WATERFORD’S WALSH PARK will host matches again this weekend as redevelopment plans for the county grounds are set to continue.
The venue was unavailable for staging inter-county games earlier this year following the announcement of redevelopment work which began on 9 January. It was hoped at the time that the stadium would be fit to hold club championship games later in 2023, as De La Salle and Roanmore prepare to contest the Waterford senior hurling semi-final in Walsh Park on Sunday afternoon.
Waterford GAA chairman Seán Michael O’Regan says Phase One of the plan is complete ahead of the final-four clash, and adds that discussions are ongoing regarding the commencement of Phase Two.
“We’re delighted to see that happen,” O’Regan told WLR FM’s Déise Today programme.
“It’s going to be great new surroundings for players and spectators next Sunday. It’s a huge achievement when you consider the start of the construction phase of it on 9 January and here we are, seven-and-a-half months later with Phase One almost completed. A couple of snags to be completed over the next couple of weeks so people just need to bear with us on that.”
O’Regan added that Phase One of the redevelopment project “came in on time and on budget,” costing an estimated €3.5million.
On the status of Phases Two and Three of the project, O’Regan continued:
A friend of mine went up to Walsh Park to see the progress; all sports fans REALLY hope they finish phases 2+3 in same fashion. Great work done so far. We as Waterford GAA fans are waiting a long time to finally have a home we can all be proud of. Pitch widening really good. pic.twitter.com/PY3tH8ZVqh
— Damien Tiernan (@damienwlr) August 24, 2023
“We’re in talks [with regards Phase Two]. We’re looking at the design of that to see what we can do better than originally planned. We’re in discussions from a financial point of view and all those discussions are ongoing.”
“We’re working hard on the funding but there’s some very positive discussions. Our ambition is still the same to drive on with Phase Two and Phase Three.”
O’Regan estimates that the next phase will cost around €8million, and stressed that work will begin as soon as they get approval to proceed.
“We won’t put a timeline on it. There’s a lot of work, a lot of meetings, a lot of discussions to be had. Once everything has aligned, we will start as soon and as quickly as possible.”
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