Ground share with Connacht rugby?

[WoodquayBoy]

Can't build across on the ground opposite Terryland, isn't that protected? Wasn't there a plan by the rowing club to move up there and it was rejected. Ideally you'd stick the carpark there so you could build behind the bottom goal, and reroute the road to build at top end, with a pedestrian flyover from carpark to ground. Can't see it happening though, and i don't think this is the first time CRFU have suggested a move - wasn't there talk about them relocating to Cloonacauneen a few years back but it fell through because of?. . . a fear over few fans travelling out to games

[Ceirtlis]

Id say the most important aspect of any new stadium is that its in a position to make money from different things like a bar and hospitality. Being honest we dont look like we are going to need a 10000 seater stadium anytime in the near future, we would have to multiply this years attendances by more than 5.
A compact ground of maybe 5-6000 capacity would be ideal in a place where other money could be made of it with bars, gyms etc. Terryland is out is beside a farmers field and recently built appartments. Even if Gufc were allowed a bar i dont think it would make much money out there.

[geezer]

to be an option and only right the 2 get together and at least explore. I know it seems unlikely now but it would be a shame if we had to play a european tie in dublin in a year or two because of capacity issues. Terryland could possibly still accomodate 3000 extra seats. I have seen stadiums jut way out over roads without interfereing too much with passin traffic and at the Dunnes end their is plenty of room for a "holte end" type development with underground car park and office/club corporate facilities. But the Galway FA dont seem to have much foresight or vision despite all the backslappin with the fab new stand

[gufcfan]

i think we needent worry about europe tbh. Premier division status for 08 would be a good achievement the way things are going

[gael353]

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Otherwise we have to go down the road with Connacht Rugby on a greenfield site with proper commuter access which would mean Oranmore or Athenry I would say.

Exactly, the only problem is that when the western rail corridor is re opened the land anywhere near the line becomes very expensive. Ceist< dont the same ppl run both the rugby and soccer in Galway?

[Tir Oilean]

[QUOTE=gael353;749504]Exactly, the only problem is that when the western rail corridor is re opened the land anywhere near the line becomes very expensive. Ceist< dont the same ppl run both the rugby and soccer in Galway?[/QUOTE

Pretty stupid statement/wind-up. If its a genuine query your confusion is around the fact that our chairman John Fallon is also a big rugby fan and has been involved with rugby for many years. He's a sportsfan.

[Terry]

fallon used to be the chairman(I think) of connaught rugby, not anymore

[galwayhoop]

to be an option and only right the 2 get together and at least explore. I know it seems unlikely now but it would be a shame if we had to play a european tie in dublin in a year or two because of capacity issues.

Serious pie in the sky stuff here!!!!

Terryland can now hold 5,000 supporters. More than sufficient for any regular game we play. The only 'extremely hypotetical' game you talk of would be a European tie (we are miles off this) against a big British side or maybe Spanish/Italian side. To play these teams you need to win 2 or 3 European ties first. We are verging on the relegation places and aspirations of glamour european ties are total fantasy. It would be like the Derby fans looking for a bigger stadium for when they play Barcelona in the Champions League!

Oh and by the way if we did have a massive european tie against one of Europes super powers even a stadium of 10,000 would no be sufficient and we would play it in Dublin anyhow.

But the Galway FA dont seem to have much foresight or vision despite all the backslappin with the fab new stand

The only benefactor from the new stand is GUFC. The Galway FA have no game which would require the stand on it's own merit. Fair enough it looks good but from a Galway FA standpoint it is a white elephant without GUFC making use of it every second week. It is indeed very generous of the Galway FA to part-fund a project of which they had no need. Furthermore I would imagine that Galway FA would not be adverse to future expansion of the ground down the line should GUFC require it. A lack of Vision and foresight indeed......


For what it is worth I do believe that if required there could be a stand built at both goal ends of the Ground. By knocking the Clubhouse and building a stand similar in design as the New stand (granted not as big) and by expanding the Town end into the car park by a few yards. That would bring the capacity up by maybe 2,000 or so.

Also the New Stand could be extended into both corners instead of 'box to box' as it is now, giving what maybe another 900 or so more seats.

