McKenna accused of causing ‘unforgivable reputational damage’
Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna has been accused of causing “unforgivable reputational damage” to high-ranking Cork GAA officials after Páirc Uí Chaoimh board member Michael O’Flynn last night said there was “no basis” to the €110m figure put out by McKenna in relation to the cost of redeveloping the stadium.
Addressing delegates at last night’s Cork county board meeting, O’Flynn, who along with Tom Gray put the estimated cost of the stadium redevelopment at €95.8m following a thorough examination of the relevant audited accounts, said there was no justification to the €110m figure which McKenna gave in an interview with this paper in December of last year.
McKenna, who told the that “we’re probably close to €110 million as a final cost”, was last night accused, by former Cork county board chairman Bob Ryan of being reckless in his comments.
“The most disappointing aspect of all this is the interview Peter McKenna did with the Irish Examiner, and the reputational damage it has done to this county board, the GAA nationally, and to individuals involved in the redevelopment of the stadium is quite unforgivable,” said Ryan, who stepped down as Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium operations manager in July of last year.
“It has to be addressed and has to be dealt with going forward. It cannot be allowed happen that people in a position, as he is in, are allowed to behave in such a manner and so reckless.
The last two months, what the people involved in GAA in this county have suffered is just disgraceful and should not have happened. I hope we can resolve whatever has to be resolved and stabilise the whole situation. This kind of stuff can never be left happen again.
Echoing Ryan’s sentiments, John Feeney of Dripsey called on McKenna to clarify how he arrived at a figure that was so removed from the estimated cost presented by O’Flynn and Gray.
“It seems to me that it went way over the top from what we’ve heard here and I think Peter McKenna should be asked to explain where he got the figure.”
O’Flynn told delegates the audited accounts he and Gray studied show the bill at €90.1m, but that “we had to provide for some of the variables that will come out and it was important the Cork and GAA public were given a figure we could stand over and a figure we believe to be an accurate estimation”.
O’Flynn added: “There are three or four moving pieces and there is considerable work to be done to achieve the right number, but we didn’t make our figure without some serious thought.”
No figure was given as to the debt which will result from this redevelopment project. O’Flynn, however, is confident the 21-acre site at Kilbarry on the north side of Cork city, owned by Cork county board, will, in time, assist in lowering debt.
“There is a job of work to be done for that land [at Kilbarry] to come to fruition, but it is very much there and it is an asset. It will greatly help the situation in time. It is zoned land, which is quite a good start to have in ultimately getting the planning.
“I am satisfied from what I have heard at the company meeting that the estimated figure we have is fully funded by a combination of the monies that have already gone in and the debt that is available to the company which has been agreed. Perhaps, that is the key point. Can [Cork] county board pay its debts, whatever the figure? I am satisfied, as a director of the company, that we will be in a position to do that.”
Cork county board chairperson Tracey Kennedy is confident the stadium has a bright future, despite recent turmoil.
The board of the stadium is now up and running. There are a number of people on the board who have huge experience in various areas. I have no doubt that expertise will be put to good use in bringing the stadium on to becoming what we hope it will be. It is a bit away, but we all hope it will become a profitable entity in due course and we have the expertise to move it in that direction.
Those which O’Flynn and Gray consulted with during their review included Malachy Walsh and Partners, who were the lead project managers in the job, as well as being the mechanical, electrical and structural engineers; Michael Barrett Partnership; Ernst & Young; Dermot O’Brien, Vat advisor to Croke Park; Frank Murphy; Ger Mulryan, GAA finance director; Peter McKenna, stadium director; and Gerry O’Sullivan, consultant with Mulcahy, McDonagh and Partners.
Páirc Uí Chaoimh: Cost timeline
Planning permission granted by Cork City Council for €70m Páirc Uí Chaoimh redevelopment.
Government grants €30m for the regeneration project.
GAA confirms €20m contribution to new Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Club delegates are told at a special county board meeting the total cost of redevelopment is likely to exceed €78m. The rise in cost from the originally projected €70m is put down to increased construction costs after a prolonged recession, the implementation of a sprinkler system, extra piling and the relocation of floodlights.
Then Cork County Board chairman Ger Lane, in an Irish Examiner interview, refuses to comment on speculation the cost of the project has increased towards the €85m mark.
First game is played at the redeveloped ground, a Cork Premier IHC match between Blarney and Valley Rovers.
Ger Lane confirms to the the final bill for redevelopment will run over €86m, €16m above the estimated cost when contractors were appointed to the project. LED floodlighting, extra terracing and improved turnstiles contributed to this latest cost excess.
Frank Murphy’s final report as Cork county board secretary notes the commercial aspects of Páirc Uí Chaoimh will be run by Croke Park for a period of three years.
Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna tells the Irish Examiner that “we’re probably close to €110 million as a final cost” for Páirc Uí Chaoimh rebuild. The Croke Park stadium director revealed that it became clear midway through the year that “the amount spent on the stadium way exceeded what people thought”. McKenna also says the Páirc Uí Chaoimh pitch will need to be replaced.
Cork GAA chairperson Tracey Kennedy informs delegates at annual convention that the board’s audited accounts detailed a spend of €86.5m on the regeneration project.
The overall cost of the redevelopment will be somewhere between the quoted figures of €85m and €110m, according to GAA Director General Tom Ryan. He says: “The €110m number is the worst, worse case. There are four key things that are still at issue; one is arbitration with a contractor, there’s a tax question, there are one or two other bits of negotiations on things to be resolved and there’s a significant asset sale, all of which will nudge the cost down towards the number referred to from Cork.”
Estimated cost of stadium build put at €95.8m. This figure is arrived at following an examination of the figures presented in the audited accounts of Cork county board for the year ended October 31, 2018. This work was carried out by stadium board members Michael O’Flynn and Tom Gray. The cost of laying a new surface is factored into the €95.8m estimate.
Stadium board agree on full pitch replacement following the conclusion of Munster championships in June.
