By Eugene Kyne

MANHATTAN College, the primary lease holder of Gaelic Park in the Bronx, has decided to install an artificial surface at the historic field for the coming season and beyond.

The artificial turf has a lifespan of 10 to 12 years and it is said to be of the field turf type. It is a common surface for American football, lacrosse and soccer, but it certainly is a step into the unknown for Gaelic games.

While it is used worldwide in different arenas it has only three homes in Gaelic circles, with Ballymun Kickhams in Dublin, Nemo Rangers in Cork and Na Piarsaigh in Cork all having fields with this surface. GAA President Nicky Brennan was in New York recently and he said that it is good for both hurling and football based on what he saw in Ireland.

The surface itself, the association was told, resembles the new soccer fields that have been installed in Tibbetts Brook Park in Yonkers. On a visit to the site last Sunday with a hurley and sliothar in hand, the surface was found to be identical to the soccer fields that are used at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, McCarran Park in Brooklyn and Red Hook in Brooklyn.

These pitches are familiar to all the local teams that are involved in the Cosmopolitan Soccer League, Manhattan Celtic, Astoria Gaels and Shamrocks to name three. It consists of a sand foundation with ground up car tires in the subsurface with an artificial grass stem of one to two inches long. Rubber molded cogs are predominately used by players.

The sliothar did respond well to the field, although the bounce was not as pronounced as regular ground. It did not seem to gain speed on the bounce as it skipped on the surface, then it slowed down a lot faster.

Ballymun use their field as a training surface only. Na Piarsaigh did not respond to emails that were sent out with the question on use and comments.

Brennan is confident that it will work well, and with both Gaelic sports and football being such a close relation to soccer it certainly seems an ideal fit.

The hurling question is still at large, with not enough evidence thus far to support the surface, but nothing documented either to say it is not compatible.

Paramount to this, however, is the fact that the field is being installed with or without the GAA.

Manhattan College has decided that the field is being installed for the future with the plethora of sports that are offered at the school, including soccer, lacrosse and softball. On any given Sunday morning during school months a game is in progress before the midday hour.

With all the use by the GAA and the college, the present grass was under extreme strain to stay ahead of the sports. Artificial grass will be able to hold up well, and the new deal that has been discussed involves the GAA having access to the park on a number of days during the week, with flood lights installed to allow for two games on a given night.

The association currently plays more than 200 games over the eight month season, with venues as far ranging as Rockland, Van Cortlandt and Paddy’s Field in Woodlawn. Van Cortlandt has thrown up a number of injuries in the last few years, and the clubs that play there will look forward to all its games in Gaelic Park if that is what transpires.

Of course with new toys come new costs. The field will cost $3.3 million to construct, with Manhattan College bringing $1.8 million to the table, GAA in Ireland giving a grant of $1,000,000 and GAA in New York accountable for $500,000.

The rent of $75,000 a year will stay in place for the GAA. What will transpire is a 10 yards longer field, flood lights and new dressingrooms with the state of the art surface.

The field is proposed to be finished for the new season in 2007, with the games beginning in May. Of course, two of the first visitors will be Sligo and Down as they arrive for the Connacht and Ulster championships respectively.

Will a new home field advantage be in play?