Tallaght closed to GAA
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independe...issue_id=13646
Govt wants to keep stadium for use of soccer only
Gerry
McDermott
SOUTH Dublin County Council will have to go it alone if they decide to open the new Municipal Soccer Stadium in Tallaght to the GAA.
The Dublin County Board have been pushing strongly to gain entry into the stadium, which has been earmarked for almost 10 years as the new home for Shamrock Rovers.
But if South Dublin County Council yield to their demands, they will have to foot the massive multi-million euro bill for not only finishing the stadium but extending it to accommodate the playing of Gaelic football, hurling and camogie.
In December, the Council voted to proceed with the development of the Municipal Stadium, having taken back the 250-year leases it had originally awarded after work ground to a halt.
The Council is due to receive an update on developments in relation to the Municipal Stadium at its monthly meeting next Monday, but it has been left in no doubt that Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue firmly believes it should remain exclusively for soccer, especially as it could become home to both Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick's Athletic when completed.
Minister O'Donoghue has already indicated his willingness to assist the Council in putting together a financial package to finish the stadium as originally intended and, in an answer to a question in the Dail from Dublin South West Fianna Fail TD Charlie O'Connor, explained what would happen if the plans are changed.
"Such support was based on the plan to provide a soccer stadium for Tallaght which would serve as a viable long-term home for Shamrock Rovers Football Club. Indeed, given the significant funding likely to be required to complete the stadium, serious consideration must be given to the stadium actually accommodating two soccer clubs on a ground-sharing basis, a concept recommended for Dublin clubs in the recent Genesis Report on the Eircom League.
"South Dublin County Council has recently written to my Department seeking clarification on whether funding will be available on the basis of the Council's recent decision to complete the stadium but subject to certain modifications to the pitch, stand and dressing rooms to facilitate other sports," said Minister O'Donoghue.
Facility
"It is my view that the facility needs of other sports have been provided for and will continue to be so under the sports capital programme which has seen over €9.5 million allocated to clubs in the Tallaght area alone.
"However, there is a clear need for a modern modest-sized soccer stadium in Dublin which this development in Tallaght would suitably meet when completed.
"Recent efforts to change the scope of the agreed approach to the proposed project is likely to impact on the future capacity and the total cost of the stadium.
"Accordingly, I have advised South Dublin County Council that funding will not be available on the basis of Council's current proposals for the completion of the stadium," the Minister said.
The half-finished stadium has been built for soccer and has received €2.4m in grants under the Sports Capital Fund and will probably require another €4m to finish it off and turn it into a 6,000 seater venue.
But if South Dublin County Council was to agree to the GAA's request to make provision for them in the new stadium the completion costs would rocket while the capacity would be reduced to 4,000 because the pitch would have to be lengthened considerably to facilitate the playing of Gaelic games.
Received
The GAA have already received €130m in Sports Capital grants since 1998 and over €1.7m of this has gone into Tallaght where clubs like Thomas Davis, St Anne's and St Mark's have benefitted.
In addition, Dublin County Board have acquired 26 acres in nearby Rathcoole with a commitment from South Dublin County Council to provide access roads to these lands and it is felt that the major Southside ground which the GAA are seeking will be built here, negating the need for Gaelic games to be accommodated in Tallaght's Municipal Stadium. The FAI, who have already ploughed €600,000 in grants into the Tallaght project, are understood to be as concerned as the Department of Sport about any proposal to introduce other sports into the stadium.
They are also now committed to the concept of ground-sharing among Eircom League clubs in the Dublin area in order to promote efficient use of infrastructure and hope to persuade St Patrick's Athletic to move in with Shamrock Rovers when the new stadium is finally completed.
The FAI also plan to use the Tallaght stadium for under-age internationals, leaving a major doubt as to whether there would actually be any free dates to accommodate Gaelic games.
But, with the GAA sitting on 26 acres in Rathcoole, it would appear that their case for inclusion in the Tallaght Stadium is extremely weak and likely to fall on deaf ears when South Dublin County Council realises the full financial implications of going it alone.
