Downturn halts Munster’s Musgrave Park stand plans

THE economic downturn has forced the Munster Branch of the IRFU to postpone plans for a new state-of-the-art 6,500 capacity stand at Musgrave Park.

Instead, the Branch is to seek Cork City Council approval to install a temporary 4,000-seat structure to meet competition requirements until such time as it can raise the necessary funds needed to go ahead with original plans.

Munster, through its development committee, had hoped to raise sufficient funds through the sales of up to 1,000 seven-year ticket packages to allow work start on the original structure, but in the current climate there appears to be resistance in the market to spending between €2,500 to €4,000 (three categories) on rugby tickets.