And in fact the Old stand could be re-developed into a stand similar to the new one. Increasing the capacity by maybe 1,200 or thereabouts. So you would be able to get a capacity of 9,000 or a bit more from Terryland if needed. Of which about 7,000 would be seated.

Now this is ambitious but definatley feasible in the long term.

[GuisaSaigon]

Good post Galwayhoop.Of course the space available in Terryland could be utilized to increase the capacity. But United would not benefit as much from this as they would from a new purpose built Development with training facilities, commercial units and increased capacity.
Look at the money Salthill Devon generate from the the Drom complex. If United had a similar set up they would no longer need to pay to use training facilities and they could generate income by renting their facilities out.
A bar with a function room would also generate year round income as it could be rented out for parties and would bring in a few extra quid on matchday. There are many other opportunities that a new Stadium would present to both GUFC and Connacht RFU.
It is essential to have a long term plan of where the club is going.To use this seasons disappointing position as an excuse not to be ambitious for the future would be shortsighted. The league needs clubs to be proactive, self sustaining and ambitious. If the club has a bad season on the pitch they need to rectify the problems and continue to progress. Otherwise we might as well all pack it in.

[gilberto_eire]

Serious pie in the sky stuff here!!!!

Terryland can now hold 5,000 supporters. More than sufficient for any regular game we play. The only 'extremely hypotetical' game you talk of would be a European tie (we are miles off this) against a big British side or maybe Spanish/Italian side. To play these teams you need to win 2 or 3 European ties first. We are verging on the relegation places and aspirations of glamour european ties are total fantasy. It would be like the Derby fans looking for a bigger stadium for when they play Barcelona in the Champions League!

Oh and by the way if we did have a massive european tie against one of Europes super powers even a stadium of 10,000 would no be sufficient and we would play it in Dublin anyhow


The only benefactor from the new stand is GUFC. The Galway FA have no game which would require the stand on it's own merit. Fair enough it looks good but from a Galway FA standpoint it is a white elephant without GUFC making use of it every second week. It is indeed very generous of the Galway FA to part-fund a project of which they had no need. Furthermore I would imagine that Galway FA would not be adverse to future expansion of the ground down the line should GUFC require it. A lack of Vision and foresight indeed......

For what it is worth I do believe that if required there could be a stand built at both goal ends of the Ground. By knocking the Clubhouse and building a stand similar in design as the New stand (granted not as big) and by expanding the Town end into the car park by a few yards. That would bring the capacity up by maybe 2,000 or so.

Also the New Stand could be extended into both corners instead of 'box to box' as it is now, giving what maybe another 900 or so more seats.

And in fact the Old stand could be re-developed into a stand similar to the new one. Increasing the capacity by maybe 1,200 or thereabouts. So you would be able to get a capacity of 9,000 or a bit more from Terryland if needed. Of which about 7,000 would be seated.

Now this is ambitious but definatley feasible in the long term.

two key points you missed there IMO...

the problem isnt with we wont need the stadium till we play in europe its the fact every season we stay in terryland we're paying rent, we're also limited to what we can do there and have to gain permission!!

that is a key factor behind a future move its not really down to seating as such!!.

also you pointed out the galway fa were generous in contributing to the new stand they were'nt the generous ones.... we were as were building up a ground thats not even ours. i would also assume that the more ppl that come up to terryland the more rent recieved?!... so hence with the new stand more money for the galway fa!!

[galwayhoop]

Good post Galwayhoop.Of course the space available in Terryland could be utilized to increase the capacity. But United would not benefit as much from this as they would from a new purpose built Development with training facilities, commercial units and increased capacity.
Look at the money Salthill Devon generate from the the Drom complex. If United had a similar set up they would no longer need to pay to use training facilities and they could generate income by renting their facilities out.
A bar with a function room would also generate year round income as it could be rented out for parties and would bring in a few extra quid on matchday. There are many other opportunities that a new Stadium would present to both GUFC and Connacht RFU.
It is essential to have a long term plan of where the club is going.To use this seasons disappointing position as an excuse not to be ambitious for the future would be shortsighted. The league needs clubs to be proactive, self sustaining and ambitious. If the club has a bad season on the pitch they need to rectify the problems and continue to progress. Otherwise we might as well all pack it in.

