Money

[Mickmack]

Sportsground & RDS both get €10m redevelopment boosts
Updated / Friday, 10 Jan 2020 20:13
The Sportsground will be given a major face lift.

The Sportsground, home of Connacht Rugby, has received a €10m government boost for development, €10m will go towards revamping Leinster Rugby's home ground the RDS, while Meath GAA have been awarded €6.2m to modernise Páirc Tailteann as part of the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund.

Minister for Sport Shane Ross confirmed on Friday that a total of €77.4m has been dished out to 25 individual projects.



A total of €77.4m has been granted to 25 individual projects as part of the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund. @oflynnpaul reports #RTEsport


Connacht, Meath and the RDS are three of the biggest recipients, while just over €9.2m will go towards the construction of a high-performance athletics indoor training facility at the Cork Institute of Technology.

A high-performance training centre will be built as part of the Sportsground's redevelopment, with the stadium's capacity set to rise from 8,000 to 12,000.

The €10m allocated under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund has been matched with a further €10m commitment from the Government. The total cost for the Sportsground project is €30m.

In the RDS, whose main tenants are Leinster, a new two-tier grandstand will replace the existing Anglesea Stand and terrace, while Meath's plans to transform Páirc Tailteann with a 4,000-seater stand and new dressing-rooms has been aided.

Just over €2m has been allotted to help the construction of the Munster Centre of Excellence in Glanmire, Co Cork. The project is a partnership agreement between the FAI, Cork City FC trust FORAS, and Cork County Council.


The plans, first proposed in 2016, involve building a 20-acre complex that would act as training base for Cork City and provide playing and training pitches for underage teams across the whole province.

However, the €2m, the only funds announced for soccer, will not be transferred until the Government is "satisfied that all issues of concern around financial management and corporate governance at the Association have been resolved".

Over €8m has been granted to the construction of a Galway Regional Aquatic and Fitness Centre which would boast a pool capable of hosting National and International water polo and short course swimming events.



Two other GAA grounds have been awarded funding.

Walsh Park in Waterford (above) will receive €3,753,750 towards the building of a new seated stand and improvements to the dressing rooms.

A sum of €4,875,000 will go towards a 3,000-seater stand and new floodlights at St Conleth's Park in Newbridge.

You can view the full list of Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund

[Annascaultilidie]

Anyone watching the local government TD's FB will have seen truck loads of cash going to local sporting organisations.

I am broadly happy with this.

Without getting political, don't forget that all this cash comes from our pockets, our taxes, and not the government's pockets.

Occasionally the politicians speak as if they bequeath these monies to us.

Some headline wonga allocated in Cork.

www.echolive.ie/corknews/Government-announce-15m-funding-for-key-Cork-sporting-projects-743082e1-65ab-4471-8898-a50d21f31a59-ds

[kerrybhoy06]

I'd say the Tanaiste knows he's back to being in opposition after the next election so he's using this last opportunity to buy political capital

[Mickmack]

www.irishtimes.com/sport/government-withholds-fai-grant-for-cork-project-1.4135981

[Mickmack]

No mention of any cent going Kerrys way. Did no one apply?

[Annascaultilidie]

Jan 11, 2020 12:21:16 GMT Mickmack said:

No mention of any cent going Kerrys way. Did no one apply?

This is Kerry:

"Anyone watching the local government TD's FB will have seen truck loads of cash going to local sporting organisations."

[Mickmack]

Jan 12, 2020 9:03:12 GMT Annascaultilidie said:

Jan 11, 2020 12:21:16 GMT Mickmack said:

No mention of any cent going Kerrys way. Did no one apply?

This is Kerry:

"Anyone watching the local government TD's FB will have seen truck loads of cash going to local sporting organisations."

I went to the bother of reading the PDF on the official website. None of the 77m went to Kerry as far as i can see. What money are you referencing. I dont know what you are saying. Its ok to use more than 10 words in a post!

[Annascaultilidie]

Jan 13, 2020 10:01:32 GMT Mickmack said:

Jan 12, 2020 9:03:12 GMT Annascaultilidie said:

This is Kerry:

"Anyone watching the local government TD's FB will have seen truck loads of cash going to local sporting organisations."

I went to the bother of reading the PDF on the official website. None of the 77m went to Kerry as far as i can see. What money are you referencing. I dont know what you are saying. Its ok to use more than 10 words in a post!

Are you on Facebook?

[Mickmack]

Colm Keys

1
Kieran Leddy. Photo: Piaras Ó Mídheach / SPORTSFILE
A decline of €360,000 in revenue from the 2019 Munster Football Championship has hit the province's finances.

The annual convention takes place in Ennis on Friday night and will show a drop in excess of €200,000 in overall income to €5,354,127.

