The Showgrounds, Sligo

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The Showgrounds
An Páirc Thaispeántais
Sligo Rovers grounds entrance.jpg
The Showgrounds, Sligo
Full nameThe Showgrounds, Sligo Town
Location Sligo, County Sligo
Coordinates 54°16′12″N8°29′14″W / 54.27000°N 8.48722°W / 54.27000; -8.48722
Public transit Sligo Mac Diarmada railway station
OwnerThe people of Sligo
Capacity 3,873 (seated) [1]
Record attendance13,908
Surface Grass
ScoreboardYes
Construction
Opened1928
Renovated2012
Tenants
Sligo Rovers F.C. (1928–present)

The Showgrounds is a stadium in Sligo, Ireland, which has been home of Sligo Rovers since the club was formed in 1928.

Contents

Overview

The Showgrounds was leased until 1968 when it was then purchased for Sligo Rovers by a trust foundation representing the people of Sligo. Under the terms of the purchase it can never be mortgaged, sold or used for any commercial purposes other than sport and leisure. The Showgrounds is a 12 acre (49,000 m²) site with the stadium capacity of 3,873 seats. [1]

On 8 November 1978 Sligo opened their new covered accommodation on the Jinks Avenue in a FAI League Cup semi final against Shamrock Rovers.

In November 2001 the new main stand was opened to the public for the League Cup fixture with St. Patrick's Athletic. The stand accommodates 1,853 seats, although there is available capacity for further seating. It has been built in cantilever style to ensure there is no obstructed view.

The Showgrounds was revamped in winter 2006 with the demolition of the ground's most famous "Shed". This was followed by the demolition of the ground's old famous turnstiles. New state of the art turnstiles were built along with front offices. In March 2009 work was finished on a new club shop which is open on match nights. This is situated on the Tracey Avenue Stand side.

Sign at the Showgrounds Sligo Rovers3.jpg
Sign at the Showgrounds

In May 2009 the Showgrounds had some major upgrading work done to enable the club to compete in the 2009-10 UEFA Europa League. This work included the building of a new fully tarred car park, along with upgrading work to both all seater stands. An extra 200 seats were added to the Red Stand and also new seating was put into the jinks side of the ground. This work brought the seating capacity of the ground up to 2,700 which was required for competing in the Europa League.

In July 2012 a new stand, now known as the Pet Stop Stand, was completed at the Railway End consisting of 1,323 seats. [2] In the 2016 domestic league season, the Sligo Rovers drew an average home attendance of 2,087, the fourth-highest in the league. [3]

StandCapacity (seats)Proposed Capacity (seats)
Tracey Avenue Stand1,6871,550
Railway End – (Pet Stop Stand)1,3231,150
Jinks Avenue Stand 8671,980
Churchill Road Stand –1,320
Total seating capacity3,8736,000

As of 18 May 2021. [1]

Future development

In the future there are plans to demolish the Jinks Avenue Stand and build a new 2,000 seater stand in its place. There are also plans to add a roof to the new Railway End and replace the old shed end with a new stand, though these plans are only in the pipeline. In May 2021 Rovers unveiled a €17 million plan to redevelop Showgrounds into a 6,000 capacity seater stadium, upgrading the facility to UEFA category 3. [4] The redevelopment plan included a provisional agreement, which would see Connacht Rugby also use the ground for competitions. [4]

External view of The Showgrounds Sligo Rovers FC stadium and Knappagh Road - geograph.org.uk - 3669800.jpg
External view of The Showgrounds

Record attendance

Other uses

The Showgrounds hosted greyhound racing from c.1934 - c.1947, which was initially run by the Sligo Greyhound Racing Company. [5] In 1939, the Sligo greyhound business was purchased by Matthew J. Lyons and John E. Dorris, who then moved the entire operation to Longford Greyhound Stadium. [6]

The North-Western Greyhound Association applied for a licence in September 1945 which was granted by the Irish Coursing Club to James Costello. The racing seems to have ended during 1947. [7]

The Showground hosted the match between champions, Rockmount A.F.C., and Cockhill Celtic in the 2023 FAI Intermediate Cup Final. [8]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "SLIGO ROVERS FOOTBALL CLUB DEVELOPMENT MASTERPLAN" (PDF). Sligo Rovers. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "VW Bank End tickets set to go on sale". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "EFS Attendances".
  4. 1 2 "Sligo Rovers unveil €17m vision to redevelop Showgrounds into 6,000-seater stadium". the42. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "17th meeting of the Sligo Greyhound Racing Company - 05 October 1934". Belfast Telegraph - Belfast, Antrim. 1934.
  6. ↑ "Death of Matthew J.Lyons" . Irish Independent. 29 March 1988. Retrieved 14 February 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ↑ Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File, page 422. Ringpress Books. ISBN   0-948955-15-5.
  8. ↑ https://www.fai.ie/domestic/news/fai-intermediate-junior-cup-finals-confirmed%C2%A0
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