It’s a case of out with the old and in with the new as far as the GAA is concerned, with plans for a multi-million Euro facility in Dublin revealed on the same weekend as the last game in the old Casement Park.
GAA splashing the cash on a new ranch in Blanch
The GAA may once have been derided for not moving with the times, but in fairness to them, that accusation can’t be levelled at them in recent years.
Last weekend, we saw the first use of Hawkeye in Croke Park, while today, plans were revealed to build €9 million worth of high performance purpose-built facilities at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown.
According to The Irish Times, included on the campus in the west Dublin location will be four full size pitches, including one to the scale of Croke Park, a full size 3G training facility; a hurling wall; a state-of-the-art pavilion to include 10 changing rooms, a viewing gallery for 350 people and ancillary space to cater for offices, meeting rooms, physiotherapy, a gym and canteen.
Importantly, considering what can only be described as the blatant abandonment of vehicles often in evidence at GAA matches, there will also be provision for parking spaces for 256 cars and eight coaches and it is envisaged that the facility will be cater for counties, clubs, schools and colleges in Dublin and the greater Leinster area.
Work on the facility is expected to commence within the next few weeks and should be completed by September 2014, with the GAA set to operate alongside 19 other sporting bodies at the campus.
There may be a little backlash about the location serving the needs of Dublin GAA rather than elsewhere, but the development of modern facilities like this one, alongside a number of other impressive centres that have been established in Mayo, Tyrone and elsewhere in recent years, can only be a good thing for the GAA and should surely be encouraged.
A farewell to Casement Park
Antrim don’t have much in the way of form going into this weekend’s clash with Monaghan in the Ulster Championship; they haven’t beaten the Farney men in Championship since 1970, although that should come with the disclaimer that they have only played each other five times since then.
If they’re in need of any extra motivation this weekend, then signing off in the last Ulster Championship game at the old Casement Park with a victory might just do the trick as the Belfast venue is set to undergo a redevelopment to turn it into a brand, spanking new modern stadium by 2016.
There is a possibility that the county’s footballers or hurlers could play qualifier games at the venue a little later in the year, but Antrim Chairman Jim Murray is adamant there will be no other Ulster Championship games played in the venue before the builders come in and is urging supporters to come along for what will be a “gala occasion” on Sunday.
“It’s definitely the last Ulster Championship match to be played there, there simply won’t be another one there,” Murray told Gaelic Life.
“There may be All-Ireland qualifiers there in hurling and football, but there’s no guarantee of that either. So it is the end of an era, that’s for sure.”
Many GAA followers north of the border will be sad to see it go, but they can console themselves with an image of what it’s going to look like when it’s completed.
It’s gonna be pretty slick alright.
