The Showgrounds, Sligo

File:Showgrounds 1.jpg

Main stand at Tracey Avenue.

Showgrounds are also a venue where agricultural shows are held. For the stadium in Ballsbridge, Dublin, see RDS Showgrounds

The Showgrounds (also known as the Showgies) is stadium in Sligo, which has been home of Sligo Rovers F.C. since the club was formed in 1928.

Biography

The Showgrounds was leased until 1968 when it was then purchased for Sligo Rovers by a trust foundation representing the people of Sligo. Under the terms of the purchase it can never be mortgaged, sold or used for any commercial purposes other than sport and leisure. The Showgrounds is a 12 acre (49,000 m²) site with the stadium capacity around 5,500 with 2,700 seats. In November 2001 the new main stand was opened to the public for the League Cup fixture with St. Patrick's Athletic. The stand currently accommodates 1,853 seats, although there is available capacity for further seating. It has been built in cantilever style to ensure there is no obstructed view. The Showgrounds was revamped in the winter of 2006 with the knocking of the grounds most famous Shed. This was then followed up by the knocking of the grounds old famous turnstiles. New state of the art turnstiles were then build along with front offices. In March 2009 work was finished on a new club shop which is open on match nights. This is situated on the Tracey Avenue Stand side. In May 2009 the Showgrounds had some major upgrading work done to enable the club compete in UEFA Europa League 2009–10. This work included the building of a new fully tarred car park, along with upgrading work to both all seater stands. An extra 200 seats were added to the Red Stand and also new seating was put into the jinks side of the ground. This work has brought the seating capacity of the ground up to 2,700 which was required for competing in UEFA Europa League.

Future development

In the future there are plans to demolish the Jinks Avenue Stand and build a new 2,000 seater stand in its place. There are also plans to replace the ends of the pitch with new stands, though these plans are only in the pipeline.

Gallery

• Entrance under construction.
  Entrance under construction.
• Training pitches with cloud covered Benbulben in background.
  Training pitches with cloud covered Benbulben in background.
• Jinks Avenue stand.
  Jinks Avenue stand.

External links

• The Showgrounds