Markets Field Renovations??

[NeverFeltBetter]

Jackman doesn't meet the requirements, so FAI would need to approve some leeway in regards that. Can they afford to rent Thomond anymore? Such a depressing mess around the club at the moment.

[Jofspring]

Well it's supposedly €2,000 euro a game for Thomond Park. Jackman was costing close to €1,000 as far as I know, give or take a few hundred.

[Lims4ever]

What a shambles it's been one thing after another I feel sorry for the people that have worked hard over the last few years and the mess it has become hard to see where they go from here , I have had a season ticket for the last few years but who would buy one before This season not sure if there was going to even be a season, how they can only tell 3 weeks before the start of the season it won't be ready is beyond me I think there is a lot more to this than were led to believe

[donnrua]

What a shambles it's been one thing after another I feel sorry for the people that have worked hard over the last few years and the mess it has become hard to see where they go from here , I have had a season ticket for the last few years but who would buy one before This season not sure if there was going to even be a season, how they can only tell 3 weeks before the start of the season it won't be ready is beyond me I think there is a lot more to this than were led to believe

I was in the Markets Field this morning and was told by lads working on site that it wouldn't be ready until May/June!

[LFC Blue]

Make no mistake this news is an absolute unmitigated disaster. The whole credibility of our chairman is now brought in to question for the first time as he stated unequivocally 10 days ago that the MF would be good to go.This will take the wind completely out our sails in our move home.i actually called to the ground today for the first time and despite a lot of people power and activity it was clear that they were running out of time. On a positive note (to avoid joining the rest of the doom and gloom merchants on here) the markets field gave off a great aura today and despite being only half ready you can get the sense of what a great inner city venue of character it really is.

[faceoff]

I was in the Markets Field this morning and was told by lads working on site that it wouldn't be ready until May/June!

Just gets better and better.POS is hiding something for some reason or other.How the hell do they expect people to rally round them when its one big mess after another.

[Lim till i die]

Id said it before and i'll say it again, sort the lease out and Hogan Park is a much better option than being in thrall to those clowns.

[NeverFeltBetter]

I refuse to believe that the club admin didn't know this was coming until now. POS's credibility taking a bit of a blow here, I mean:

October 1st: (http://www.limerickpost.ie/2014/10/01/limerick-chairman-hopes-for-markets-field-move-before-march/) Chairman is "absolutely confident" MF will be ready for March.

Christmas: (http://www.limerickfc.ie/christmas-message-from-the-chairman-2) "Once again, thank you for your support and see you in the Markets Field in March!"

February 3rd: (http://www.limerickfc.ie/statement-from-chairman-pat-osullivan) "The club will also return to the Markets Field in March 2015"

February 5th: (http://www.limerickfc.ie/markets-field-2015-group-bookings-for-clubs-companies) Club seeks group bookings for 17 home games.

Today's announcement is a really disheartening one. O'Sullivan talked a lot about wanting more support, and its been very hard to conjure it up at the best moments of the last two years. What does he expect now, with nowhere to play and a team that will almost certainly be in a relegation battle?

[Lim till i die]

The markets field gave off a great aura today and despite being only half ready you can get the sense of what a great inner city venue of character it really is.

I think everyone will join me in saying that this is truly wonderful news.

[thomas72]

This is a disaster what an absolute mess this has turned out to be 3 weeks to kick off and we are now homeless aswell as a **** poor squad that is only going one way.
So the question now is were do we play or home games now?? Because hogan park and jackman will not pass premier league licence minimum seats required both don't have it.
Only one narrow entrance into both grounds health and safety problem not a chance of a licence.

Limerick will end up playing home games up in Galway

[kingpin4]

This is a disaster what an absolute mess this has turned out to be 3 weeks to kick off and we are now homeless aswell as a **** poor squad that is only going one way.
So the question now is were do we play or home games now?? Because hogan park and jackman will not pass premier league licence minimum seats required both don't have it.
Only one narrow entrance into both grounds health and safety problem not a chance of a licence.

Limerick will end up playing home games up in Galway

Surely we're going back to Thomond Park for the foreseeable future? The whole thing has been anmitigated disaster. It's a huge oportunity missed by the club. I'll still be at the first game, with about 400 others, but really this is looking like cementing our place where we currently are in the minds of Limerick people. I know the club aren't to blame here and LEDP take most of the responsibility, but they are certainly not blameless either in how things have been handled.

