GALWAY UNITED

The new 1,700-seat stand has at last been completed at Terryland and was first used by The Tribesmen for their FAI Cup semi-final against Shelbourne in March.  The seats were installed in February and March, having been acquired some time ago.  They remained stockpiled in a corner of the ground while funds were raised for their installation.

SHAMROCK ROVERS  

Irish Premier Bertie Ahern laid the first turf at the new Tallaght site on March 30.  The much-delayed project is at last underway with the ground expected to be usable by the autumn.   

LONGFORD TOWN    

With the Midlanders pushing for promotion all of last season, the club have undertaken an emergency fund-raising programme.  The club now have money in place and will build a 1,700-seater stand during the summer.  The bulldozers moved in as soon as the final whistle went in the last game of the 1999-2000 season.

DERRY CITY                                                                                                                     

Derry City are building a new stand that will contain executive boxes.  In an interesting diversification the boxes are going to double as classrooms when not in use for football.  They will run adult education classes and a scheme for kids with learning difficulties.

BLUEBELL UNITED 

The Leinster Senior Leaguers have moved to a new ground at Capco Park.  Their log-time home at the Red Cow in Naas Road had little scope for redevelopment so the move was essential.  However, the new ground failed its first major test when Bluebell’s FAI Cup quarter-final against Shelbourne was switched to Tolka Park on police advice.

 ATHLONE TOWN      

The Westmeath club have just completed a ground swap deal with the local County Council which will involve them relocating to a new site in around 3 years time and the council building houses on their current ground.

COLERAINE      

The present capacity at The Showgrounds under health and safety regulations is 6,500.This is a far cry from when their record attendance of 12,500 was set for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur in a European tie back in the 70’s. Work is now underway to change the appearance of the ground by making it completely enclosed. These developments include cladding around the exposed perimeter, moving the turnstiles and building three new toilet blocks. The Showgrounds is also the host ground to the Northern Ireland Milk Cup, which runs every summer and includes teams from all around the world.

SHELBOURNE      

The new stand at Tolka Park, home of the League of Ireland champions, Shelbourne F.C. was used for the first time on the 30^th April where it played host to the F.A.I. Cup Final between Shels and Bohemians . It will not officially open until the start of the 2000-2001 season where it will be fully fitted out with new dressing rooms for players and match officials, a modern gym with top of the range fitness equipment and corporate facilities. The single tier stand has 18 rows, 6 aisles, 892 seats, took nearly 6 months to build and cost £1 million (£730,000stg) although the overall cost is set to rise to £1.25 million once the final fit out is completed. This cost was assisted by a £500,000 grant from the Government and further funds will be generated through the naming rights of the stand and the sale of corporate boxes.  Built by Bonney Construction, the stand is located at the Drumcondra end of the ground and backs on to the Tolka River (Pictured above by Mark Bishop). It was built on a floating raft and its final shape is due to the path of the river. The new stand will increase the capacity of the ground to just fewer than 12,000 all seated. It has three floors and over 20 rooms. On the ground floor there is a large bar, two storerooms and a players gym. The first floor will contain all changing rooms and warm-up areas for players and referees. On the second floor there will be kitchens and prep. areas for the hospitality suites which are to be located at the top of the stand.

SUPER 8               

The proposed all-Ireland midweek competition looks likely to go ahead with the top four clubs from the Eircom League and the Smirnoff Irish League competing for a total prize fund of £400,000.  The games will be staged fortnightly with only four venues being used.  These are Windsor Park and Coleraine’s Showgrounds in the North and Lansdowne Road and Cork’s Turners Cross ground in the Republic.  Both club grounds will qualify for grants from their respective Governments for further improvements.

CORK CITY