Gerry Thornley: Pat Lam right to grasp nettle on Connacht’s future prosperity

The atmosphere at the Sportsground is like never before. The old dog track is rocking to the sound of the Connacht faithful roaring on their team to unprecedented levels of performance. But therein lies the rub, the old dog track. Akin to Leinster at Donnybrook, Munster at the old Thomond Park or Ulster at Ravenhill, Connacht are outgrowing their home. Even with the advent of the Clan terrace, which has helped make the Galway ground as passionately parochial as any in Ireland and beyond, for the second home game running, even with an increased capacity to over 7,000, Connacht had to turn away supporters.

Besides which, the Sportsground is simply not adequate in terms of its existing facilities for an organisation that aspires to be regular contenders in the Guinness Pro12 and dining at European rugby’s top table in the form of the Champions Cup.

In the aftermath of Saturday's bonus-point win over Munster, Connacht's biggest in an interprovincial encounter, Pat Lam publicly brought the Sportsground and Connacht's development off the pitch into the public arena. It's a well- worn theme, which his predecessor Eric Elwood repeatedly aired, and his promptings assuredly prompted the Connacht branch to build the Clan terrace.

Lam divulged that he had been speaking to local businesses in an effort to knock heads together, for there is a sense there will never be a better time to fast-track Connacht’s progress off the pitch.

No doubt Lam and Connacht will have been further motivated to grasp the nettle after last week’s match in Grenoble’s new home in the Stade des Alpes; a pristine 20,000 all-seater stadium with all-embracing spectator facilities.

As Lam acknowledged, Connacht do not need a stadium of that magnitude – more something in the region of a 12-15,000 seat ground. Ideally, this would incorporate meeting rooms, family enclosures and so forth, thus making it a viable home, as Lam envisages, for events other than rugby matches and greyhound meetings.

This in turn would enable Connacht to emulate their provincial rivals in having family packages, a significant part of Leinster’s spectator base at the RDS.

In the absence of benefactors, the provinces’ main revenue streams are gate receipts, sponsorship and the IRFU. Connacht have hit a ceiling with regard to gate receipts, which in turn has to place limitations on their sponsorship streams.

Connacht also have to be mindful of not over-reaching, as has now perhaps proven to be the case with Munster, for although the redeveloped 26,000-capacity Thomond Park was regularly full for several seasons for interprovincial derbies or big European nights, that is no longer the case. The ground is averaging crowds of around 12,000 this season as Munster continue to suffer annual financial losses.

The development of the Sportsground, or alternatively the choice of moving to a ‘green field’ site somewhere on the outskirts of Galway, or then again relocating to Corinthian Park or perhaps even Terryland Park, has been a thorny issue.

Decision time

Some years ago, Connacht and the IRFU made the decision to remain at the Sportsground, but now they are approaching decision time again.

Their decision is made all the trickier because Connacht are only sub-tenants at the Sportsground, which is owned by a trust and in which the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB) are the main tenants with a 99-year lease. There would have to be agreement with Irish Greyhound Board for any stadium development plan.

Discussions are ongoing between the IGB and Connacht, and pending any agreement being reached or not between the two parties, the province’s CEO Willie Ruane is exploring all options, including the aforementioned green-field site.

Given the proximity of the Sportsground to Galway’s city centre, undoubtedly remaining in their long-established home would be the preferred option for the Connacht Branch, the IRFU and supporters alike. Moving further out to a green-field cite, even ignoring Galway’s manifold traffic problems, would be altogether less appealing.

There is also space aplenty at the Sportsground to develop new stands with the potential to increase the capacity, as is the case with the Clan terrace, should the need arise. Yet for this to happen, not only would the IGB and Connacht need to come together, but it would also require backing from the IRFU, the Government – always presuming we ever have one again – and private business.

World Cup bid

So it was that Lam has met with members of the local business community, some of whom would surely be attracted to backing a stadium development plan were one to be agreed and put in place.

Leinster were helped in this regard when developing their new training facilities in UCD, as were Munster in Thomond Park, and Ulster too, both in the backing they received from the British government and, à la the Aviva, in naming rights. Conceivably, it could yet become part of Ireland’s 2023 World Cup bid.

For Connacht to grow, redeveloping the Sportsground is an imperative next step. Otherwise, history will judge this rejuvenation on the pitch a missed opportunity and they will be forever left behind.

Within the Connacht Branch and their Professional Game Board, there is a recognition of this and a will to make it happen.

It is now, or perhaps never. gthornley@irishtimes.com