GAA bosses to brief officials on stadium revamp

CORK’S GAA bosses are expected to brief city councillors next week on their plans to revamp their flagship stadium and develop a centre of excellence nearby.

The briefing, however, will take place behind closed doors in City Hall on Monday.

The GAA officials will explain to councillors the detail of their latest compromise proposal to acquire just under six acres of publicly owned land alongside Páirc Uí Chaoimh, which was formally issued last week.

The briefing will be immediately followed by a meeting of the council’s strategic planning policy committee which will issue a recommendation on the proposal, accompanied by a report from city manager Joe Gavin, to full council.

It will ultimately decide on whether or not the land should be released to the GAA, possibly as soon as its next meeting on Monday week.

Cork Lord Mayor, Cllr Dara Murphy, said he is hopeful of a positive outcome.

The briefing from the GAA follows Cork County Board’s decision last week to significantly reduce the amount of public land around Páirc Uí Chaoimh that it would like to acquire from the city.

The organisation, which first sought 16 acres of land in the Showgrounds, submitted a revised document to the council last week seeking six acres.

Cork County Board secretary Frank Murphy described it as “a major compromise”.

The city council acquired the Showgrounds following a Compulsory Purchase Order last year.

The GAA first asked the council to dispose 16 acres of land to it. But in a report to councillors last March, Mr Gavin expressed concerns about the extent of public land being sought.

Mr Gavin and the Lord Mayor held several meetings with county board officials to discuss the impasse and the compromise proposal emerged last week.

The GAA is now looking to acquire:

* 6.82 acres (6.24 acres in the Showgrounds and 0.58 of an acre to the north of the stadium) for the re-development of Páirc Uí Chaoimh and a “centre of excellence”. Mr Murphy said this land would include provision for circulation areas and a full GAA-sized, floodlit all-weather playing pitch.

* An additional 1.81 acres, which would remain in council ownership, to be provided on a licence basis to the county board for access purposes on big match days.

* And the provision of 300 car parking spaces next to the stadium for teams, VIPs and wheelchair users on match days.

Páirc Uí Chaoimh was opened in 1976 and is in dire need of a revamp. Built with a capacity for 50,000 people, it has been reduced in recent years to 43,500 because of safety regulations.