Nowlan Park

Nowlan Park
Páirc Uí Nualláin
Location Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, R95 WN66, Ireland
Coordinates 52°39′23″N 7°14′22″W / 52.65639°N 7.23944°W / 52.65639; -7.23944Coordinates: 52°39′23″N 7°14′22″W / 52.65639°N 7.23944°W / 52.65639; -7.23944
Public transit Kilkenny railway station
Owner Kilkenny GAA
Capacity 27,800[1][2]
Field size 145 x 88 m

Nowlan Park is the principal Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Kilkenny, Ireland.[3] Named after James Nowlan (the longest serving President of the GAA), the stadium hosts major hurling matches and is home to the Kilkenny hurling team.

The stadium consists of the following stands.

  • Old Stand (O'Loughlin Road) mainly bench-seats (uncovered, planning for a new roof submitted after storm damaged old roof in 2014) (New roof completed in late 2014 and opened in early 2015)[4]
  • Paddy Grace Stand (New Stand, Hebron Road) mainly bench-seats (covered)
  • Ted Carrol Stand (country end) 4,000 plastic seats (covered) [5]
  • City Terrace (covered) [6]

The target capacity under the Kilkenny GAA 2010-15 plan is 30,000.[7] [8]

A large part of the Old Stand's roof was blown off during a violent storm on 12 February 2014. The rest was removed for health and safety reasons.[9][10]

History was made at Nowlan Park on 7 June 2014 when Kilkenny versus Offaly was broadcast on Sky Sports, the first time a Championship fixture of any kind was broadcast live to a UK-wide audience.[11][12] British viewers were reported to have been "amazed and confused [...] bemused but impressed [...] amused and confounded" after catching a glimpse of the teatime action.[13][14][15]

Opened in 1927 replaced St. James Park.

Other uses

Nowlan Park also serves as a concert venue, with festivals featuring world-famous performers such as Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, and in July 2013 it played host to the European tour finale of Bruce Springsteen.[16] Nowlan Park was included in Ireland's bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.hoganstand.com/Hurling/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=255408
  2. ↑ http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/leinster-sfc-ticket-sales-slow-for-dublin-trip-to-kilkenny-1.2669277
  3. ↑ Humphries, Tom. "Kilkenny Hurling". The Irish Times.
  4. ↑ http://www.hoganstand.com/kilkenny/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=210537) "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-02. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
  5. ↑ http://www.garlandconsultancy.com/our-projects/leisure-and-hotels/nowlan-park,-kilkenny.html
  6. ↑ http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=129624
  7. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-16. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
  8. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-11-02. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
  9. ↑ Knox, John (13 February 2014). "Nowlan Park roof damaged". Kilkenny People. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Fogarty, John (10 April 2014). "Sky Sports' GAA debut to feature Kilkenny's roofless stand". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  11. ↑ Moran, Seán (7 June 2014). "Kilkenny aiming to put on a show for new Sky audience: Daunting task facing Brian Whelehan's Offaly at Nowlan Park". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "5 Ways the UK will React to Hurling on Sky Sports". Hon the Banter. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  13. ↑ O'Brien, Kevin (8 June 2014). "The Definitive Guide to the British Reaction to Hurling". Live Gaelic. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "Captivated but confused... British twitter users react to hurling on Sky Sports". Sunday Independent. Independent News & Media. 8 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "11 British-based tweeters who can't believe that hurling is a thing". The Score. 8 June 2014. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Two Kilkenny dates for Bruce Springsteen". RTÉ Ten. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
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