on this? I am that surprised to hear this. I am afraid the same lack of support obtained some years ago when the local business people and indeed Tralee folk in general gave only feeble support to the Tralee races, with the result that the races were eventually lost to the town. When that happened the local people said it was a crying shame that a meeting with so much history could not be preserved. Crying over spilt milk springs to mind .Closing the stable door after the horse had bolted to Killarney might be more apt. It is open to debate if the catering businesses in Tralee could actually make a meaningful contribution due to hard times experienced during the recession. |
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Post by baurtregaum on Apr 7, 2015 22:50:41 GMT
Fair point KG, maybe the timing is not great but to borrow a well known statement from a Hollywood film about a different sport "build it and they will come".
Better facilities will lead to better crowds and a bigger return in the long term. People need to look ten or fifteen years ahead at least with this type of development. People need to look 10 or 15 years ahead with this type of project, something we don't have a great track record of doing in this country at times.
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Post by givehimaball on Apr 8, 2015 15:51:24 GMT
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Post by baurtregaum on Apr 8, 2015 19:28:36 GMT
Donal Og said it best about that redevelopment - Thurles is the home of hurling and Killarney the home of football and another big stadium in Munster is not needed. It may, just may, fill to capacity once every 5 - 6 years for a hurling final. A nice 35,000 capacity venue built to a high standard would be preferable you would think? I get the feeling that our neighbours are keeping up with the Jones' a little here and common sense has gone out the window. |
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Post by kerrygold on Apr 8, 2015 21:45:55 GMT
Personally I think the langers are spot on developing a state of the art stadium in Cork city. No reason why it shouldn't be used for other sports, as is Croker, in the second largest city in Ireland.
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Post by onlykerry on Aug 19, 2015 16:21:04 GMT
Gate of Austin Stack Park was open recently and I stuck me head in - lovely new green pitch has been laid but no sign of other work proceeding. Anybody know what the state of play is - will it be back in play soon or are they still hoping to do other works?
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Post by baurtregaum on Aug 19, 2015 17:07:53 GMT
Gate of Austin Stack Park was open recently and I stuck me head in - lovely new green pitch has been laid but no sign of other work proceeding. Anybody know what the state of play is - will it be back in play soon or are they still hoping to do other works? Nothing in the media recently anyway. It was to be closed for about 10 months so should be out of commission until March or later AFAIK. |
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Post by buck02 on Aug 19, 2015 21:47:33 GMT
I was in getting tickets recently and looked out the window of the pavilion and the only change from what I could see was the new pitch that was laid. If they were putting up new structures for floodlights then they would need planning so its likely they will just upgrade the existing lights over the winter.
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