The Sportsground

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Dexcom Stadium
View from College Road
Map
LocationCollege Road, Galway, Ireland
Coordinates53°16′44″N 9°02′23″W / 53.2790°N 9.0397°W / 53.2790; -9.0397
Public transitGalway railway station
OwnerThe Galway Agricultural & Sports Society Ltd.
Capacity6,129 (expandable to 8,129)[1]
Record attendance9,120
(Connacht vs Toulouse, 19 November 2011)[2]
SurfacePitch (3G synthetic surface)
Opened1928
Tenants
Connacht Rugby
Greyhound Racing Ireland
Website
Rugby

Dexcom Stadium (formerly The Sportsground) is the home of Connacht Rugby. It opened in 1927 and has been used to host Connacht Rugby matches since. Dexcom Stadium is able to hold up to 8,129 people without temporary seating. When greyhound racing racing takes place at the stadium and adjoining premises, they trade as the Galway Greyhound Stadium.

History[edit]

20th Century[edit]

In 1928, the Sports Ground or the Sports Field as it was also known opened. The first rugby team to use the ground was Galwegians RFC who used the ground after moving from the Grammar School grounds.[3] In the 1930s, it hosted the varsity matches[4] and Connacht Senior Cup matches for the University of Galway.[5]

Renovations (2011–2016)[edit]

Up until 2011, the regular capacity of The Sportsground was 5,500. The stadium was modified and extended in 2011, and again in 2016, instigated by the success of Connacht Rugby. The facilities include the:

  • Main Stand – which has enclosed corporate facilities and covered terrace underneath
  • Clan Terrace – a covered terrace on the clubhouse side of the ground
  • Covered Stand – a covered seated stand to the side of the main stand which holds 300 people
  • Uncovered terracing – at the Bohermore and College Road ends of the ground

It recorded its record attendance on 19 November 2011, when a crowd of 9,120 watched Connacht take on Toulouse in the team's first ever Heineken Cup match at home.[2]

Connacht's participation in European rugby's most prestigious club competition, the Heineken Cup, for the first time in the 2011–12 season spurred a new phase of development at the Sportsground to extend formal capacity to 7,500 supporters.[6] The existing Clubhouse Terrace was knocked down to be replaced by the new covered "Clan Terrace". This terrace primarily houses season ticket holders. Ancillary work was also undertaken behind the terrace which saw the construction of a new bar (The Clan Bar), food outlets and restroom facilities on the clubhouse side of the ground. A temporary covered and seated "West Stand", adjacent to the existing main stand was also erected for the season.[6] This series of improvements came on the back of developments which the IRFU had helped to fund in the preceding years, such as a new playing surface, a new clubhouse and floodlighting, while a new gymnasium had been built in 2008.[7]

In 2011, planning permission was granted to redevelop the Clan Terrace by building a seated tier above the terrace. This was ultimately not completed.[8]

In the summer of 2016, work was completed on an additional seated and covered stand which can hold 300 people. The stand, situated next to the Main Stand, increased the ground's regular capacity to 8,100.[9] Following a naming rights deal, it was christened as the Grant Thornton Stand.[10]

The Sportsground prior to a Connacht vs Wasps European Cup match in December 2016.

Redevelopment (2022–present)[edit]

In October 2018, Connacht unveiled plans for a €30m redevelopment of Dexcom Stadium to turn it into a 12,000 seater stadium with the redevelopment to also include a high-performance training centre.[11][12] Plans were submitted to Galway City Council the following December with full planning permission secured in May 2019.

In January 2020, the Government announced funding totalling €20m towards the project, with €10m coming from the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund, and a further €10m from the Project 2040 fund in line with the Government's commitment to "balanced regional development".

Following a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Phase 1 of the redevelopment began after the 2021/22 season with the installation of a new 3G pitch and LED floodlights.

In 2023, Connacht Rugby Stadium Limited entered into a new lease with Greyhound Racing Ireland. Connacht Rugby Stadium Limited acquired the exclusive naming rights to the property.[citation needed]

On 19th January 2024, Connacht Rugby confirmed that of Phase 2 of the redevelopment would begin in March, with building works beginning on the new high-performance centre beside the existing gym. Construction on the new North Stand is due to begin after the 2023/24 season, which will involved the demolition of existing Clan Terrace and Clubhouse.

International rugby[edit]

International Rugby Union Matches
Date Home Score Opponent Report
1 December 1984  Ireland B 23–20  Scotland A
1 November 1994  Ireland Development 13–20  United States [13]
25 January 2013  Ireland Wolfhounds 10–14  England Saxons [14]

Other sports[edit]

The venue has occasionally hosted Gaelic games fixtures, including the 1932 All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship Final and the 1942 Galway County Hurling Final.

When Terryland Park was being renovated in 1993, Galway United played at the Sportsgrounds for the first part of that season. It also hosted Galway's first game in European competition in the 1985–86 European Cup Winners' Cup.

Greyhound racing[edit]

Main article: Galway Greyhound Stadium

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galway Sportsgrounds.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "ABOUT CONNACHT RUGBY". Connacht Rugby. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "French aristocrats spoil the party". Irish Times. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Rugby". Galway Observer. 29 December 1928. Retrieved 21 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Dudley Cup for Cork". Belfast Telegraph. 19 December 1930. Retrieved 21 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Connacht Rugby Cup". Galway Observer. 11 March 1933. Retrieved 21 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ a b "Artist's Impression of the Sportsground Redevelopments". Connacht Rugby. Connacht Catch-Up. 13 July 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Connacht Excited About Redeveloped Sportsground". Irish Rugby. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  8. ^ "2nd Phase Connacht Branch Stadium Development". 3D Graphic House. Archived from the original on 29 July 2013.
  9. ^ "A new seated stand is in place at the Sportsground for Connacht's upcoming season". The42. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  10. ^ "Connacht Secure Naming Rights Deal For New Stand". Irish Rugby. September 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Connacht rugby unveil ambitious plans for €30m redevelopment of the Sportsground". Irish Independent. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  12. ^ "New Sportsground the missing piece in Connacht jigsaw". Irish Independent. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Irish forge strong link with rugby in America". Irish Times. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Saxons rally to beat Wolfhounds". espnscrum. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
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