New Greyhound Stadium to open in October

After a few false starts, a number of disappointments and criticism from dog owners and trainers for the long delay, the new greyhound racing stadium for Limerick is well on the way.
The new stadium, situated on a site at Greenpark off the Dock Road, will be opened to the public on October 8.
The present stadium at the Markets Field will close on July 17 and in between that an the opening of the new stadium greyhound owners and trainers, who would normally race in Limerick, will be catered for by way of additional racing in Tralee and Galway stadiums.
No doubt it will an occasion of going down memory lane when the Markets Fields closes its doors for the last race. Bord na gCon are making this a special occasion.
Greyhound racing has been taking place at this venue since 1933 and over the years it has been the home for one of Ireland’s leading classics, the Irish St Leger.
Historically the Markets Field Stadium was a major sports arena for the region and hosted various sporting codes including soccer, Gaelic games, rugby, athletics and even a pop concert.
Originally patrons and bookmakers were housed on the far side of the track until the present stand was erected and officially opened in 1966 by the then Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, Charlie Haughey. The new development also included a bar, toilets and Tote facilities, all at a cost of £61,000. Bord na gCon took control of the Limerick track company in 1975, having acquired the share capital for the sum of £80,000.
Later on in 1995, Kerry TD, Jimmy Deenihan, who was Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry at that time, officially opened a new range of improvements including a new sanded circuit, bar, hare system and watering and lighting systems.
In 1999 Bord na gCon completed the purchase of the Bord Telecom site on Mulgrave Street, adjacent to the stadium for IR£1million. It provided a new entrance to the stadium together with covered car parking area for greyhound owners and patrons.
The freehold of the Markets Field Stadium was purchased from Limerick Markets Trustees for £325,000 in the year 2000.
The main construction work on the Greenpark site is now complete and the laying of the racing surface will commence in mid July ahead of trials in early September.
As part of the development, Bord na gCon intends to sell the Markets Field as well as its headquarters in Limerick’s Henry Street. The new headquarters will be part of the new stadium.
In 2001 Bord na gCon announced that it had purchased a 14-acre site in the former Greenpark race course for the new stadium to replace the aged Markets Field. However, when it transpired that the cost would be much greater through having to raise the site, another site was looked in Meelick close to the Two Mile Inn on the Clare-Limerick border. However, problems arose there as well as regards access and the original site at Greenpark was reverted to.
For three months during construction filling was brought from Roadstone quarry at Bunratty to raise the site.
The main construction work on the Greenpark site is now complete and according to Adrian Neilan, chief executive of the Irish Greyhound Board, it is exciting to be naming a date for this new chapter in the history of Irish Greyhound racing.
The stadium will have a capacity attendance of 2,900, putting it among the top rank of greyhound racing stadia on an international scale. It will boast a 190-seat restaurant, private hospitality suites and gallery bars, all of which will be a significant attraction for people in the Mid-West.
Mr Neilan added that of crucial importance to the opening of the new stadium is the assurance of a safe and consistent running surface for competing greyhounds. To ensure that all welfare needs are met in this regard the decision to move the sand from the existing Markets Field site has been taken. This will ensure that the racing surface quickly knits and beds in, and that there are no long time delays in waiting for the surface to settle as has been the case in the past when stadia opened with new racing circuits.
He added that they will not compromise the safety or quality of the track at Limerick. In order to move the sand and bed in the new track, there will be a period of a little over two months when there will be no racing in Limerick but it is in the interests of the welfare of the greyhounds in the long term.
The St Leger is now scheduled to run on a new date in December and Mr Neilan states that they have a responsibility to owners and trainers to ensure every measure is taken to ensure the safety of their greyhounds when the new stadium opens.
The additional new kennel capacity at Limerick will allow for more racing than has been possible at the Markets Field site.
“We have worked closely with the local greyhound owners and breeders association, and credit is due to them for taking the long-term view on this. The inconvenience will soon pass while the stadium will be a major success story for many decades,” Mr Neilan said.
Dick O’ Sullivan, chairman of Bord na gCon, told The Clare Champion that they were all looking forward to a great new era of greyhound racing in Limerick. They in Bord na gCon were delighted to provide this magnificent new stadium. They were also pleased that everything went smoothly despite the difficult economic downturn in the country.