GAA reveals new €100m funding blueprint for infrastructure projects

THE GAA has revealed plans to spend €100 million on infrastructure projects nationwide in the coming years.

A whopping €35m of that funding will come directly from the money generated by renting out Croke Park to rugby and soccer since 2007.

The rest of the money, according to the GAA’s Director of Finance, Tom Ryan, will come from clubs, counties, provincial councils and borrowed funds.

The projects include just about everything from medical facilities, scoreboards and turnstiles at club grounds to state-of-the-art centres of excellence like the €7m development under construction in Garvaghy, Tyrone.

According to the GAA, there are currently 16 training centres nationwide which have been “approved or are undergoing appraisal” for funding including Donegal’s new facility at Convoy, the Darver complex in Louth and a training centre at the Showgrounds in Cork.

Under the local projects category, 82 applications have been approved nationwide, including training centres and various club developments.

“We envisage that, overall, when the scheme is finished, through national involvement, through provincial involvement, through county and club involvement, we’ll have an expenditure close to €100m which is very, very significant,” said GAA President, Christy Cooney.

The Association chief presided over a press briefing yesterday called specifically to deal with the €35m raised from renting Croke Park.

When Congress famously agreed to relax Rule 42 back in 2005 it was on the basis that all rental funds accrued would be ploughed back into capital developments.

As such, the GAA has broken down the €35m into €26m for “major national capital projects”, €8m for club and county projects – facilitated by a payment of €250,000 per county – and a further €1m for handball/camogie/ladies football.

Finance director Ryan said that when the entire €100m is spent, the GAA will have provided approximately 75 new club pitches, purchased 300 acres of land and improved 57 more pitches.

Meanwhile, National Infrastructure Committee Chairman, Seamus McCloy expects to turn the first sod on Dublin’s new training centre in Rathcoole before the summer.

The Dublin board acquired land some years ago in Rathcoole, south Dublin, though planning issues took much longer than expected to surmount.

McCloy said the project will cost between €12m and €14m and teams should be training there inside two years.

When fully complete, in five years, it will boast six grass pitches and an all-weather pitch, along with changing facilities, a gym and a stand.

However, county teams won’t be playing competitive games there.

“No, no, it’s not going to be used as an alternative to Parnell Park, it’s mainly for training,” said McCloy.

“Our biggest problem is not stadia in Ireland, our biggest problem is (a lack of) training facilities.”