Expect the Unexpected...




Connacht Rugby broke a great deal of records last year in terms of ticket sales, match day attendance and the highest ever league finish. We want to kick off this season with a huge bang and continue breaking records.

This Saturday we take on Cardiff Blues at the Sportsground and Eric and the team can’t wait to get out on the pitch. We want the highest ever attendance at a Connacht season opening game and it promises to be a unique experience.

There are a series of developments in place for the season ahead, and we can’t wait to welcome you back to the Sportsground. You’ll see a lot of improvements over the coming weeks whilst all the time retaining our unique club feel. So what can you, the Connacht Rugby supporter, expect this season?

You will also find a wide-ranging entertainment programme across the season which means a blend of colour, music and fun at all matches. In September, we are doubling the size of our ever popular Clan Bar and it will now include a lounge area. We will host home-grown musical acts in the lounge to entertain you while you enjoy a pint before, during and after the game. This kicks off with a traditional Irish band at the Clan Bar this Saturday from 4pm. Stout drinkers will now be able to avail of Murphy’s in the Clan Bar whilst Heineken continues to be poured throughout the stadium.

We will have a dedicated, interactive Kids’ Zone in place where children will be able to participate in kicking and passing competitions as well as scrummage practice. In addition to this we have set aside a Kids Only Viewing area in the Clan stand to ensure that all children under the age of 12 will be underneath cover and won’t miss any of the action with a clear view of the game.

2012/13 sees the launch of our impressive hospitality and Platinum Club facilities which will offer a truly premium experience to companies and individuals allowing them to entertain clients and groups in the home of the Sportsground. The luxury marquees will be on-site from mid-September onwards and packages for Leinster will go on sale this week.

Finally we have appointed a new improved food and beverage franchisee who will deliver a range of BBQ’s, soups, coffee and other options as the season progresses.

Throughout the year we hope to deliver you a more colourful, entertaining and family friendly environment whilst retaining all the passion on the field and in our terraces! Everyone here is itching for it and we look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

To secure your place at all our home games make sure you get yourself a season ticket. With all that we have on offer this is exceptional value at €225 for an adult season ticket, €80 for a junior and €400 for a family season ticket (2 adults, 2 children).

CORPORATE HOSPITALITY at Connacht V Leinster on Friday September 28th 2012 (KO 8.00pm) is available with prices starting at €99.

they are saying all the right things. i cant bloody wait.
music in the clan bar, after the game? i find it loud enough there after the match and most people prefer to talk about what happened during the game.
ah sure girlfriend might be happy now for me to stick around for few pints later

GTTC wrote: Was at the game today also. Pretty confused by the new 9 lamp posts in front of the clan for the dogs. Defo an injury concern.

I think they were there last year, if so they fold flat.

Was at the game today also. Pretty confused by the new 9 lamp posts in front of the clan for the dogs. Defo an injury concern.

Swifty thats a wheelchair area. it was there last season also but they are roofing it for this season. Spoke to the carpenter who was measuring up just before todays game. Its the decent thing to do in fairness. Imo could do with a bit more elevation or an angle change as kids normally sit on wall on that side of clan potentially blocking wheelchair view.

The hammering you heard was the putting in of more advertising boards on back of Clan stand(outside) so they are obv pushing advertising in ground this season which is fair enough.There is also large one similar to what you saw at Bohermore end again in TV view.
There are no new permanent toilets in place which is dissapointing. Also no sign of the clan bar being extended as reported here.

I was also told that a temp covered stand will be in situ at the bohermore end of Main terrace where wooden bar, Steel cylinder and Tractor parking currently occupy. That will need clearing and there is no evidence of that ongoing atm.

swift4prez wrote: at the botharmore side of the clan, there is a wooden pen, maybe 10ft x 10ft with a wooden ramp up it, is this the children area or is it a wheeelchair area ?

there was a similar structure there last season, most of the people I saw in there were disabled with their carers (I presume)

few notes from today. big advertisment boards on the right as you go in the gate for the clan stand. big ones you see entering cities etc. at the moment its blank but its in a place that it will be seen on tv when the camera is pointing in that corner.

i didnt notice more toilets although they had a jack hammer going, but cant imagine it was for toilets the place that was being done.
someone said there will be all seated area to the right of the main stand, no seats there yet.
at the botharmore side of the clan, there is a wooden pen, maybe 10ft x 10ft with a wooden ramp up it, is this the children area or is it a wheeelchair area ?

While I was delighted to see the other day that the IRFU has indicated that they would look to host (with the aid of some GAA facilities) the 2023 RWC it struck me that if the RWC bid does come to pass and is accepted, it would be extremely disappointing if by the time of the event itself that the Galway Sportsground wasn't in a position to host one of the lesser group games through some continued development and the addition of temporary stands to bring the capacity up to the minimum acceptable capacity - probably 20,000.

Ideally I'd like to see two Group games held in Galway with Pearse Stadium acting as venue for a large fixture, but the Sportsground playing some part in the tournament also...

