Thomond Park

Infobox_Stadium
stadium_name = Thomond Park
nickname = Fortress Thomond | location = Limerick City
surface = Grass
capacity = 26,500 (15,100 seated)
opened = 1940
owner = Irish Rugby Football Union
tenants = Munster Rugby
Shannon RFC
UL Bohemian R.F.C.

Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick City, Munster Ireland. It is the home of Shannon RFC, UL Bohemian RFC and Munster Rugby. The stadium holds a special place in rugby due to its own unique history and atmosphere. It is at Thomond park that Munster celebrated their legendary 12-0 victory over the All Blacks in 1978.

The Stadium is famed for its noise during play and the complete silence while home and away players are kicking for goal. It is also very intimidating for visiting teams, as Munster had never been beaten at home during the Heineken Cup since it was first played in 1995. This changed however when Leicester Tigers defeated them in a Heineken Cup match in the group stages on the 20th of January, 2007 with a score of 13-6. Thomond Park has a capacity of 26,500 having been redeveloped in 2008.

Pre Re-development layout

Thomond Park consisted of two pitches, the main pitch and a training pitch. The main pitch was bounded on all sides by terracing with a stand located above the west terrace. The training pitch was located behind the west stand with the Shannon R.F.C. pavilion located in the southwest corner of the ground. The UL Bohemian R.F.C. pavilion was located within the west stand. Traditionally, the former terracing and four sides of the pitch have had local nicknames, however they seem to have increasingly fallen out of local parlance after the redevelopment of the ground in 1998.

Most famous of these was the east terrace which was known amongst fans as the "Popular side", this sat opposite the "Stand side", joining the "City End" (South Terrace) with the "Ballynanty End" (North Terrace). The "Popular side" gained notoriety in local rugby folklore for the colourful comments that can be heard emanating from local wags and alicadoos in the direction of the pitch, occasionally drawing reaction from players and officials, to the amusement of other attendants.

History and attendences

The highest official attendance in Thomond Park came in 1992 when a local derby in the All-Ireland League between clubs Shannon RFC and Garryowen FC saw 18,000 people cram into the old ground. It has been alleged that unofficial attendances for Heineken Cup home games involving Munster have been higher than this. There is also a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that 100,000 attended the historic defeat of the All Blacks in 1978, a nod to the mythical status the game has ascended to in local folklore.

Redevelopment

In 1998 and 1999 following the introduction of the professional era the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) spent several million pounds on floodlighting, terracing, toilets, medical facilities and a new pitch for the ground. In January 2006, the Munster Branch of the IRFU made offers to buy some adjacent houses for future expansion of the stadium. In March 2006 the IRFU and Munster Rugby announced that Thomond Park was unanimously selected for the site of the branch's new stadium. On 27 May 2006 Munster Rugby unveiled the design for the re-development of the rugby stadium at Thomond Park with work due to start in early 2007. Completion is anticipated in 18 months, for a scheduled re-opening in Autumn, 2008.

The principal elements of the project saw the erection of two new stands adjacent to the existing main pitch, with a seating capacity of 15,100 and terrace capacity of 10,530, or 25,630 in all. [cite web|url=http://www.munsterrugby.ie/19_3580.php |title=Thomond Park Developments |first=Pat |last=Geraghty |publisher=Munster Rugby |date=2007-06-21 |accessdate=2007-06-26]

It was thought that Thomond Park would be renamed in a sponsorship deal, following its redevelopment. [ [http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2007/0620/thomond.html RTÉ Sport: Thomond Park set to be renamed ] ] . However, it was confirmed in February 2008 that the name Thomond Park would remain the same, with naming rights being sold for the individual stands instead. [ [http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_9705.php European Rugby Cup : Thomond Park Name to Remain a Fixture in Europe ] ]

ee also

* Stadia of Ireland

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.murrayolaoire.com/news_04/04_01_28/thomondpark0606.html New design for Thomond Park]
* [http://www.bruffrfc.com/panoramic-photo-of-finished-thomond-park-at-night/2008/10/12/ Panoramic Photo of the finished Thomond Park at Night]
* [http://www.bruffrfc.com/thomond-park-photos-construction-phase/2007/11/22/ Series of Photos of the Construction Phase on www.bruffrfc.com]