O’LEARY GETS PÁIRC OFF THE MARK AS STADIUM OPENS FOR BUSINESS
WHILE Hawk-Eye won’t be in operation in the new Páirc Uí Chaoimh for this weekend’s All-Ireland SHC quarter-final ties, there will be a video official present to adjudicate on contentious scoring efforts.
The Cork County Board opened their new house to the media yesterday and while they may not have allowed the cupboards to be opened – the hum of machines was evident with still work to be done before Saturday’s tie between Clare and Tipperary – they are proud of a facility to rival any other in the country.
A total of 1,220 piles, 33,000 tonnes of concrete, 4,600 tonnes of steel reinforcement and 1,500 tonnes of structural steelwork have gone into producing a replacement for the outdated and outmoded Páirc. Visitors can now avail of 13 bars, seven hot-food kiosks and 12 confectionery shops while there are 36 toilet areas.
With a dressing room and warm-up area described by stadium operations manager Bob Ryan “as the best in Europe” and sight-lines and comfort far exceeding anything the old stadium had to offer, the new Páirc resembles a smaller version of Croke Park, albeit with the
North Stand (formerly the Uncovered Stand but in need of a changed nomenclature due to its defining feature being altered) far smaller than the South Stand.
The stadium also begins life with a technological partner in Vodafone, who, if rumours are to be believed, are also heavily in the running to have the naming rights if and when they go to tender.
The sale of those will go a long way to meeting reported cost overruns, with Cork chairman Ger Lane adamant that clubs won’t have to bear the burden.
“We’ll hopefully have a lot of events on there, a lot of games there and things going on to generate income,” he said. “That’s the intention, that the stadium won’t be a burden on the board or the clubs going forward. It has always been the intention that clubs wouldn’t be levied – we have the county board draw and a ticket scheme that is going rather well.”
Of more immediate concern is the staging of the games on Saturday and Sunday. Clare and Galway meet in an All-Ireland minor hurling quarter-final before Clare-Tipp in the senior, while Sunday will see the first trophy presented as Cork take on Kilkenny in the All-Ireland intermediate decider. Croke Park personnel were present for last night’s opening game, a Cork premier intermediate hurling championship game round three game between Valley Rovers and Blarney, undertaking research for the bigger events at the weekend.
Those present to watch the game witnessed Valley Rovers take victory on a scoreline of 1-21 to 1-8, having been leading by 0-11 to 0-6 at half-time. Cork panellist Chris O’Leary is the name to remember for future pub quizzes, as he opened the scoring with a point inside 34 seconds.