in theory yes of course you are right. however Salthill sold (afaik) their pitches at Millars lane allowing them funds to buy the fields at drom. which they then developed at a cost of a few million or so (i think they even sold some sites to a local builder from the fields they bought giving them more funds). they built a brilliant facility, but there is no stadium as such, and this would cost big money to build in addition to the training facility which is there and this is what you are suggesting. also for everything the drom facility is it is still in the middle of nowhere and would be totally unsutable for attracting crowds- how many did they get for their UCD fai cup game - no more than a couple of hundred from reports.

add in the cost of land nowadays (if you are talkiing of putting commercial units it would need to be zoned land) and probably cost a couple of million per acre and we would need what 10 acres or so at the very least?

and finally while salthill had land in millars which they sold to buy their land GUFC own no tangible assets which they could sell. the only possibility of a partner ship would be between the Galway FA and someone else and not GUFC.

Terryland is there to be utilised and has room for further expansion if required. it is in a central location so why not put in a multi-storey car -park* with commercial units either on the ground or upper floors? the expansion of terryland is possible to the degree i suggested and that is more than sufficient for a team with attendances averaging around 2,200 currently.

GUFC also currently train in drom so why go to the cost of developing a mirror image somewhere else?

bottom line is that GUFC currently have use of a training facility which is probably as good as, if not better than, any other team in the eL. and i presume it doesn't cost them too much to use this. they also have use of terryland which more than caters for their needs at this moment in time and also offers room for further expansion in the future, granted to a cap of probably 10,000 but sure there is no need for any more than this for the forseeable future. the rent for terryland is also good value, free (or at most nominal) if i'm not mistaken so why even consider moving?

of course the logical thing would be for pearse stadium, terryland and the sports ground all to be sold and a 35,000 - 40,000 'municiple stadium' built in conjunction with Galway City council. yes this would probably cost €40 or €50 million (probably even more) but i'm sure the property that all of these stadiums are sitting on would get more than that if sold to developers! oh, yes and of course the main problem would be the historical differenrces between the codes would stop this point blank from even becoming a thought never mind a discussion!


*in fact terryland could be devevloped on the ground where the car-park is, i'm sure, as most stadiums provide no parking whatsoever eg: pearse stadium, lansdowne rd, croke park ....
by bringing that extra piece of land into play there is no reason why terryland couldn't be developed into a 15,000 seater enue down the road!

[gilberto_eire]

but you've missed the point again its not our ground to make money from if commercial units etc... were added!!. we're just tenents!!... id say the rent changes with attendences, anyone confirm that?... i cant see the same rent been charged for the dark days of a couple of hundred to some days this year of 3,000+

do ya really think the landlord is going to let ye build things around his gaff and let ye keep the money?

we have to move plain and simply because we have no ground!!.

if we got into europe and if games were played at terryland you can be sure the galway fa would take a nice bit of that revenue!. also the under-21 games that have been hosted there, id say we didnt get a penny from them, with our own ground we'd be raking in the days takings from them!!

[galwayhoop]

the problem isnt with we wont need the stadium till we play in europe its the fact every season we stay in terryland we're paying rent, we're also limited to what we can do there and have to gain permission!!

that is a key factor behind a future move its not really down to seating as such!!.

If GUFC built their own stadium they would have to pay back who ever lent them the capital, most probably a mortgage (maybe murphs could get them a good rate ). as there is no-one waiting in the wings to donate money to GUFC AFAIK. The repayments would be greatr than the current rent.
I don’t think that the Galway FA have ever refused GUFC ‘permission’ to do any works on Terryland and doubt they would.
And of course even if GUFC wanted their own stadium they would still need to get permission to build it or make any alterations

also you pointed out the galway fa were generous in contributing to the new stand they were'nt the generous ones.... we were as were building up a ground thats not even ours.

of course what I said was:

…..from a Galway FA standpoint it is a white elephant without GUFC making use of it every second week. It is indeed very generous of the Galway FA to part-fund a project of which they had no need.

the generousity was in contributing at all to a stand which the Galway FA had absolutely no need for. GUFC may have needed it but Galway FA certainly didn’t.

i would also assume that the more ppl that come up to terryland the more rent recieved?!... so hence with the new stand more money for the galway fa!!

