A Big Test For Walsh Park

            Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon sees a big test takes place. Waterford and Kilkenny, between them have not collected any points in their National League games played to date, and many, especially on the Waterford side of the River Suir will want to see their side lose to their rivals, as local bragging rights is always important to supporters of any G.A.A. side.

            But the biggest test for Waterford this weekend might not be what happens on the field of play, but what comes off the field of play.

            This will be Waterford’s second home game in this year’s National Hurling League Campaign. A few weeks back Waterford lost to another South East Rival – Wexford and many people on the day were not happy.

Let me point out at this stage it was not the defeat to Davy Fitzgerald’s side that many were angry about, and neither was it to do with the fact that Waterford on the day used no sub, something we were later told was the plan of action for the day, as changes would only be made in the event of an injury to one of the home side’s players.

What many were angered about on the day was the venue. People took to Social Media to vent their anger. No doubt some were labelled Keyboard Warriors, it’s a term that some in Waterford like to use when something is said that might not be liked by some, but in fact of what I saw on Social Media there was no Keyboard Warriors, but that is not to say that they were not some. For me, there was no Keyboard Warrior’s because when I checked online as to what a Keyboard Warrior was, it was said that it is someone that keeps their identity private, but all that I saw had a name attached.

Those that did vent their anger after the Wexford game, for most a blind man could see that they had a point in what they are saying, and some used photographic proof to back up what they were saying.

This year we have a new look championship when it comes to hurling, one that most of the top hurling counties apparently did not want introduced.

The new look competition see’s the Munster and Leinster Championship’s played on a round robin basis, with all counties competing in the two province’s guaranteed four games, two at a home venue and two away from home.

Straight away once it was confirmed that the championship was to have a new look, and that Waterford’s two home games would be played against Tipperary and Cork, the two sides who along with Waterford have possibly the biggest support in the province questions were asked would Walsh Park be able to host the two games.

Before the end of 2017 we were told that yes, the ground would hold the games and we were told that talks were going on with some while to develop the Keane’s Road venue.

Many supporters of the Déise County have long suggested that the G.A.A. in Waterford should look into the possibility of putting the For Sale signs up on the Keane’s Road venue and hope that some developer would step in and purchase the site for housing, and that the G.A.A. in Waterford develop a ground away from its current home.

There is many that have suggested that the G.A.A. should have its home base at Carriganore, but it must be noted that the G.A.A. while it uses the facilities at the W.I.T. Arena for training and indeed some matches, it does not own the site, and why then would the G.A.A. put money into the site to bring it up to the requirements needed to host big games. And the question would have to be asked, would the W.I.T. want to sell it now to the G.A.A. or anyone else after they have put much time and energy into making it the facility that it is today.

I for one have to agree with many that Walsh Park is not suitable for hosting big games on a number of reasons.

Parking is always a problem when it comes to Walsh Park. We were told last year that Walsh Park, like other grounds around the country is located in or close to residential areas, but unlike many of these other grounds, there is no real areas that can be developed for parking.

Traditionally parking has taken place on the streets, but when this happens, the owners of the houses near the ground are often prisoners in their homes during games as they would not be able to get their car out, and if they get out before people start to gather in the area, there is no guarantee that they will get back in if they come back home during a match or for a period of time before or after it.

If Walsh Park is to be developed the residents in the area will have a say in whether works can take place or not, and I for one can see many objecting if there is not areas nearby found for people to park their cars.

If the current banks on three sides of the playing surface of the ground are to be converted into proper terracing with concrete steps will it mean that it will reduce the capacity of the ground further? Waterford does not need a ground the size of Semple Stadium, The Gaelic Grounds or the new Pairc Ui Chaoimh, but if the new look All-Ireland Hurling Championship is retained after the trial period is up, Waterford will need a ground that can hold 20,000 up to 25,000 the attendance that would be expected at most Inter County games outside of a provincial final. Can this happen at Walsh Park? Can a stand be built opposite the one that already exists? I doubt there is not enough ground on that side of the field for it to happen as it backs onto a housing estate, and you can hardly put another tier onto the existing stand because of the public road that runs behind it.

For me, Walsh Park should be sold off and the G.A.A. locate to another venue, but where?

Well for me, the G.A.A. already have a venue which if it was to be closed for a period of time and developed, it could well become a venue that we in Waterford could be proud of.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to read my mind as to where. Fraher Field in Dungarvan.

Yes there will be some that will say that the G.A.A. has to have its County Ground in or close to the area where the population is at its biggest.

Waterford City does have the biggest population centre in the county, but ask yourself, how many in Waterford City are interested in the G.A.A. or how many actually know what a hurley or football is.

Last year, without doing an online check to get an exact figure, in the region of 2,000 people attended the County Senior Hurling Final at Walsh Park between two city sides, two clubs are possibly the biggest in the county. For a city with a population of over 50,000 when you consider that a large number of the official attendance that day would have travelled to the game from outside of the city and its hinterland. For the football County Final played at Fraher Field in the month of December an attendance of about half of what was in Walsh Park two months earlier were present, and we consider ourselves a hurling county.

It’s also worth noting also that when there is a double header game at Walsh Park or Fraher Field many supporters from the city area will often only attend one game and will get up and leave after the first game or will come in towards the end of the first game, depending on what side they want to see.

Last year we were told that Walsh Park was seen as a central venue and the one that must be developed. I don’t know who suggested first that Walsh Park was a central venue, but i would love to know who it was a central venue to.

To me Dungarvan is pretty much in the centre of the county. The Old Boro is about a 40 minute drive from Waterford City, roughly the same it takes to travel to Dungarvan from the County Boundary with Tipperary outside Clonmel, and just a little longer in mile that it is from places like Knockanore, Tallow and Ballyduff Upper to Dungarvan, but this extra mileage can be made up with better roads.

There will be some that will argue that not everyone in the city area have their own transport to get to Dungarvan for a game, but the same could be said of people in rural areas, and those in the city have the advantage of a bus service to and from Dungarvan every hour on the hour and stops no more than a five minute walk from Fraher Field.

As things stand, Fraher Field would not be suitable to hosting a big Munster Championship game, but neither is Walsh Park.

Fraher Field however has many pluses going for it. If the ground was closed for two to three years at max, the current stand was knocked, the playing field turned so that it runs along with the road outside it, two new stands built either side of a new playing pitch, and concrete terracing built behind the goals, there is no reason why the ground could not accommodate a capacity of twenty to twenty-five thousand people.

A county ground at Fraher Field would also have the bonus of a number of hotels, pubs and restaurants, a must for many attending games within a short distance of the ground, and within the ground there are a number of areas that could be used for car parking if needed.

 If problems are found with Walsh Park this coming weekend and the organising of big games then a decision will have to be made as quickly as possible to move the purposed championship games away from the venue, be it to play Cork and Tipperary on their own patch, to play Cork in Thurles and Tipperary in Cork, something that could happen as there is no game fixed for Semple Stadium the day Waterford play Cork, and Cork are at home to Limerick the evening before Waterford play Tipperary, or maybe Nowlan Park in Kilkenny could be a possibility as it does not have a Leinster Championship game on the dates that Waterford play Tipperary or Cork.