Pairc Tailteann on target for April reopening

New stand will be the most modern in the country

Many, including the chairman of the Pairc Tailteann Development Committee Noel Dempsey, had their concerns that the project of building a new stadium might never get off the ground, but with green and gold shoots now rising out of the ground on Brews Hill the €21 million project is very much on time and on budget for an April 2027 opening.

"Things are going great and progress is very, very good. We're on schedule so far.

We have most of the ground works done. We're out of the ground, which is always the most difficult part of a construction project," said Dempsey.

"We've gone through that early stage without any major difficulties and we expect that we'll have the precast (for the stand) starting to come on site by the end of this month.

"Progress is good and fingers crossed for staying on schedule now over the next six months.

"I have to say that I've had doubts at various stages myself. If we got to this stage where we're at now in 2020, out to tender, we would have been starting in August 2020, but then Covid hit and everything came to a halt.

"When we came back, obviously, all the difficulties with price increases and everything else meant that we had to go back to the drawing board."

That original drawing board allowed for a much bigger development and the building of a new stand on the north side of the grounds, but one of the few positives to come from the Covid delay was that it allowed for reflection and focus shifted to building the new stand on the south side of Pairc Tailteann, where work could be completed without impacting on the playing surface that is widely regarded as one of the finest in the country.

Desmpsey is delighted with the progress being made and admitted that it would not have been possible without the support of the clubs and the GAA community.

"We've had our ups and downs, but the clubs have been with us the whole way through this. From the 2015, believe it or not, they decided that we should go ahead with the project. They've been there. They've been supportive and we're very lucky we got the finances through IIP and through the LSSIF from the department."

Dempsey admitted that there is scope for further development down the line, but for now the finances are stretched for a 5,000 all-seater stand that will run the lenght of the pitch and offer state of the art facilities including new dressing rooms, corporate areas, media centre and a plaza for matchday supporters to enjoy.

"It's great to see the progress that's made. That's not to say that down the line, there can't be other elements added to the stadium in years to come. It leaves it open, to possibly the potential of maybe future developments down the tracks. "The dream is there for 21,000 seats, all-seater. That's down the way. The amount of money that this particular part of the project has cost, well over £20 million, to construct,, so it'll be some time, I'd say, before we can contemplate doing extra works on the other side.

"The only cost to the clubs will be the loan of €2 million that we have with AIB, but there are certainly things we'd like to see.

"We won't know ourselves (when the new stand in built). The stand goes in next to the pitch and at the back of that stand is a three-storey building. The first floor will be dressing rooms, toilets, a couple of shop units.

"The second floor will be the area that you would normally call the Ard Comhairle area, which will be available for meetings as well as corporate events during the course of a match and then the top storey will be largely media, statsmen and so on. So it'll be an absolutely modern facility. It'll be the most modern in the country when it's finished. It'll be something that we can all be proud of."

As well as the development of the stand Pairc Tailteann will welcome back floodlights to the venue and that will open up the grounds to more games in the evenings and other potential revenue for the stadium.

"(The redevelopment) will be hugely beneficial and it's one of the reasons why Meath County Council we're so supportive of it. The floodlights will bring a huge boost, not just to Navan, but to quite a wide area around Navan.

"The new facility will be available and we have planning permission if we wanted to use it for concerts or other events as well. So from that point of view, I think it will mean a huge amount to the local economy."

With the project rolling along Dempsey admitted that the work put by him, and the entire Pairc Tailteann Development committee has been a labour of love and revealed that there will be opportunities for further investment such as stadium naming rights and a 'Royal walkway'.

"There are going to be further initiatives for people to get involved, to actually have an opportunity of making themselves a little bit of Pairc Tailteann as well in the future.

"We're talking in terms of naming rights. If there are any companies or individuals that would like to consider that, we'd very much appreciate consideration.

"Pre-sale of tickets will also be put in place. We're hoping to have a Royal Way or a walk with bricks where individuals or clubs can actually have their name installed on the walkway.

"I've described this as a labour of love. I really felt strongly from the word go, along with Liam Mulvihill, when Conor Tormey asked the two of us to do a report, both of us wanted to make a major contribution to this. It's been a labour of love, a dream coming true. The dream is now becoming a reality and I'm just delighted," said Dempsey.