There is precedent, at RWC2011 in NZ where there were three smaller stadiums utilised

*Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North (15,000 capacity) for Argentina v Georgia and Georgia v Romania
*Northland Events Centre , Whangarei (18,000 capacity) for Tonga's games v Canada & Japan
*Trafalgar Park, Nelson (18,000 capacity) for Italy games v Russia & USA and also Australia v Russia,

There will be teams qualifying that will not bring much support with them, and fixtures which attract only the purists and would be lost in a stadium over 20,000. And while The Sportsground isn't everyone's cup of tea because of the dog track, it's not an insurmountable problem though with forward planning and the fact remains it has for seven or eight decades been the home of Connacht Rugby and will be for the foreseeable future....

A family section is a great idea but it should also be made available to clubs who bring underage teams to the Sportsground, most of the time if they are at the back of the terrace they can't see through the crowd and last year I was approached by an u14 who was willing to pay E10 for half of my pint!

Guess the Celtic tiger is still roaring

During the game yesterday i was standing at the Bohermore end of the Clan Terrace when a connacht official(i assume) and two contractors came in. The jist of their conversation was the allocating/sealing off of the Bohermore end of the clan terrace from the traps up as a kids only area(their words). I assume they were speaking about a family area in the clan and its the ideal place for it in the grounds current makeup( it wouldnt work as a kids only area).

The Dog traps provide a natural barrier to the walkway so a sealing off from the bohermore end of the traps and using the bohermore end of the terrace as an entry/exit point would make perfect sense logistically. It also allows easy access for the kids to the autograph area outside the dressing rooms and there are toilets at that end. This will be a positive development if it happens.

Was chatting with Eoin Banahan today in the Sportsground and there are a number of improvements happening over the next couple of weeks.

Major billboards are being put up around the ground to give it a more closed in feel, first one is up at the College Road end of the Clan Stand on the side pitch side of the road, with more to follow behind the goals at either end of the ground.

There will also be a lot more food stalls setting up for matches, a kiddies play area at the College Road end of the main stand and a new seating area at the other end of the main stand.

Also an events company has been hired for all the matches this season, so the build up to the Toulouse match will become something of the norm from now on.

All sounds like the whole match day experience is going to get even better than last year, roll on the new season.

I had a walk around the sportsground yesterday and i have to say there is very little evidence of any improvements being made atm. The only works ongoing i saw was that they appear to be putting something in under the events control room(elevated prefab beside big screen). Possibly toilets given the pipes lying nearby and the need for them.

Everything else appears exactly the same apart from the seated stand not in place. Pitch looks immaculate but this is one area where connacht branch staff appear to be on top of their game.

I dont know how much work can be done in 23 days but my impression is that it will be as you where save for a few extra toilets.

rossie wrote: No never seen where it is but i notice on their forum that they are having serious problems with local residents associations re all other matchday associated situations like carparks, parking, entertainment etc but got permission for these temp stands in this format. AFAIK they looked to keep them for season but got this permission.

Basically the have loads of space around them to build, any stands they put up would need to be ten storeys high befeo they would cast a shadow of any nearby housing...

goo.gl/maps/myK4r

All the other stuff is pretty standard, communities will always raise concern about increased traffic (car & foot) and the noise/security implications. When it's a new venture/location as a resident you have to get your concerns across early. They are only doing what pretty much eveyone else would do..

Sportsground though is a different situation to Scoutsoun, becasue it predated the housing development by over 50 years as one of Galways primary sports venues. People bought on the development knowing full well it was next door to a Dog Track/Rugby venue...

No never seen where it is but i notice on their forum that they are having serious problems with local residents associations re all other matchday associated situations like carparks, parking, entertainment etc but got permission for these temp stands in this format. AFAIK they looked to keep them for season but got this permission.

And wouldn't understand them if they did, what what.

rossie wrote: yea i would agree fully with that diom.

what about the season ticket holders sold( or advertised as for sale) and sponsors seats though. A certain amount of seats are expected to be available to opposition alickadoos aswell? this could cause a problem as i cant see anywhere else in ground to put a covered temp stand until finance is in place for clan seats.

I read on Glasgowwarriors.com that they have recieved planning permission for their new scotstoun ground to erect temporary stands behind both goals for 5 times in season/year for 30 days at a time. This might be a way around these objections for connacht rugby.

In fairness though have you seen where Sctostoun is located? They have no problem with neighbours objections...

yea i would agree fully with that diom.

what about the season ticket holders sold( or advertised as for sale) and sponsors seats though. A certain amount of seats are expected to be available to opposition alickadoos aswell? this could cause a problem as i cant see anywhere else in ground to put a covered temp stand until finance is in place for clan seats.

I read on Glasgowwarriors.com that they have recieved planning permission for their new scotstoun ground to erect temporary stands behind both goals for 5 times in season/year for 30 days at a time. This might be a way around these objections for connacht rugby.