Cork remains crucial to Munster despite new Limerick focus
Having finally made the leap after years of prevarication to end the dual training set-ups in Cork and Limerick, Munster’s decision two years ago on where to locate the single base for the professional team was always going to upset parties elsewhere. By electing to build a new, state-of-the-art training centre at the University of Limerick rather than in Cork, there were fears that the larger population centre was being rebuffed.
Planning permission has now been submitted for the project and UL will build the training centre on its campus and then rent it exclusively to Munster over a long-term period, believed to be 15 years and up, the team and academy moving in for July 2016.
That date is a year later than intended but Munster chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald explained the delay was shorter and it was better to wait until a pre-season window to make the switch.
“The clear thing now is that UL have submitted the planning permission, UL are building it on our behalf and we’re entering into a lease agreement with them.
“I suppose its about six months behind where it should be, mainly because we were reviewing the floor space and the design of it, having reviewed the feedback from other training centres like Leinster’s, and others like that.
“We’ve added additional floor space that is creating additional costs over the period of the lease and we had to address that. So that’s why there was a six-month delay. The plan is it should be completed in January/February 2016 and because that’s mid-season, we will transfer to it in July 2016.”
Fitzgerald and financial controller Philip Quinn, speaking at last week’s Munster Branch AGM, made it clear they understood the concerns about the move to Limerick but pointed to its €3.2 million redevelopment of Musgrave Park in Cork, where work will get under way this week, as evidence of its commitment to the province as a whole.
With a new West Stand being built with 3,500 seats, replacing a temporary stand that was being rented for the past two seasons at a cost of €200,000 per season, capacity is set to increase to 9,500 while the opposing East Terrace is set to be covered.
Funding has come via a lottery grant, the sale of naming rights to the stadium and the sale of a plot of land on a corner of the site, and Quinn said the upgrade would make Musgrave Park better equipped to then drive revenue.
“We hope to generate more income from the ground. We expect more people to come to the grounds once they are upgraded,” Quinn said.
“The benefits of the redevelopment are many. Obviously we can continue to play pro rugby at the venue. We are looking to drive additional revenue within the venue. We have Il Divo playing there in two weeks’ time, that will be a 14,500 outdoor concert. The seating for same is going in next week. It is about showcasing the venue and facilities we have there, once redeveloped. We have to have a long-term commitment to Cork. With the population base in Cork, the size of the county, we can expand our sales there. We are not forgetting other counties in the province, but we need to look at where our significant supporter base is. With the training centre in Limerick now too, we had to look at that and factor that into our planning too.”
Whether that will mean more games in Cork once the redevelopment is complete is still undecided but Musgrave Park will still host four league games next season, all of them after Christmas and Fitzgerald categorically ruled out any European games switching from Thomond Park.
“There is no question of any of the matches being played in Musgrave Park on a capacity decision. If we get to the stage where we have to take a European Champions Cup game to Musgrave Park, it will mean that we have seriously diminished our support for the team. One venue is 9,500 and one is 26,500.”
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