All doesn't seem right at all and its an absolute shame for the amount of money and time that has been put in by people like Pat O'Sullivan over the last few years, and now it all seems to be falling down around him.

[Jofspring]

Only options are Thomond Park, Turners Cross and Terryland.

We may as well just play all our games away from home if it is Terryland or Turners Cross.

I'd say we will be lucky to get near 400 for the first game.

[faceoff]

Surely we're going back to Thomond Park for the foreseeable future? The whole thing has been anmitigated disaster. It's a huge oportunity missed by the club. I'll still be at the first game, with about 400 others, but really this is looking like cementing our place where we currently are in the minds of Limerick people. I know the club aren't to blame here and LEDP take most of the responsibility, but they are certainly not blameless either in how things have been handled.

All doesn't seem right at all and its an absolute shame for the amount of money and time that has been put in by people like Pat O'Sullivan over the last few years, and now it all seems to be falling down around him.
I dont blame LEDP.POS told EVERYONE Limerick FC would play their first game in March against Bohs not LEDP.There is a lot going on here that we know shag all about.Blame after blame at the end of the day it was Limericks priority to get their own home venue ready nobody else.Buck stops with POS and his administrators.Too worried about whats going on in Bruff it seems.

[NeverFeltBetter]

If the first game is in Terryland, you'll get FA going up to it at this rate. And who'd blame them?

[blueblood]

I dont blame LEDP.POS told EVERYONE Limerick FC would play their first game in March against Bohs not LEDP.There is a lot going on here that we know shag all about.Blame after blame at the end of the day it was Limericks priority to get their own home venue ready nobody else.Buck stops with POS and his administrators.Too worried about whats going on in Bruff it seems.

LEDP have the ground about FIVE YEARS now and the only reason they have the ground is because it was given to them to develop a home for senior soccer years ago, everything they seem to do is backwards so you can hardly blame Pat for trying to put some pressure on whoever the hell is supposed to be doing the place up. Yes POS was wrong when he recently said MR would be ready ready when it was obvious as f#ck the place was nowhere near ready but I believe he had to do this to try get money into the club so if it worked fair enough if not at least he tried.. This whole off season/new season was always going to be a balls up so the club had to try make the best of a s#it situation that unfortunately is business..

[fieldofmarkets]

LEDP have owned the place for years as blueblood says. They have even had the pitch playable for a year. Presumably they expected it to be used for more than a picnic. They have known since last October that Limerick had committed to playing there this March. Funding was in place last year. I don't blame POS for trying to get them moving. Ground not being anywhere near ready is solely responsibility of LEDP and it is extremely disappointing. I'll be at our games wherever we will play them though.

[sweeper]

Id said it before and i'll say it again, sort the lease out and Hogan Park is a much better option than being in thrall to those clowns.

No thanks,bringing a child into hogan park and local heads causing trouble and throwing stones at everyone would be crazy,time for pat to get rid of underage and bring in someone that knows what they are doing,too many hangers on that are not up to the job.

[Jofspring]

No thanks,bringing a child into hogan park and local heads causing trouble and throwing stones at everyone would be crazy,time for pat to get rid of underage and bring in someone that knows what they are doing,too many hangers on that are not up to the job.

Pat said last week that the underage is funded completely away from the senior team, that their is no link funding wise, so I don't see what advantage removing the underage would be.

[faceoff]

LEDP have owned the place for years as blueblood says. They have even had the pitch playable for a year. Presumably they expected it to be used for more than a picnic. They have known since last October that Limerick had committed to playing there this March. Funding was in place last year. I don't blame POS for trying to get them moving. Ground not being anywhere near ready is solely responsibility of LEDP and it is extremely disappointing. I'll be at our games wherever we will play them though.

Yere being told porkies guys.As ye say LEDP has it 5 years with a view to staging Senior football and yet Limerick go to TP for 2 of them.If they are totally at fault which i dont believe they are why are Limerick not making a statement exonariting themselves from this farce??Mindboggling.POS money kept senior soccer alive but by god he's running of the club is nothing short of a shambles.

[NeverFeltBetter]

MSC match against Cork will be played at Fairview Rangers pitch Saturday week.

[Comic Book Guy]

Any chance of playing your first few home games in Fairgreen? No seating I know but surely the League would cut you some slack for the first few games until the MP is ready?
I'm sorry to see things are not what they should be but surely it's the general sporting public in Limerick that should shoulder some of the blame for not getting behind the club especially when Pat O'Sullivan ponied up the money? I hope it can all be resolved for you real soon.

