Sod to be turned on €3m sports campus

THE sod will be turned on a unique €3 million sports project today which will see soccer, rugby and GAA teams playing side-by-side on the same campus within two years.

The Mahon Sports Project is being developed by Cork City Council, in partnership with city sports clubs, on a 42-acre site.

Enterprise Minister Micheál Martin will turn the sod on the facility this afternoon.

When completed in 2007 it will be one of the biggest projects of its kind in the country.

It will have a suite of 10 grass pitches - taking in the existing two Ringmahon Rangers pitches and Ballinure pitch - four all-weather pitches and a changing pavilion.

The council is developing four new grass pitches, the all-weather pitches and the changing facilities which will be shared by all clubs.

Two of the grass pitches will be used by local soccer clubs, one will be shared by rugby and soccer clubs, and another will be shared by St Michael’s and Ballinure GAA clubs.

Blackrock hurling club is also planning to develop another pitch on the site.

The project will give the Cork County Camogie Board its first dedicated playing pitch.

It will allow St Michael’s, who never had their own playing facilities, to lay claim to their own pitch.

Club plans to build a clubhouse on the site are at an advanced stage.

Blackrock hurling club, who are unable to cope with the demand for their present pitches, are planning to develop another pitch on the site.

The council will invest nearly €2m in the campus. A further €1m-plus is being invested by the clubs.

The Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism has allocated a grant of €450,000.

But without the funding support of the local clubs, the project would not have been possible, a council spokesman said.

He thanked club officials for their co-operation and praised the support of Ringmahon Rangers and the Ballinure clubs.

“The project represents a partnership between the council and the various sporting organisations all working closely together to bring the project to fruition,” the spokesman said.

“It will provide great recreational opportunities for residents of the greater Mahon and Blackrock areas, adding to the two recently opened parks - the Joe Mc Hugh Park and Loughmahon Park - the amenity walkway and the municipal golf course.”