That is a massive assumption. AFAIK the rent paid for Terryland is minimal (if anything) and nothing to do with the amount of patrons who attend games there.
NB I am seriously open to correction on this point but it is what I am led to believe.

[galwayhoop]

but you've missed the point again its not our ground to make money from if commercial units etc... were added!!. we're just tenents!!... id say the rent changes with attendences, anyone confirm that?... i cant see the same rent been charged for the dark days of a couple of hundred to some days this year of 3,000+

do ya really think the landlord is going to let ye build things around his gaff and let ye keep the money?

we have to move plain and simply because we have no ground!!.

if we got into europe and if games were played at terryland you can be sure the galway fa would take a nice bit of that revenue!. also the under-21 games that have been hosted there, id say we didnt get a penny from them, with our own ground we'd be raking in the days takings from them!!

you are either living in cloud cookoo land or you are about 12 years of age!

Re: commercial units (and your analogy of your landlords gaff):
have you ever heard of a joint venture?
or a building agreement?
one provides the land the other builds - share profit....

Re: new stadium:
do you realise how expensive land is in galway, both city and county?
do you know how much construction costs?
where on earth do you think GUFC could raise the funds for either?
Can you list out all of GUFC's assets which they could either sell or borrow against to raise finance?
What on earth is wrong with Terryland?

General:
GUFC is one of the top run teams in the country off the field. Leeson has made great strides in this regard and the club is as close to self sufficient as any professional soccer team on the Island. there is no need to burden the club with debt just to 'Own' their own ground! If the team was in the top half of the table crowds would be larger and therefore earn more money anyway!

Re: U21's:
last U21 game I went to it was FREE. this may have changed.

[gilberto_eire]

no im not living in cloud-cookoo land!. we all know the price of land is dear, when was it cheap?... but were talking about a football club here im sure we wouldnt be completly out of the market if the attendences continue to rise!.

of course the loan would be dearer but in the long-term its the only way you can get a ground and just has to be done!.

yes i know what a joint venture is but its more benefitical to the landlord then the tenents!. with our own ground we would make a lot more!.also the dyke road id never gonna be a attractive place to build anything like a bar etc.... too isolated!!

the problem isnt where are we going to get the money out of, its getting up the table, playing in europe, bigger crowds etc... then we could probably take the 1st steps towards a new ground. it could then be payed for through various ways like a sports complex for the public/club, bar etc.....

nick leeson has already been quoted as saying in 10yrs time, galway united should be playing in a 10,000 seater stadium, and im pretty sure he wasnt talking about terryland!!.

sorry when i mentioned under-21 games i was refering to the irish under-21's!!

[exiled_gufc_fan]

of course the loan would be dearer but in the long-term its the only way you can get a ground and just has to be done!.

well ... at least until the US and Thai investors realise that to get a team into the Champions League it is cheaper to buy an Irish club and have a 1 in 12 chance of winning the league and getting into Europe.

Although whether we have enough boutiques for the WAGS that would be needed too is another matter

[GuisaSaigon]

The proposed development of a new town east of the city could provide an opportunity for both groups to come together with developers (who will have to provide facilities). There is funding available from BMW regional assembly specifically for projects like this. a massive amount of this funding has been set aside for the region, 300 million euros of which wasn't spent. CRFU and GUFC would need to raise funds over the next few years. It's an ambitious idea but hardly pie in the sky. The club should be at least considering something like this for 10 years down the road.

[Tir Oilean]

Our own ground is complete pie in the sky until a joint veture with rugby or a developer with commercial interests in an allround entertainment venue. Im with you hoop on this one. Terryland is compact but thats good for the size of league we are in. If it gets too big we lose the atmosphere straight away.

[Tir Oilean]

I say we should get our local MEP involved in pushing that on what do think Saigon:-)

[GuisaSaigon]

Whats that got to do with anything?