Oriel Park is a multi-purpose stadium

Multi-purpose stadium

Multi-purpose stadiums are a type of stadium designed in such a way as to be easily used by multiple sports. While any stadium could potentially host more than one sport, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy that stresses multi-functionality over specificity...

 in Dundalk

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

, County Louth

County Louth

County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It is used mostly for football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 matches and is the home stadium of Dundalk F.C.

Dundalk F.C.

Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...

 Its current capacity is about 4,500 with 3,000 seats.http://www.dundalkfc.com/news/100403_BETOP.asp The ground was opened in 1919.

History

In February 2005 Dundalk F.C. announced a major programme for a complete revamp of Oriel Park. The pitch was converted to an all-weather surface (the first Irish club to do so) costing 1.5 million euro.

In December 2006 Dundalk applied for planning permission to Dundalk

Dundalk

Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

 Town Council for a Youth Development/Coaching Centre. The general facilities are to include an underground car parking, gymnasium, disabled training facilities, dressing rooms,. games rooms, media control centre, multipurpose hall and associated services at Oriel Park. This is believed to have cost the club in the region of €5 million. Further plans are being made to upgrade the main stand, changing areas and bar facilities.

In early 2007 the roof of the stand needed to be repaired due to storm damage. Other work completed before the start of the season included new dressing rooms and a temporary covered terrace. Recent redevelopments at Oriel Park include the sale of land for housing development and European safety regulations have reduced the capacity of the ground from 12,200 to 6,000.

The stadium has also hosted 3 Republic of Ireland under-21 national football teamgames http://www.rsssf.com/tablesi/ier-u21-intres.html and other international underage games including games in the 1994 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship

1994 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship

-----Group B:---------------------Group C:---------------------Group D:---------------------Quarterfinals:-------------Semifinals:-----Third Place Playoff:-Final:-References:**...

.

Redevelopment

With Dundalk's qualification for the 2010-11 UEFA Europa League, the club decided to undertake a major redevelopment which includes increasing the number of seats in the ground to 3,000. The work being carried out will mean the stadium will be upgraded to a Level 2 Stadium by UEFA and thus European matches will be able to be held there in the future as well as under-age internationals. The main stand now holds 1,100 while the terracing in front of and either side of the main stand has been fitted with 900 seats. The seats added to the "shed" side of the ground brings the seated capacity up to 3,000.

Youth Development Complex

During the 2009-10 season, Dundalk FC built a youth development complex behind the "shed" for an undisclosed amount. The complex has been used not just for the club but has hosted the 2010 European Senior Badminton Cup and various "Fight Nights" for Gaelic Teams in the Dundalk Area.

External links

• Oriel Park
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm2GJ_tB7zM Video tour of the ground