New Croke Park surface

**bocerty** Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:02 am

a lot of fuss is been made of the fact that the new surface to be laid in Croker is 'English' is it only me or is this a sad state of affairs when all people have to worry about is were the turf is coming from.

Does it really matter if its English Irish or fecking Taiwanese for that matter -........

**Jayo Cluxton** Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:17 am

They were supposed to be getting it from an Irish contact in Beijing originally but it was too wet. Apparently Paddy Fields is none too happy ....

**JimWexford** Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:07 am

It does actually.
In times like these we should shop local.
Our biggest advertisment (or one of them at least) for been Irish is the GAA.
They should lead by example and shop local and help our economy and jobs here.
So yes the grass should of been sourced in Ireland

**bocerty** Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:42 am

JimWexford wrote:It does actually.
In times like these we should shop local.
Our biggest advertisment (or one of them at least) for been Irish is the GAA.
They should lead by example and shop local and help our economy and jobs here.
So yes the grass should of been sourced in Ireland

Jim in fairness most of the guys working on the project appear to be Irish - one of the major players is a company from Lurgan/Portadown. I'd say most of the plant being used has been sourced locally too.

Is there anywhere in ireland capable of supplying the turf given the tight timescales involved - that is a genuine question not a put down as i really wouldnt have a clue of any irish companies that do this.

**JimWexford** Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:46 am

See where yor coming from boc but lead times have gone through the floor. i mean everything is wanted on a quick turn around and those of us staying in business are catering for that.
so to answer your point i do believe an Irish company could of done this. We can make all the excuses we want but I don't think there should be any considering U2 are paying for the job not croker

**bocerty** Thu Jul 16, 2009 2:35 pm

A WORLD renowned Irish pitch building company last night claimed they ‘knew nothing’ about the planned work on the Croke Park surface.

Armagh-based Clive Richardson Ltd were awarded the contract to reconstruct the famed field after the weekend’s U2 gigs and in time for the All-Ireland quarter-finals at the beginning of August.

Sligo native George Mullen who runs Support In Sport, a company which has resurfaced pitches used in World Cup, Champions League and Heineken Cup finals, admitted to not knowing ‘anything about a tender’ for the prestigious job at GAA HQ.

"I can only speak for my own company when I say that I knew nothing about the project and I don’t know anything about a tender," said Mullen who is currently in Angola laying 15 new pitches for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

"There might have been a tender but I certainly never saw one.

"We would do most of the re-turfs around Europe. To give you an example, we are doing (the Bernabeu) in Madrid this week, we were doing (the Parken Stadium in) Copenhagen last week and Sporting Lisbon and Porto the week before that.

"So generally, when these things come out you would have a tender and we would be on it but maybe they decided not to put it out.

"I don’t know. I know we certainly didn’t see much information about it."

Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna last night stood over the process by which the management company had gone about the job of having the pitch resurfaced.

"How we conduct our tendering process and how we selected the company is confidential. We are quite happy to engage in any correspondence with any Irish company but I don’t think it is appropriate to do it through the national media."

The fact that the grass for the new surface is being sourced from Scunthorpe in Britain has already touched a few nerves and caused a good deal of comment given the association’s historical and cultural background, much of it "bizarre" and "ill-informed," according to McKenna.

"We went through a very rigorous process in selecting the turf farm and there would be a number of criteria.

"The performance criteria would be the most important one from where we were looking at it."

"The consultant would have selected a contractor for the job and we would have been happy with that.

"He would have recommended a turf and we would have been less confident of taking a turf recommendation by way of Powerpoint. We actually went to see the turf in action."

McKenna added that the consultants used in the process, the Sports Turf Research Institute, have also been utilised by the Irish government for the Abbotstown complex, the IRFU, FAI and on other GAA projects at Wexford Park and O’Moore Park in Portlaoise.

"There is a sense that this has stepped into the bizarre. This has been a detailed process involving a number of GAA officials who would be quite happy that, that process stands scrutiny."

It has also been revealed that, though the U2 concerts were announced late last year, the decision to replace the surface was only taken two months ago when it was very much the only option left open.

As for the focus on the surfaces British ‘roots’, McKenna said: "It is my view that we cannot get the quality-assured seed from an Irish supplier.

"The quality-assured rye grass is not available in Ireland so it is imported. All pitches throughout the country, soccer, rugby and Gaelic, are done on seed that is imported so the issue is nonsensical."

"The technology behind this is important. We wanted to choose a turf that would match the performance and pliability characteristics that we had set for it and we looked at a number of farms.

"We studied four in depth, three of them in the UK and one of them in Slovakia. That was based on having eliminated a number of potential turf farms, both in Ireland and elsewhere that may have the ability to supply turf, but not to the standards or specifications that we required on the Croke Park surface."

**GAA-Fan** Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:15 pm

Its only turf its not really that big of a deal. Economy wise yes they should have got it locally but we have had the English national anthem played at Croke park and that is over and done with its just the media **** stirring in all honesty. Anything for a story.

**clash-of-da-ash** Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:48 pm

U2 concert or not its not a good idea changing the surface in the middle of the championship. This should only be done in late September or October.

**Jayo Cluxton** Thu Jul 16, 2009 5:52 pm

clash-of-da-ash wrote:U2 concert or not its not a good idea changing the surface in the middle of the championship. This should only be done in late September or October.

I agree Clash. The surface has never been better. I actually walked across it on Sunday (shortcut to Hogan!) and it is a superb surface. If we get fellas slipping and sliding on the revamped pitch there will be blue murder! And rightly so!

**bocerty** Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:08 pm

Jayo Cluxton wrote:
clash-of-da-ash wrote:U2 concert or not its not a good idea changing the surface in the middle of the championship. This should only be done in late September or October.

I agree Clash. The surface has never been better. I actually walked across it on Sunday (shortcut to Hogan!) and it is a superb surface.

for a minute there Jayo i thought you were going to tell us you were warming up on Sunday Very Happy

**clash-of-da-ash** Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:23 pm

If the GAA were smart they should have sold the top soil as a souvenir like what they did with the Lansdowne Road pitch. I hope you took a piece of it Jayo their not going to need it again.

**Jayo Cluxton** Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:21 pm

clash-of-da-ash wrote:If the GAA were smart they should have sold the top soil as a souvenir like what they did with the Lansdowne Road pitch. I hope you took a piece of it Jayo their not going to need it again.

I didn't Clash - cos I didn't realise they were ripping it all up - and that quick too! I probably would have felt like the guys in the Great Escape walking up Clonliffe Road with soil and gravel coming out me trouser legs!

**bocerty** Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:24 pm

Jayo Cluxton wrote:
clash-of-da-ash wrote:If the GAA were smart they should have sold the top soil as a souvenir like what they did with the Lansdowne Road pitch. I hope you took a piece of it Jayo their not going to need it again.

I didn't Clash - cos I didn't realise they were ripping it all up - and that quick too! I probably would have felt like the guys in the Great Escape walking up Clonliffe Road with soil and gravel coming out me trouser legs!

wouldnt be the first time a Dub soiled their trousers on Clonliffe road Very Happy

**Jayo Cluxton** Thu Jul 16, 2009 10:28 pm

bocerty wrote:
wouldnt be the first time a Dub soiled their trousers on Clonliffe road

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