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THE COST of developing the Sportsground has jumped by €10m since it was announced in 2018 and it will now cost over €40m when it is built over the next two years.
But a new 12-year naming rights for the venue is going to help offset the cost of the increase for Connacht Rugby.
The venue known as the Sportsground since it was opened in 1927 will from this morning now be Dexcom Stadium following confirmation of the sponsorship deal with the US multinational medical company which is about to start work on developing its first European manufacturing plant in Athenry.
The stadium has been rebranded overnight and the Dexcom logo will be displayed throughout the venue for this evening’s Champions Cup clash with Bristol Bears.
Capacity is currently just over 6,000 with a facility to bring it up to 8,000 by installing temporary stands behind each goal. The new capacity, when the stadium is fully open during the 2025/26 season, will increase to 10,000 with a further 2,000 extra behind each goal as before.
The development also includes a modern high-performance centre, while the new North Stand will have conference facilities and other non-matchday earning potential.
The proposed redevelopment was impacted by Covid but Connacht chief executive Willie Ruane said that the extra time allowed them to increase the finance pot for the works, with over €6m set aside from their share of the CVC buy-in to the Six Nations, and while the Dexcom deal is not front-loaded and will come in the form of annual payments for the next 12 years, it has allowed them greater stability, while they are also availing of additional credit facilities and donations.
This has allowed them to deal with the massive jump in the cost of the project, which was initially priced at €30m when it was announced in 2018. Government funding was confirmed for €20m, with Connacht raising the remaining €10m through their own funds and credit facilities.
The IRFU are not making a direct financial contribution but Ruane said they were supportive on many other fronts and were key to the project. Contracts were signed last week for the project so the cost of just over €40m is now set in stone and Ruane said they were confident they had the financial package sorted.
“It is in excess of €40m. It is a significant jump but what it did was enable us to increase our own funding as well,” he said.
Work will start in March on building the new high-performance centre, which will be attached to the existing standalone gym. Then, when the season is over, the Clan Stand and existing office blocks, which were developed two decades ago, will be knocked down. That side of the ground will be out of commission for all of next season and into the 2025/26 season until the works are complete.
The capacity of the ground will be reduced to between 3,500 to 4,000 next season. Office staff will work from home similar to the Covid period, while temporary dressing rooms will be introduced for players to continue training at the venue and for matchday.
The new North Stand, which really will be the fulcrum of the redeveloped stadium with bars, shops and catering facilities, will have a capacity of around 7,000. This will include a standing terrace at the front for 1,900, then 4,000 seats at the next level, while on the upper level, there will be corporate facilities catering for around 900 and this will also be the venue for non-matchday conferences.
“It’s the non-matchday revenues which could have some of the most significant potential to be able to move us to another level in terms of our revenues,” added Ruane.
He said the deal with Dexcom, a company that has its headquarters in San Diego and is renowned for manufacturing glucose monitor devices, which help manage diabetes and is about to create 1,000 jobs in its new Athenry plant, is key to the whole development.
“It is a critical enabler of the whole project for us. We are delighted that we have managed to develop a relationship with Dexcom and that we have them as partners going forward.
“We are very proud to be associated with them. The product they make is a product which affects lives and we have members of staff who use that product and it has transformed how they manage diabetes in their lives,” added Ruane.
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Not my bag musically but fair play for shaking a leg and making a big effort on this front.
No doubt we’ll have the usual eejits along calling it woke zzzzzzzz.
They’d prefer to be downing pints of petrol as the fire approaches just to stick it to anyone who shows the vaguest amount of concern about wrecking our one and only gaff.
@SerotoninWars: the kinetic dancefloor is probably better for publicity than it is for electricity generation. In 3 hours one of the dance floors is only able to generate enough to power a kettle for 1 hour. I doubt the bikes are much use either, good for raising awareness but not much else. I’d imagine the extra c02 of moving these from venue to venue is probably more than is saved by them.
@SerotoninWars: I’d be kineticing the opposite direction personally, but they’re big into being environmentally aware so let em have at it.
@John K: Way to go picking one aspect and ignoring the rest. Also, read the article. I get why people love to attack and dismiss anyone making an effort. It means they can make lazy excuses for doing nothing themselves. Back to the inertia and status quo which requires zero effort. It’s comforting and easy but ignores the facts. Same as usual.