While the round robin hurling championship once again delivered - 237,007 attended the 10 games prior to the final - football suffered with just 18,265 paying into the Cork-Kerry final in Pairc Ui Chaoimh after attendances in the other four games fell by almost 50 per cent.

The Munster Hurling Championship generated €4.2m in revenue, up from €4.05m in 2018, the first year of the new format.


But the long shadow that Kerry have cast over the province in football - they have now won the last seven titles - is reflected in the gates which fell from €910,555 to €549,128.


In his report to the convention Munster chief executive Kieran Leddy (right) has cautioned that an increase in ticket prices could be on the cards to support infrastructural development.

"All grounds age and all need upgrades, either in the short or long-term. The Council may well need to look at increasing field rent amounts to help cover the costs associated with county ground and centre of excellence maintenance," he wrote.

"Ticket price increases may well be needed in order to fund this and other infrastructure projects in the province, as we also need to continue to provide the same level of funding to vital areas of activity, such as the club development grant scheme, employment of games development staff, funding of games development projects and so on."

Leddy also noted that two Munster counties, Cork and Tipperary ran deficits in 2019 which he described as "worrying." But he expressed confidence that both can return to surplus in 2020.

He also re-iterated the many warnings about the rising cost of preparing inter-county teams.

"Close on €8 million was spent by the counties of Munster in preparing their various inter-county teams in 2020, and that was up by €1.3m on the previous year. Clearly, this level of expenditure is unsustainable."


The convention will feature a vote for the treasurer's position being vacated by Cork's Pearse Murphy with experienced Kerry treasurer Dermot Lynch going head-to-head with Clare's John O'Sullivan.

Leddy welcomed the two reports launched in December, the Fixtures Task Force and the Talent Academy and Player Development review but was fearful about the impact that one of the Fixtures Task Force proposals might have on the provincial championships.

"They have put forward three proposals on the structure of the inter-county football championships, including retaining the status quo, redrawing the provincial football championship structure to see eight counties per competition, and moving the provincial championships to the spring time, thus decoupling them from an All-Ireland league style championship. Certainly, the latter will effectively see the end of provincial championship structure as we know it, as the competitions will essentially become warm up competitions.

"All discussion on the best championship format needs to take place in the context of the positive impact the proposed change will have on the schedule of the club and elite player," he continued.

"It should also be remembered, that while the Munster senior football championship has lived in the shadow of its hurling counterpart, Ulster and Connacht Football championships are very competitive, both having had three different winners in the last five years."


Irish Independent

[buck02]

In other words it will be good for football if Cork start beating Kerry again.

Just like it was good for football for Dublin to win the AI in 2011.

I'm waiting for Joe McQuillan to be appointed for the Munster Semi-Final.

[dc84]

We would have cork in killarney next year wouldnt we? That would improve finances by a bit in fairness you would imagine c.30k would go to that

[stuckintipp]

Jan 30, 2020 9:32:21 GMT dc84 said:

We would have cork in killarney next year wouldnt we? That would improve finances by a bit in fairness you would imagine c.30k would go to that

Ya, Cork this year and then back to Killarney.

[Deleted]

The future is the likes of Dublin, Mayo coming to Killarney for championship at least every other year

[Ballyfireside]

GAA finances are complex, fixtures on their own are complex, e.g. they must align them with the economic cycle, no use having extra games when things are tight while as recovering economy opens the door for experimenting, That we are professional in all but name and pocket makes things hypersensitive to the economic cycle and which in turn as a small open economy is hypersensitive and increasingly so to the global economy. And for good measure we now have Brexit for the decade ahead.

Now that's money for you, and all before the cut of the fiddle, the stradivarius! Some local laddo who's name escapes me as I write published a book lately called Under the bed - a more apt title might have been Under The Mattress, well because it was about under the mattress!

[Mickmack]

By John Fogarty
GAA director general Tom Ryan has warned the increasing level of spending on the preparation of inter-county teams is unsustainable as the 2019 total teetered on the €30m mark.


"The combined cost of preparing and fielding senior intercounty teams for the 32 counties came to €29.74m in 2019,” he wrote in his report.


"This was an increase of 11.6% over the previous year, a trend that simply cannot continue.

"Counties have largely managed to grow their incomes this year to keep pace with the increasing costs. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of counties returned surpluses this year. But that is not the point. This is not sustainable in the long-term. Quite apart from being sustainable, it is not desirable."

As a means of curbing the rising expenditure, Ryan has suggested ideas such a more contracted inter-county season, spending limits, and caps on the size of squads. "We can bring about a system where we have a defined number of players on panels. That too will alleviate some of the costs.

“But there's a cultural thing as well in terms of every year everybody races hand over fist to win Sam Maguire or Liam MacCarthy. It's not to the benefit of the overall association that we're trying to outspend each other to achieve that goal.”

