THE RENAMING OF Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium sparked Cabinet discussions today on how the government can step in and prevent the rebranding of stadiums that have received significant State funding.
The grandson of Pádraig Ó Caoimh as well as Tánaiste Micheál Martin spoke out against a proposal today to rename Cork’s Páirc Uí Chaoimh “Supervalu Páirc”.
The stadium is currently named after the late Irish soldier and one-time general secretary of the GAA, but GAA board delegates are considering a proposal to change the name under a new rights deal with Supervalu.
The Tánaiste, a Cork native, has said today he is “deeply disappointed and annoyed” at the proposal to change the name.
“Pádraig Uí Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level. Govt allocated €30m towards the development of the stadium and never sought naming rights,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The Journal understands that the renaming of the stadium in Cork was discussed at today’s Cabinet meeting, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar stating that work would get underway to ensure that stadiums that have received substantial sports capital grants from the State cannot be renamed for commercial reasons without government sign-off.
Government has allocated €30 million towards the development of the Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium.
Senior sources confirmed that the government’s thinking is that if the State provides substantial grants to stadiums and sports organisations in the future, having a say in any renaming of that asset should form part of the deal.
It is understood that the matter was also raised with Varadkar at tonight’s Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting, where that Taoiseach was told by members if the government is putting “big money” into sports stadiums, it should have the right to be involved in any discussions around rebranding.
The Irish Examiner this week reported that the deal being considered would see Boston Scientific, Statkraft and PepsiCo gaining subsidiary stadium branding privileges in an effort to drum up new sponsorship revenue.
The paper said the deal is for a five-year time period, and could be worth €1.5 million.
Páirc Ui Chaoimh has grappled with debts for years, with stadium losses last year adding up to €331,000.
Written by Christina Finn and posted on TheJournal.ie
