Nowlan Park has been shortlisted again for the 2019 Gaa pitch award.
They won it last year and have competition from some of the country’s top pitches.
The short list is as follows:
O’Donnell Park, Letterkenny
Pearse Stadium, Galway
Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
McGovern Park, London
Páirc Tailteann, Navan
Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon
Stuart Wilson, Croke Park and GAA NGDC Pitch Manager, will be visiting all six venues in the company of Dr Stephen Barker of the Sports Research Institute (STRI) to assess the playing surfaces, with a winner to be chosen and announced in the coming weeks.
The awards scheme is part of a wider initiative set up by the National Pitch Work Group to improve the standards of playing surfaces around the country and to share some of the expertise and experience used at Croke Park.
The previous winners of the award were Semple Stadium in Thurles in 2017 and Nowlan Park in Kilkenny in 2018.
Uachtarán CLG John Horan said: “The GAA is lucky to have so many iconic venues dotted throughout the country.
“Our great games and our great players deserve a playing surface worthy of the occasion that is Championship, and I am delighted that there has been such a strong interest shown by so many of the talented ground staff who have worked tirelessly to have their pitches ready for action”.
