MacHale Park pitch to be resurfaced and extended

Elvery's MacHale Park. Picture: INPHO/Tommy Dickson

MacHale Park will be out of bounds from this summer until early 2022 as the much-maligned pitch is being resurfaced.

At the latest, the Castlebar venue will be open again in April 2022 as the playing area undergoes an overhaul. It is still hoped Mayo’s footballers can train there next month as well as play during their Allianz League Division 2 campaign if it takes place.

“We finalised the spec for MacHale Park job in early January and we sent it out for tenders,” Mayo assistant treasurer Michael Diskin, who is overseeing the project, told last week’s county board meeting.

“We’ve got the tenders back (from four companies) and we’re probably a week or 10 days from having those finalised.” 

The pitch is to be extended by five metres and will have lateral drains installed; 1,000 tons of sand will be put down before seeding. 

Diskin continued: “Our plan is to get that work done hopefully by mid-summer. But things are very fluid at the moment in relation to the football season. But the earlier we get it done, the earlier we’ll be able to get back on the pitch for next year. This is the year we felt this should go ahead.” 

Ballina could be nominated as a Championship venue for the senior footballers as well as for training. The Connacht GAA centre of excellence in Bekan may also be a training option although they have staged weekend sessions outside the county in the past.

The pitch in MacHale Park has often been criticised going back to 2011 when former Down footballer Martin Clarke referred to it as "one of the worst grounds I've ever played at".

Castlebar hasn't traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Mayo either. In going down to Division 2 last year, they lost all three of their home games including the final round defeat to Tyrone which sealed their fate.