Croker comes through a real rocking

THE Croke Park playing pitch has come through the three weekend U2 concerts virtually unscathed.

Work started on dismantling the stage and removing the pitch covering at 2 am on Tuesday, less than three hours after the last of the concerts had ended.

By yesterday, 90% of the covering had been removed and the remainder was taken up this morning. The last of the concert equipment will be removed by Friday afternoon, two days before Kilkenny meet Wexford in the Leinster hurling final.

"The pitch takes up three and a half acres, so that's a massive area and you must be very careful when removing the cover so as not to damage the pitch," said Croke Park Stadium Director Peter McKenna yesterday.

"You would be surprised at the infestation that can get onto the pitch from the covering, but it's in remarkably good shape considering what it had to deal with over the weekend."

The pitch will be cut once the covering is completely removed before undergoing fungicide treatment and finally a spiking procedure which aerates the sand-based surface by replicating worm activity. Despite the pitch being covered for ten days during the Special Olympics two years ago, there were fears that thousands of people walking and dancing on it last weekend would prove to be a greater strain. That proved wide of the mark and the surface was aided significantly by the fact that the cover used was translucent, allowing light to permeate through to the soil.

"We learnt a lot from the Special Olympics and, even though this was our first concert to be held here, we came through it very well. The pitch will be fine for Sunday's game but it will be back to its very best for the Ulster final a week later."

The new TV screen perched on the control room beside Hill 16 will also be fully operational for the clash between Armagh and Donegal. Measuring a massive 140 square metres, the screen will be the largest of its kind in Europe. A slightly smaller screen, which will be suspended from the roof of the Canal End Stand, will be in place for the All-Ireland finals, as will a bank of plasma screens.