[nigel-harps1954]

Jackman Park is surely the best option on a temporary basis at this stage? There's a few seats, and a bit of turnstile facility. It's not ideal by any stretch, but it must be a better option than playing games in Terryland or otherwise?

[donnrua]

Jackman Park is surely the best option on a temporary basis at this stage? There's a few seats, and a bit of turnstile facility. It's not ideal by any stretch, but it must be a better option than playing games in Terryland or otherwise?

I think most of us would snap your hand off for Jackman on a temp basis at this stage. Well that and a squad that won't be relegation fodder!

[Jofspring]

The problem with the Fairgreen is it is in an estate. It's tight enough getting up and down the road when a junior match is on so would be worse for LOI. The only option there might be to block off the entrances to the Estates at the main road for residents only but there again there isn't time to get that in place. Can't imagine the residents being too impressed either.

Jackman Park or Hogan Park are the best options we have. For Jackman you could maybe limited home fans and away fans capacity and that might suffice.

[NeverFeltBetter]

The other problem that I think people need to realise is that very few believe this "only a few games" thing. The position on the MF is being re-evaluated at the end of March, but it's in no way clear that playing games there will be given the go ahead. Limerick could be waiting on the MF for a long time, so this isn't just a case of finding somewhere where the rules can be bent for a few weeks.

[Jofspring]

I have no doubt we will be waiting till at least June. The builders have basically said to anyone asking it would be a few months yet so I'd say end of March is just to see if it can be half opened.

[LFC Blue]

In an interesting sub plot to Limericks search for a place to play Live 95FM's head of sport Liam Ahern wrote a tweet today hinting that the next game to take place in the gaelic grounds may be that of the 11 aside variety! GAA congress will vote on a motion to open all GAA grounds to other sports this coming Saturday. In the event of a yes vote could we see the novelty of a league of ireland fixture in Pairc na Gael on Saturday week and with it massive publicity and who knows even a large crowd attending...

[faceoff]

In an interesting sub plot to Limericks search for a place to play Live 95FM's head of sport Liam Ahern wrote a tweet today hinting that the next game to take place in the gaelic grounds may be that of the 11 aside variety! GAA congress will vote on a motion to open all GAA grounds to other sports this coming Saturday. In the event of a yes vote could we see the novelty of a league of ireland fixture in Pairc na Gael on Saturday week and with it massive publicity and who knows even a large crowd attending...

I said that the other day and also it will be free too.as a gesture from JP over MF not being ready.

[Jofspring]

Munster Senior Cup game switched from Fairgreen to Askeaton at 1pm.

Awful pity, Fairgreen at 2:30 was a grand time to go watch the match. I'd say a good few would have headed up for a look. Moving it out to Askeaton means a lot can't go and 1pm isn't a great time either.

[blueblood]

The other problem that I think people need to realise is that very few believe this "only a few games" thing. The position on the MF is being re-evaluated at the end of March, but it's in no way clear that playing games there will be given the go ahead. Limerick could be waiting on the MF for a long time, so this isn't just a case of finding somewhere where the rules can be bent for a few weeks.
Should be completed mid May the LATEST.. work started 1st week in January and contractor has agreed to have the work COMPLETED in 18 weeks which should be loads of time and contractor just covering his a$$. Hopefully we can move in before everything is finished but as usual I won't be holding my breath!

[Martinho II]

wheres the fair green in Limerick and who plays there all ready?

[bluewhitearmy]

Jackman it is, best choice available.

[Jofspring]

wheres the fair green in Limerick and who plays there all ready?

Fair green is where Fairview Rangers play their games. It's about a ten minute walk from the Markets Field.

[NeverFeltBetter]

I'm not sure what improvements can be made to Jackman between now and start of season, realistic ones anyway. Temp seating? Some scaffolding for camera, like there was at times in the FD. What else?

[nigel-harps1954]

Surely it wouldn't need an awful lot. Easy enough to segregate the crowd in Jackman and a scaffold is enough for TV camera. There's enough seats for all the demand there'll be you'd imagine. Around 50 for travelling fans and the rest for home. There's around 250 seats in that little stand isn't there?

I'd guess the only problem will be the lack of a second exit, but if the likes of Athlone can do it, then why can't Jackman.

Touch of gold from the club to facilitate travelling supporters by train though.

[thomas72]

Munster Senior Cup game switched from Fairgreen to Askeaton at 1pm.

