Kerry push on with plans for new facilities

KERRY GAA chiefs are to press ahead with a development of a centre of excellence despite the economic downturn.

While the green light is dependent on GAA grant aid, chairman Jerome Conway predicts that the development will begin on a phased basis “sooner rather than later”.

While ambitious plans to relocate from Austin Stack Park to a purpose-built stadium at Ballybeggan Racecourse will remain on hold, the Kerry boss suggests they could be “resurrected in time” if there is an upturn in the economy.

In line with provincial plans, the development of a centre of excellence is a key feature of Kerry’s Strategic Vision & Action Plan 2010-2015. A site, with planning permission, is available in Currans, near the airport in Farranfore.

Conway said: “At the moment we are trying to find out how much grant money would be available to us from central and Munster level if we did purchase it because we don’t want to become big farmers.

“We don’t want to purchase it and have it lying there with horses and things inside. If we purchase it, we want to be able to develop it, even if it’s on a phased basis – even if we only developed two pitches now and put in dressing rooms and floodlight them. We could add two (pitches) at a different stage.

“The position is that our senior and U21 teams commenced training on January 1 and we have to go around cap in hand looking to clubs for pitches to train. And obviously we can only train where there are lights.

“Come March 1, you have the minors coming on stream and then you are going around cap in hand again.

“It’s not fair to clubs because I understand having been a club man myself how important your own pitch is to you and sometimes you’re arguing with your own teams when can they train and where can they train. It would help immensely if we had our own pitches.’’

Conway agrees that “games provision” is one of the main themes of the plan, produced by a sub-committee headed by Kerry board vice-chairman Patrick O’Sullivan and formally launched last week.

“We had a review committee for adult competitions and implemented their recommendations. At the end of the year we will reassess the amount of satisfaction there is with the games we provide – for players, managers, clubs and inter-county managers as well.”

In terms of being able to adhere to their schedule at adult level, Conway pointed out the progress of their senior football team was a major factor.

“Obviously you are bound by whether there are draws at inter-county level – as there were last year.

“We drew with Cork and worse than that, we got defeated by Cork which put us into the qualifiers and out four consecutive Sundays in July which upset every programme. Thankfully, the defeat of Cork this year will open up new possibilities for us – allow us to go the front door and play our championships as we intended.

“We normally put in two programmes of games – one if we win in Munster, one if we lose in Munster.

“Clubs are happy with what they have been given so far and hopefully within the next few weeks we’ll have all our club championships down to semi-final stage and the first round of the losers group of our county championship completed. After that it would depend on how we go in the All-Ireland series.’’