St Conleth’s capacity hit

Conor McKeon

KILDARE GAA is lined up for a massive blow, with the GAA set to reduce the capacity of their primary grounds at St Conleth's Park to just 4,000.

The Newbridge venue – which hosts all of Kildare’s home League matches – has a capacity of around 13,000, but the health and safety survey currently being carried out in all county grounds is set to force the Kildare county board into limiting attendances to just 4,000.

Last year, Páirc Tailteann, in Navan, was forced into a massive cut in its maximum occupancy from 28,000 to just 20,000 for the All-Ireland SFC qualifier victory over Galway.

The idea of building a 25,000 municipal stadium in the North Dublin/Meath area, capable of hosting matches for all counties in Leinster, was floated by the provincial council last year ,but the plans have since been abandoned due to the costs involved.