Cork GAA chiefs are confident clubs will back plans to rebrand the county’s primary stadium as SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh at Thursday night’s specially convened meeting.
A 10-year naming rights sponsorship agreement has been reached by Cork GAA and the retailer, which will see the stadium rebranded.
The commercial arrangement with SuperValu will be worth approximately €250,000 per annum to Cork GAA, while there are also smaller subsidiary branding rights deals at the stadium with three other companies – Boston Scientific, PepsiCo and Statkraft.
The compromise has been arrived at following the public outcry over initial plans to rename the ground SuperValu Páirc.
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It is expected SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh will be a more palatable rebranding for club delegates, and a special meeting of the Cork County Board will take place on Thursday night to rubberstamp the deal.
“We expect a very positive response when we go back to our delegates tomorrow night with the good news,” said Cork GAA chief executive Kevin O’Donovan told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
The stadium was named in honour of Pádraig Ó Caoimh, a former director general of the GAA, when it was opened in 1974.
When details emerged a fortnight ago of rebranding the Leeside venue as SuperValu Páirc, the news was met with a strong public backlash – those speaking out against it included Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Ó Caoimh’s grandson, Donal Ó Caoimh.
A spokesperson for Martin told The Irish Times the Cork native believes this revised rebranding deal is “reasonable”.
On the initial renaming suggestion of SuperValu Páirc, the former Taoiseach posted on social media: “Deeply disappointed & annoyed at the proposal to change the name of Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Pádraig Uí Chaoimh was a key figure in the formation of the GAA at club and national level.
“Govt allocated €30m towards the development of the stadium and never sought naming rights.”
At the time of the original announcement, Donal Ó Caoimh said: “My grandfather embodied the empathy, hospitality, and community spirit that is the essence of the GAA. It is galling to me that SuperValu would consider making the eradication of my grandfather’s legacy a condition of sponsorship.”
However, he has now backed this 10-year agreement reached between Cork GAA and SuperValu.
“I am absolutely delighted today to give my full support to the compromise that has been reached regarding the GAA stadium named after my grandfather,” said Ó Caoimh. “SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh balances our heritage, narrative and identity against financial necessity.”
The early-morning release of the news followed quickly by a show of public support from the Ó Caoimh family suggests Cork GAA had covered their bases on this occasion, having been criticised for not consulting with the family prior to initial rebranding plans.
Cork GAA continue to battle against a €30 million debt arising from the building cost of the stadium redevelopment, and the stark reality was outlined to club delegates at an in-camera meeting two weeks ago.
And while SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh is seen as an agreeable halfway house, O’Donovan rejected suggestions put to him that it was a climbdown from the board’s original renaming plan.
“I wouldn’t phrase it as a climbdown, we were going through a process and unfortunately there was a leak before we got to organise a consultation process with our clubs,” he told RTÉ.
“We are aware of all the commentary, there was no influence from Government, no interference, we had no communication with Government throughout this process,” he said. “We are very much accountable to our clubs, that is our decision making process, that is our approval process.
“We have had very healthy discussions with SuperValu after the last few weeks and we are really positive with the outcome now, it’s the best outcome for both sides, very good commercially for us, very good in terms of partnerships from them.
“We were going through a consultation process, we had completed that with the stadium board, with the county management committee, our next engagement was with the clubs.
“Notwithstanding that we had a very healthy discussion with the clubs at our last meeting a fortnight ago, they completely understand the difficult situation the board faces financially.
“Yes, everybody wants to preserve the name, we did also, all parties wanted to. They understood the difficult position we were in.
“There is a legacy debt of over €30 million still on the stadium from the construction process. We are fighting that on all fronts, we will continue to do so by growing our games, by winning All-Irelands, by engaging commercial parties, so we are on a war footing on all fronts to redress the balance.”
Of the 32 counties on the island, currently 16 county grounds have commercial deals in relation to naming rights and Cork will now increase that to 17. The number is expected to grow even further over the coming years as more county board’s explore commercial arrangements in relation to stadium naming rights.
Chairperson of Cork County Executive Pat Horgan said: “We are absolutely delighted to partner with SuperValu, a company that is committed to GAA and that has been at the heart of Cork since it first opened its doors here nearly 150 years ago. The Páirc has been an iconic part of Cork’s history and we are very excited about the next chapter of this fantastic stadium.”
Commenting on the announcement, SuperValu managing director Ian Allen stated: “I am delighted to confirm that SuperValu has agreed to acquire the naming rights to the newly titled SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. This partnership is a natural fit for SuperValu which, like the GAA, is at the heart of communities across Ireland.
“SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh is an iconic Cork location with nationwide reach, attracting national audiences to the exciting matches, and entertainment on offer.
“SuperValu has acquired the naming rights to SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh for 10 years, building further on our commitment to community sponsorships and our dedication to the GAA. We and our retailers are immensely proud to support GAA clubs right around the country and to sponsor the Cork Ladies Gaelic Football Team and the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.”
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