‘Páirc’ closed until 2020 as pitch overhaul gets under way

Cork forced into switching their home Super 8s encounter against Roscommon to Páirc Uí Rinn

PÁIRC UÍ CHAOIMH will close until 2020 as it undergoes a complete pitch replacement in the coming weeks.

The plan to resurface the pitch had been flagged earlier in the year, however, yesterday’s announcement means that Cork will now play their final game of the Super 8s against Roscommon at Páirc Uí Rinn.

Earlier this year, the Páirc Uí Chaoimh surface cut up badly and forced its closure for the remainder of the National League. It reopened for championship games against Tipperary and Waterford in hurling and Kerry in football, but will now shut for the Roscommon clash on August 4.

The new pitch will be able to withstand double-headers and multiple matches “with little if any decline in performance,” a Cork statement outlined yesterday.

Work, to be carried out by the company SIS, will start on Monday to take advantage of optimum grass-growing conditions and meet the January 2020 deadline.

The cost has already been incorporated into the €95.8m set out for Páirc Uí Chaoimh’s redevelopment earlier in the year.

Cork chairperson Tracey Kennedy said getting the surface right was of paramount importance.

“We cannot ask our teams and supporters to endure another season where our flagship stadium is unavailable to host the games it was built for, and it is absolutely critical now that we have a high-quality, winter-proof pitch available to host all of the inter-county and club fixtures that we wish to play at Páirc Uí Chaoimh each year,” she said.

The Cork/Roscommon game will throw in at the same time (4.0) as the Tyrone/Dublin clash in Omagh.

If both Cork and Roscommon lose this Saturday, the game will be a dead rubber with Dublin and Tyrone playing to decide who tops the group.