Ticket frenzy expected as Dr Hyde Park chosen to host Connacht final

Several thousand supporters are to lose out as a result of the Connacht Council’s decision to stage next month’s provincial football decider at Dr Hyde Park.

The Roscommon venue, despite hosting the most recent Mayo-Sligo Connacht final meeting back in 2012, was not expected to get the nod on this occasion, after the Slattery Report reduced the venue’s capacity to 18,750 three-years ago.

In the wake of the 2012 Slattery Report, the Roscommon County Board spent an estimated €100,000 improving amenities at Dr Hyde Park. However, a later audit concluded serious health and safety issues still remained. Further remedial work was outlined in March 2014 with a view to raising the capacity to 25,000, but this has not yet been completed.

The Connacht Council last night cited the geographical location of counties, expected attendance and capacities of grounds in the province as the primary factors in their decision to overlook MacHale Park and Pearse Stadium in awarding Dr Hyde Park the fixture.

The Sligo executive had expected the game to be fixed at Pearse Stadium after earlier this week intimating to Connacht Council their desire that the final be played at the Salthill ground. Yeats County officials understood it was their turn to decide where a Connacht final involving them took place.

A crowd of 23,257 attended the 2012 decider and while Connacht chiefs plan to boost the capacity to 20,000, demand for tickets is expected to outweigh supply for the July 19 fixture.

The game will see Mayo chasing five in a row in the province for the first time since 1910, while Sligo are bidding to secure only the county’s fourth JJ Nestor Cup triumph, their last success arriving back in 2007.