[kerrygold]

These are huge figures now.

www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2020/0211/1114542-gaa-announce-record-revenue-of-73-9-million-for-2019/

[Mickmack]

Plenty of money there to defray costs of teams stayjng overnight in Dublin for QF, SF and finals. It would go some way to redressing the imbalance in funding given to counties in other areas.

[kot]

www.balls.ie/gaa/gaa-clonliffe-college-two-4g-pitches-426061

Would they not buy a site in another county and develop it?

Honest to god, they arent even being tactful about it at this stage.

[glengael]

Top brass stating the obvious.

www.balls.ie/gaa/tom-ryan-e30m-spent-fielding-inter-county-teams-unsustainable-426052

[Deleted]

[southward]

www.the42.ie/babs-keating-jim-gavin-inter-county-costs-5027214-Feb2020/

[kerrybhoy06]

Feb 29, 2020 17:02:57 GMT @kingdomexile said:

Dubs prob need it to cover mileage costs

[wideball]

Anyone else find it odd that the bottom 5 counties are all from Ulster?

[Mickmack]

Feb 29, 2020 17:31:45 GMT kerrybhoy06 said:

Feb 29, 2020 17:02:57 GMT @kingdomexile said:

Dubs prob need it to cover mileage costs

Am i correct in thinking that the same disparity will continue for the next ten years?

[kerrybhoy06]

Feb 29, 2020 20:42:20 GMT Mickmack said:

Feb 29, 2020 17:31:45 GMT kerrybhoy06 said:

Dubs prob need it to cover mileage costs

Am i correct in thinking that the same disparity will continue for the next ten years?

The gaa is a business and a successful Dublin is great for cash flow so probably.

[shaggy04]

Feb 13, 2020 1:01:44 GMT kot said:

www.balls.ie/gaa/gaa-clonliffe-college-two-4g-pitches-426061

Would they not buy a site in another county and develop it?

Honest to god, they arent even being tactful about it at this stage.

Dublin GAA centre of excellence in other words,paid for by the 32 counties

[Mickmack]

[mandad]

From time to time a new influence enters a sport with such a coercive impact that it distorts the entire balance of nature. We’ve seen this play out in the world of soccer, rugby, athletics, boxing, cycling and many other disciplines; typically, benefiting from the benevolence of wealthy Arabs, Russian oligarchs or media moguls. What’s happened with Dublin’s Financial Doping and subsequent dominance of Gaelic football can be similarly measured, all-be-it, on a different scale.

I assume we would agree that Dublin needed to find ways to address the challenges presented by competing sports for playing numbers and membership in general in a rapidly expanding city. The point of difference is how they have been unfairly assisted by Central funding to the detriment of other counties.

Is this acceptable because the perceived need in question is in pursuit of a requirement of a higher order? Convincing you it is in your best interest to not give in to your need now for the greater reward later. Quite brilliant, actually, with no real regard to the fortunes of those less favoured.

The aim of any competition is to achieve a result that comes as close to the truth as possible. In Jim Gavin, Dublin found a man who brought not just ambition and energy but vision and imagination to the plans they laid. The financial firepower helped in no small way to propel them to the top of the tree, where they will most probably remain for a long, long time.

We are now reaping the consequences of the never-ending push for inequality of outcomes rather than equality of opportunity. Not to put too fine a point on it, this is organised, clear and barefaced. People have chosen to wilfully ignore things that defy logic.

At this prolonged and difficult time for everybody, GAA Clubs around the country are hobbled by the loss of their paltry income streams, i.e. Lotto, Church Gate, Raffles, Gate Receipts, etc. Club officials are, in many cases, putting their hands in their own pockets to keep the ship afloat.
We are all programmed to abhor bias. The aim must always be to sustain natural competition across the board over the long term. Anything that systematically influences a result by such means and in such a measurable way as to lead it away from fairness is unacceptable to everyone, except those it benefits. Anyone who robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

There is no denying that the investment has made a short term pay off in the Balance sheets of the GAA. However, it now appears that it may have run its course and even reached the point of diminishing returns. The inability to achieve an ideal without distorting is the inevitable consequence of a grossly unfair and flawed policy. New attitudes towards inequality might suggest that traditional forms of fairness are not as important as they once were. Surely, they cannot pretend that it’s fair any longer!

[dano]

Was the Gaa's thinking that if they could popularize the games in Dublin that the rest of the country would follow? Understanding the population difference. Their ability to win these sponsorships is commendable. It's a huge place in relation to the rest of Ireland and AIG etc. understand the marketing value of that blue shirt. Why wouldn't Dublin go fishing for these sponsorship deals when these companies are only too willing to sponsor them. Now that they are successful they are even more attractive to big money sponsors and it's easy for less successful counties to feel aggrieved. Bottom line is Money Talks. Nothing else. Nothing to see here conspiracy wise. It is ironic though that it was a Kerryman who initiated the creation of the Monster.

[Annascaultilidie]

Pool sponsorship money.