Páirc Uí Chaoimh budget soars: A hard lesson and a missed opportunity

Budget overruns on public projects are so common that any development delivered on time and under budget provokes the surprise that greeted Vercingetorix’s Gauls’ victory over Julius Caesar at Alesia in September 52BC. However, it would be a little too cynical to suggest we might have to go that far back in history to find a project so delivered — as the 2008 opening of a redeveloped Thomond Park, within its €40m budget and on time, proves.

However, last week’s admission that the long-awaited — so long-awaited that it has assumed a mythical status — national children’s hospital will cost multiples of what was recently anticipated is more normal. Just two years ago, it had a €650m tag, but that has more than doubled to €1.4bn. It is as difficult to predict what it will finally cost as it is to predict when it might treat sick children.

However, any budget overrun pales compared to the time overrun. This facility has been stuck in one pipeline or another since 1993. If that project offers endless opportunities to those who study public administration failures driven by political or professional jockeying for advantage, then the redevelopment of Cork City’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh does the same.

That project began with an estimate of €80m. Now, a bill of at least €110m looms and it is not clear if that includes replacing a not-fit-for-purpose pitch. The bill is so far beyond expectations that Croke Park has taken over the Leeside stadium.

That involvement might last up to 15 years, but, be warned, it took 20 years, and an annual concert income of €5m, to pay for Croke Park’s last development. Cork GAA say the stadium remains in its ownership and that it has a three-year deal with Croke Park. It is unfortunate that these difficulties undermine what, by the light of the old Gods’ time, appears to be a great achievement for a sports organisation, but those difficulties must raise other questions.

Though some GAA supporters may balk at the suggestion, it is reasonable to argue that Páirc Uí Chaoimh should not have been redeveloped and that a municipal stadium should have been built at a more accessible location. That stadium, which might have attracted even more State funding than the €30m given to Páirc Uí Chaoimh, could have catered for all sports. That, surely, would have been of greater long-term cultural and commercial value.

Questions about how Cork City Council passed the old showgrounds, acquired under CPO, to the GAA, at an advantageous price, remain. Had that land been used for housing, the city’s housing crisis might not be so pressing. GAA clubs need to be convinced, too, that the support they need will not be compromised by this debt. How many disruptive concerts will be needed to service the debt? This sorry episode shows that the GAA is, as it was when founded, as much a political as a sporting organisation. Were it not, a municipal stadium might have been built, one that would have greatly enriched the region. In a few decades, when this millstone debt is discharged, and Páirc Uí Chaoimh needs to be redeveloped, hopefully different attitudes will prevail. What an expensive lesson this missed opportunity is proving to be.