In recent months, builders have dangled seven-figure cheques under the noses of clubs and counties all over the country, and house buyers may soon be able to look forward to their own pitch invasions in Clare, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Louth and Westmeath. Many developers are offering swap deals, where they construct a state-of-the-art facility outside town in exchange for centrally located club and county grounds.
Three builders have already submitted proposals to Clare’s county board to develop Cusack Park in Ennis, in return for a €30m, 42,000-seater stadium complex on the edge of the town. And although there’s a growing “we will not be moved” lobby, the likelihood is that the stadium will be sold in the coming months.
“We’re weighing up the offers at the moment,” says Michael McDonagh, the county chairman. “There’s a great sentimental attachment to Cusack Park but we have to look at what’s best for Clare football and hurling over the next 50 years — that may involve moving.”
Builders have long coveted the GAA’s network of grounds, which is worth an estimated €3 billion. In many towns, the local pitch stands out as the last surviving undeveloped plot, but with many grounds hamstrung by poor access and inadequate parking, a growing number of clubs and county boards are recog- nising the benefits of switching to a greenfield site.
So instead of competing for trophies, many GAA clubs will soon be the setting for schemes of trophy homes. At the moment there are proposals to exchange St Conleth’s Park in Newbridge, Co Kildare, for a new ground on the Naas side of the town, while Austin Stack Park in Tralee, Co Kerry, and Cusack Park in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, have also attracted interest from housebuilders. Louth county board is also reported to be examining the possibility of swapping their ground in Drogheda, while there has also been speculation that Tuam stadium in Galway could be sold in return for a greenfield site.
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Nemo Rangers, the high-achieving Cork club, have just moved into their sleek new complex, which was built for them in exchange for their former grounds. “In return for the land, the builders created a purpose-built facility for us a few hundred yards up the road on a site we already owned. We now have five full-size pitches, floodlighting and an all-weather pitch on 22 acres,” says David O’Kelly, the club chairman.
In Clonakilty, Co Cork, the local GAA club are in the process of swapping their cramped town centre ground for a purpose-built complex on 22 acres, a mile out of town. “The population of the town has swelled and with no building land left, our ground suddenly became very desirable,” says the club’s Jim Murphy.
In Clonakilty, some die-hards balked at leaving their home turf but they were eventually won over.
“At the moment, we have two pitches, one for adults and one for juveniles. But we have nine teams in total, including ladies and underage teams, so the move was inevitable. There was opposition but when we held an EGM 20 months ago to determine a course of action, 86% of our members voted in favour of moving,” Murphy says.
Ironically, loyal fans are often the first in line when a team converts its former grounds into a housing scheme. Out of the 250 apartments already sold at Arsenal’s Highbury Square development, more than 100 have been bought by Irish investors. “Many are fans, who see it as a way of combining their love of the club with a sound investment,” says Jill Mulready of Mannion auctioneers.
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David Hunter from Belfast queued overnight last year when the apartments first went on sale in London. An Arsenal fan since he went to Highbury as an eight-year-old in 1971, he waited from 3am until the booking office opened at 9am to secure the deeds of No 179, the number of goals that Ian Wright scored to break Cliff Bastin’s club scoring record in 1997.
“If you never get the chance to play for the club you support, the next best thing is to buy one of the houses,” says Mulready.
Liam Brady noticed the same sentimentality creeping into buyers’ decisions when he visited Dublin to market apartments at the ground. “I know a couple of people who, because of the significance and where it’s going to be, let their hearts take over,” the former Arsenal player said.
While Cusack Park in Ennis is likely to be converted into a shopping centre, most of the proposed developments of GAA grounds around the country have been earmarked for housing. Some clubs, such as Donaghmore-Ashbourne in Co Meath, are planning to develop their own sites to raise money for new facilities. The club recently received permission to build 10 large two-storey homes on their playing pitches outside the town and they hope that the proceeds will pay for a new clubhouse, two adult pitches and two juvenile pitches.
The €9m sale of Clonakilty’s ground demonstrates how a swap deal can benefit both club and town. “Housing is badly needed in Clonakilty, so the development will meet some of that demand. Under an agreement, the builder also has to retain two acres as green space, which has helped to win over some of the doubters,” Murphy says.
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Soccer clubs are also keen to cash in on their prime locations. Shelbourne’s Tolka Park in Drumcondra, Dublin, has been earmarked as an apartment scheme and is estimated to be worth up to €45m. The club is mulling over whether to ground-share with a local rival or move to a greenfield site in north Co Dublin. Drogheda United are planning a 10,000-seater edge-of-town stadium and Ballybofey-based Finn Harps have also drawn up plans for a new ground, while Athlone Town’s new base is already under construction.
In Britain, developers have been careful to retain subtle references to their schemes’ former occupants. In Arsenal’s Highbury complex there will be a small memorial to honour the many fans who have had their ashes spread on the turf.
Other conversions, such as Middlesbrough’s Ayresome Park, now a 60-home development, include homages to their former occupants’ glory days. There is a sculpture of a child’s coat where the goalposts once stood, a bronze football where the penalty spot was and a pair of cast-iron football boots on the old centre circle. The most novel scheme, though, is on humble Leyton Orient’s pitch, where the club plans to create 144 apartments in the four corners of their existing ground, 30 of which will have pitch views.
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