Pearse Park expected to be ready for Meath game

Pearse Park in Longford is expected to be ready in time to host the Leinster SFC encounter between Meath and Longford which is schedule to be played on the weekend of the 26th/27th May. 

There was some doubt whether the venue would be ready in time to stage the game as re-development work is due to be carried out on the stadium with Pairc Tailteann mentioned by some as a possible alternative.

"At this stage the re-development work is planned to take place ahead of the Leinster SFC game and Longford GAA are confident they can host the fixture," said Leinster PRO Martin O'Halloran. 

At one point in recent years it was reported Longford GAA were facing a bill of €7 million to repair the West and South stands at the ground however the figure is now beleived to be in the region of $1.5 million to €2 million.  

The West Stand has been closed since the middle of 2015 and the reduced capacity has forced games such as the 2015 All-Ireland qualifier between Longford and Kildare and the 2016 Leinster SFC match against Offaly out of the venue.

There was a problem with subsidene in the West Stand which forced the closure on health and safety grounds and similar problems emerged with the smaller South Stand. 

The initial projected cost for correcting problems with subsistence rose from €300,000 to €3m and then €7m when new offices and turnstiles at the back of the South Stand were factored into the cost of reconstruction. Those higher costs including demolition and rebuilding which was initially at least the preferred option.

However, since then It is understood that the necessary work can be carried out at the considerably reduced sum. 

Planning permission has been secured for re-development work after an objection was withdrawn and while a Longford GAA official has admitted the schedule would be "tight" he was confident the necessary work would be carried out in time.