@ecrowley ecrowley: Same. Not a fan of their music at all but they’re huge, play to millions and get the press and column inches, so it’s good to see them making an effort. The music touring industry needs as many acts as possible shaking a leg to find ways of making their shows less of a disaster resource-wise and environmentally.
@SerotoninWars: wasn’t meant as an attack. Instead of saying publicity I should have said raising awareness. Their other efforts are laudable. I myself have recently spent a significant amount between air to water heating, mechanical heat recovery and a solar pv system with battery so dont appreciatethe ad hominum attack. My point was that the dance floors and bikes are probably a net negative to the environment and counter productive to their aim.
@SerotoninWars:
People if they want can give the middle finger to anything. If they didn’t the only art we would have would have would be this mediocre pish!
@John K: Apologies. I was a bit OTT in my reply! You get so used to people replying with the sole aim of undermining any efforts on this front. There’s so much misinformation and commentary with the aim of spurring people to inaction and apathy. It wears you out after a while! But you gotta remember everyone isn’t coming at it from a Trumpian/MAGA/Brit Gutter Press angle! So my bad!
That’s fair enough if you are suspect about that one aspect. I was taking it as one part of a larger effort, and powering one of the smaller stages seemed a decent return, when added to all of the other efforts. Of course more can be done and I’m sure if there’s a will the technology and systems can be streamlined to be even more effective :)
@Clash: They can indeed! It just feels like good righteous anger, punching up, has been replaced with a lot of silly self-defeating contrarianism! No facts. Just hunches and tantrums based on people’s aversion to change or making even a tiny bit of an effort! I’d much rather see The Clash than Coldplay. Although that might open up another jaded debate about whether they were really punk and we’ve enough cobwebbed arguments already this week with Oasis back!
@SerotoninWars: make a lot of money/worry about it later
Codswallop.
So,is everyone going to walk to the concerts?
@IMHO: You’re thinking of The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
@IMHO: if you read the full article towards the end they said attendees travel is not included.
What a load of xxxx!!
@Ooooooooooo: xxxx? I’m guessing either Castlemaine or Hamster.
Give me strength.
Gimmicks and Tomfoolery.
Apart from the planting of trees, the rest of that is pure spoofery.
If the really wanted to make a direct impact in reducing their carbon footprint, rather than just paying lipservice to it, then they wouldn’t hold the concerts.
But then they wouldn’t get paid, and playing concerts and selling merchandise at those concerts is a major revenue source for bands and artists.
@Dvsespaña: I think you have nailed it and may I add that if the cut their costs by 50% will their ticket prices also get cut by 50%, I doubt it but they have made enough money to live on for a few lifetimes maybe a lot less concerts is the answer. Maybe multiple hit and run concerts in small venues like Prince did in 2013 is a better solution?
Well its nice to see some millionaires doing something positive, normally there getting rescued from yachts/powerboats or crashing planes/helicopters. Fair play.
They say that music can move people;
This is certainly true when it comes to Coldplay.
I always leave the room when I hear them.
They got the toilets on the upper stands connected to a mini hydro electric power station, so the flow is generating power on the way to the sewer, so drink up and pee
@P. V. Aglue: pity he broke up with Gwyneth Paltrow, apparently she produces enough BS that the methane harvested from it can power a medium sized town.
And not a word about the poor neighbors and what we have to put up with crowds piling into the area our car parks nicked and people pissing in our gardans all coz of crokers concerts we re locked in our homes 4 the duration of theses concerts croker is now too big for the area and needs to be housed elsewhere preferably where they wanted to build that new super prison laying idol @ taxpayers expence
@liam ward: Funny .. It’s always the residents over by Croker moaning.. Don’t hear the residents around the Aviva or RDS moaning on like this.. you knew the stadium was there when you bought your house I assume.. or else the estate agent was David Copperfield… ?
@Brian: A lot of old family homes around Croke Park. Perhaps the poster was born and grew up there.
Ever think of that before posting what you probably consider a “ witty “ comment ? .
@Danny Reilly: then he should be used to it?
@Fergus O’Donnell: Speak for yourself but im not sure how long it takes to “ get used to “ watching people pissin in your front garden. Perhaps it’s something you could get used to.
Delusional fools
Hey hey my my
@Dave c: Rock and roll is here to sty?
What a load of nonsense
They should check out an Irish company called Neg8 while they’re here. If they’re serious.
Imagine Oasis having a kinetic stage . That kettle for the back stage brew would be leave it decidedly tepid
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