Castlebar concerts likely

Castlebar concerts likely

Anton McNulty

Castlebar could be in line for outdoor music concerts – to be held in the soon-to-be-developed McHale Park.

The €14m development plans for the county grounds received the go-ahead last week, when planning permission was granted to Mayo County GAA Board. Among the proposed additions to the former Castlebar Mitchels club grounds, under the plans, is a new 10,000-seater stand which will bring the capacity up to 41,000, as well as a top-of-the-range floodlighting system. Speaking to The Mayo News on Monday, County Board executive member, Tommy Goonan revealed that the Board would be reviewing a number of fund-raising activities, and concerts in the stadium would be one of them.
“We would be hoping that we will be able to fund-raise by hosting concerts, but we would have to get special planning permission for that. It would be something that we would have in mind,” explained Mr Goonan.
If McHale Park were to hold concerts, it would follow in the footsteps of several other top other GAA grounds which have opened their gates for music concerts.
The new development will also include new dressing-rooms under the new stand, medical facilities, office spaces, storage rooms, state-of-the-art gym facilities, as well as an extension to the Albany Stand and the development of the McHale road side of the ground.
Mr Goonan explained that, while members of the county board and the architect, David O’Malley viewed stands in different grounds around the country, the new one in Castlebar will be unique as it will cover the entire seating area. He said that McHale Park will be one of the best stadia in Ireland and the premier one in Connacht, making it the first choice to host every Connacht final.
“Outside Croke Park, it will the top one, and you definitely will see all Connacht finals played there. We would be looking to get 50 per cent of the total costs from the Government through the lotto funding and we will also look to Croke Park for funding and after that we will take it from there. We will also be selling season tickets for a five- or ten-year period to clubs, which will be a major fund-raising effort and we guarantee people a seat for every match,” he said.
The tender documents for the stadium are currently being prepared by the architects and a contractor should be appointed in the next three to four months. The development is due to begin at the end of September when the football season is over. It is expected to take a year to compete.