O’Briensbridge man plans to expand arena

UP to 15 all-weather indoor soccer pitches could be provided by the University of Limerick and an ambitious O’Briensbridge developer, who plans to expand his state-of-the-art €9.2 million indoor football arena.
Not content with the provision of the largest indoor football arena in Munster, O’Briensbridge businessman, Ralph Parkes, hopes to add another three AstroTurf pitches to the existing seven in the Delta Soccer Dome in the Delta Retail Park, Ballysimon, Limerick City.
A joint collaboration with UL, which has five indoor all-weather pitches on its Clare campus, would provide 15 indoor playing pitches within a short distance of one another for major national and international sporting events.
While most businesses in the Mid-West are struggling to stay afloat, Mr Parkes seems to have hit the target with his facility. Interestingly, the building wasn’t originally designed as a sports facility and only came about when a deal to accommodate a major pharmaceutical tenant fell through.
At first, it was decided to divide the massive building, which was constructed in 2007, into individual commercial units of 5,000, 10,000 and 25,000 square feet. However, the lack of interest shown forced a radical rethink, which resulted in devising a brand new concept to complement the adjoining karting facility in the Delta Retail Park. Following over a year of planning, the company secured planning permission for a change in use.
The 10,000m2 Delta Soccer Dome comprises seven full-sized pitches, five party rooms, changing and shower areas and a café/lounge area. It also boasts two indoor synthetic grass tennis courts.
Operational since the end of September, the facility was officially launched with a charity match between some of the former Munster rugby greats and Limerick FC players in October.
In total, 34 people are employed in the karting and soccer dome and there are plans to hire another six people in the coming weeks.
It is managed by Darragh Droog, a player manager with Mungret Soccer Club, who has a health and leisure qualification from Tralee Institute of Technology.
Mr Parkes is delighted with the response to date since the facility opened.
“We are very encouraged by the participation from local GAA clubs who come here to train. Soccer is the most popular sport that is played, the GAA comes next and then we have organisations such as Limerick Athletic Club, the Catholic Institute, rugby and tennis clubs who are using it on a regular basis.
“We are now looking at innovative ways to increase daytime use. We will have elderly people who will be able to play sports such as bowls, who can come in here during the daytime and have a place of their own. We have the facility to provide five badminton courts and provide things like a trampoline to broaden our sports appeal.
“This is a huge facility for the region and is the only one of its kind outside Dundalk. The fact that our facilities are indoor and are not affected by the weather is also a big bonus,” he noted.
Mr Parkes is married to Maureen and they have three children. He is a patron of Spina Bifida, is on the Special Olympics Council, is a board member of the University of Limerick Foundation and was on the leadership committee for the staging of the Special Olympics event in Limerick earlier this year.