Pitch ghosts of the past return to haunt Páirc Uí Chaoimh

CORK can spin it any way they want but the state of the Páirc Uí Chaoimh pitch last Sunday raises a lot of questions, WRITES MARTIN BREHENY.

With the cost of the stadium now up to €86 million (and counting), an excellent playing surface would be expected but that certainly doesn’t apply to the area in front of the South Stand.

Cork admit that they have ‘an issue’ with that section, which will be fully addressed at the end of the year. Anyone who attended the old stadium during its 40year existence knows that the strip in front of the main stand was often quite poor.

In the circumstances, one would have thought that the necessary steps would have been taken to ensure that didn’t happen in the new development.

Expertise in pitch technology is improving all the time, yet an old problem appears to have attached itself to the new stadium.

Cork are explaining it on the basis that like any new lawn, the pitch needs time to establish, but is there more to it than that?

Cork are understandably proud of the new Páirc Ui Chaoimh which, in fairness, is a fantastic stadium under most headings.

However, much of the undoubted goodwill towards the project will be undone if the pitch does not meet best standards.

It’s hardly encouraging to hear that Cork are already considering not fixing League double-headers for Páirc Uí Chaoimh in the opening half of next season.

That suggests that there’s no great confidence that the problem will be fully resolved before then.

Teething difficulties are common in new and/or redeveloped stadiums but what makes this one different – and more worrying – is that it appears to be a carry-over from the old ground. So how can there be any confidence that it’s merely a temporary blip?