Awful pity, Fairgreen at 2:30 was a grand time to go watch the match. I'd say a good few would have headed up for a look. Moving it out to Askeaton means a lot can't go and 1pm isn't a great time either.

Fairview pitch is destroyed after fairview v carew park on Sunday ref should never of played it view asked him not to that it would absolutely destroy there pitch and would take 6 weeks to get it right again.
Pitch cut up very bad as you expect with the rain that fell at full time it was destroyed.

[Lionel Ritchie]

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialLimerickFC/posts/10153045359438886?fref=nf

From Limericks FB

[Lims4ever]

The best outcome that's for sure but can't see people flocking to the place either facilities just not upto scratch it will be the few hundred only some come down from thomond real shame

[CraftyToePoke]

The best outcome that's for sure but can't see people flocking to the place either facilities just not upto scratch it will be the few hundred only some come down from thomond real shame

Well, they didn't really flock to Thomond either for long, in truth. Best that could be done I suppose the way things are turning out.

[Jofspring]

Fairview pitch is destroyed after fairview v carew park on Sunday ref should never of played it view asked him not to that it would absolutely destroy there pitch and would take 6 weeks to get it right again.
Pitch cut up very bad as you expect with the rain that fell at full time it was destroyed.

Ya nearly every match was called off last weekend so was surprised that went ahead. If it continues the same if imagine a blanket call off on the way. Even Askeaton might not be playable Saturday.

Happy enough with jackman as long as we aren't in there too long. Can't wait for them to break out the Killers cd.

[delboyderis]

Good news that the games will be kept in limerick.jackman park isnt bad as a temporary home.its a lot better than thomond park atmosphere wise.thomond park was too big and had no atmosphere.jackman park could hold a couple of thousand easily,not that i would expect that.hopefully the team can put in a good effort against cork on sat and it will give them a boost ahead of next weeks game.

[NeverFeltBetter]

I've seen so many people say something along the lines of "Limerick won't attract many fans to Jackman after Thomond, facilities etc". Average attendance in Thomond was nearly the same as last season spent in Jackman. Results and qualoity of football will always be greater motivators. That's why the crowds will be lower.

[bluewhitearmy]

I've seen so many people say something along the lines of "Limerick won't attract many fans to Jackman after Thomond, facilities etc". Average attendance in Thomond was nearly the same as last season spent in Jackman. Results and qualoity of football will always be greater motivators. That's why the crowds will be lower.

Markets Field will be a lot closer to Jackman standard than to Thomond anyway so people may as well get used to it.

[Lims4ever]

Perception of standard of league of Ireland football is the biggest factor why people don't go can't even see the return to markets field changing that , waited so long to be back in prem,good squad and decent first season back , playing in thomond park ,all that could not even attract the crowd there is no more they could have done maybe better advertising yes but people seem to expect a much higher standard of football than is on offer in prem.

[Lims4ever]

Cork have some squad put together Saturday will be very tough , where is the pitch in askeaton ???

[Jofspring]

Perception of standard of league of Ireland football is the biggest factor why people don't go can't even see the return to markets field changing that , waited so long to be back in prem,good squad and decent first season back , playing in thomond park ,all that could not even attract the crowd there is no more they could have done maybe better advertising yes but people seem to expect a much higher standard of football than is on offer in prem.

I reckon if we had challenged for the league title the last two seasons we would easily have had an average of 2,000 in the gate. People want to follow success.

The pitch is clonreask. It's on the main road around Askeaton so just head straight out the dock road.

[Notaclue]

This is the Clounreask pitch location on Google maps https://www.google.ie/maps/@52.6022271,-8.9976566,1864m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

[gael353]

Delays a plenty down at The mf. Not enough workers on site....precast stand steps came in wrong size. Hopefully lights will be up this week. Dressing rooms are supposed to be a great job. Thursdays general meetings are supposed to be a calamity.
Jps error of giving the ground to his charity/quango haunting him every day

[NeverFeltBetter]

Concerning. I imagine we'll start hearing talk of further delays to opening soon so.

[faceoff]

Delays a plenty down at The mf. Not enough workers on site....precast stand steps came in wrong size. Hopefully lights will be up this week. Dressing rooms are supposed to be a great job. Thursdays general meetings are supposed to be a calamity.
Jps error of giving the ground to his charity/quango haunting him every day

How do you make out its haunting JP.Ridiclous comment.And its actually Noirin who gave it not JP.Do your homework boss.