Sportsground revamp to begin in Summer; no talks held with Galway Utd over move

Connacht have confirmed that work on the €30m redevelopment project of the Sportsground will begin this summer, with the first phase seeing the existing main grass pitch being dug up and replaced with an artificial surface.

That first phase of work, which will get underway as soon as the current club rugby season ends in June, will also involve the installation of new floodlights: the aim is to have that first phase of work completed in time for the start of the 2022/23 season, which is likely to be September.

“We are looking forward to starting work in the summer, beginning with the installation of the artificial pitch and additional lighting.

“That is the first step and also a major step – getting that pitch done and having it ready for the start of the new season means we can continue to train at the Sportsground while the gym is being knocked and the back pitch is being dug up,” a spokesperson for Connacht Rugby told City Sport this week.

Plans for the massive renovation of the Sportsground, which would see the capacity increase to 12,000 spectators, were first announced three years ago and at the time it was said the development could cost in the region of €30m.

Full planning permission for the development was granted in May 2019, and in January 2020, the Government announced a total of €20m to Connacht Rugby’s Sportsground redevelopment project.

There was an initial €10m allocation under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure (LSSIF), which was well short of what was hoped for – and needed – but that was then almost immediately matched with a further €10m commitment that was announced by the then Government Chief Whip and Galway West TD at the time, Sean Kyne.

Speaking at the time, Connacht said the redevelopment plan had been made possible following an arrangement reached between the Irish Greyhound Board and the freehold owners of the Sportsground, the Galway Agricultural and Sports Society.

“The arrangement with the Irish Greyhound Board will ensure that rugby fixtures and greyhound racing events will continue to be staged at the venue.”

There were whispers locally over the Christmas period that a third sport might be featuring in the redeveloped ground, as there were suggestions that Galway United had entered talks with moving to the renovated Sportsground, possibly as soon as for the start of the 2023 season in February 12 months.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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