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Páirc uí Chaoimh set to be ren...
GAA

GAA

Páirc uí Chaoimh set to be renamed "SuperValu Park"

Ruairi O'Hagan
Ruairi O'Hagan

06:47 16 Jan 2024


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Páirc uí Chaoimh is set to be renamed.

The Irish Examiner report that the famous venue is set to become SuperValu Park, in a naming rights deal worth over €250,000 per year.

Three other companies, Boston Scientific, Statkraft and PepsiCo will have subsidiary branding privileges.

The deal, which is set to run for three years until 2026, is set to be rubber stamped at tonight's County Board meeting.

Speaking to Off The Ball recently, County Board chief executive Kevin O'Donovan outlined the debt under which the stadium was operating.

"It is a cloud over the Association in Cork. And yet you'll see we invested €2m in our county teams this year, our spending went up 25% on our county teams. So it's not affecting the day to day activities.

"For the board and the officers, it is a daily task to address the debt. What has changed in the last few months is we now have a 25 year repayment plan with Croke Park. We have our Bank of Ireland loan, €20m, Croke Park debt of €10m, or Cumann Lúthchleas Gael more specifically.

"So the €30m number is real, it's not a black hole it's real. We now have a 25 year plan where the county board will pay that off in quarterly instalments, annual amounts.

"The stadium will need to wash its face as well, though. In a non concert year we have to establish a break even position, and then when concerts come let them be a windfall to go into our reserves.

"But the idea that concerts can pay off the debt is questionable. The stadium needs to break even, and the county board will have to pay off the debt in the long run.

"But we feel we can generate that €1m - €1.2m a year in profit and pay it off over the long term, because we mustn't disenfranchise our teams.

"The best way of making the stadium a success is All Irelands, and the best way of paying off the debt is All Irelands, so you have to speculate to accumulate as well."


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Cork Cork GAA GAA Pairc Ui Chaoimh

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