‘Unsustainable’ for Wexford football clubs to pay almost €500 per weekend to use public pitches
Wexford PeopleFootball clubs in Gorey are paying up to €500 every weekend to use the pitch at the local district park. Currently costing €60 per hour to use, the pitch is rented out to clubs across Gorey, some of which use it for eight hours across Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Fearing the financial burden will prevent clubs from taking on new members, local councillor Craig Doyle has asked the county council to consider reducing the fee for renting the pitch as it is “unsustainable” for clubs which use it regularly.
His request came at the October meeting of the Gorey Kilmuckridge Municipal District (GKMD) where district manager Anita McLoughlin said the pricing was in keeping with that at pitches around the county.
“We checked the pricing at other pitches and it varies,” she said. “In one school it’s €60 per game on a grass pitch, on another it’s €50 per hour; however, there is one in Enniscorthy that’s €30 per hour.”
“It’s mostly children who use it and at the current price it will stop clubs from taking on more children,” argued Cllr Doyle.
Director of services Liz Hore said that while Wexford County Council (WCC) did its utmost to be “inclusive and support participation” it did have to ensure the cost of running the pitch was covered in the process. After Cllr Doyle pointed out that he had previously been informed that it cost €10,000, annually, to run the pitch, Ms Hore offered a compromise.
“We can waive the changing room fees,” she suggested. “Currently it’s €20 per hour for the changing rooms and €40 for the pitches. That would reduce the cost by a third. That’s a fair compromise. We can review it again at the end of the year.”
While somewhat mollified, Cllr Doyle was still concerned about the impact on clubs which rent the pitch on a regular basis. “Could we put a monthly cap on what a club pays?”
After Ms Hore agreed to return to the next meeting with a full breakdown of what it costs to run the pitch, Cllr Joe Sullivan offered his support for Cllr Doyle’s proposal.
“There was a proposal here before to charge people to park at the local park and we decided against it,” he said. “We were told at the time that people would be parking in there all day, every day but it never happened. Now we’re charging children to play a bit of ball, which has gone on in that park for generations previously without ever damaging the surface.
"We are a local authority and we are in the business of providing facilities, I know we have to maintain the pitches but there’s a tax payer for that. I am not in favour of commercialising the park.”
Cllr Pip Breen however, feared that removing all charges would have at least two knock-on effects.
“If there’s no charge we’ll have the problem of every club wanting to play there for free,” he said. “Also, without any cost the pitch won’t be appreciated.”