Replying To tirawleybaron:  "I love to get a contract with you as the client.

The cost materials to cover a full size GAA pitch is about 30/m2 = €350,000
An existing junior club ground will have carpark, dressing rooms, bit of a stand/terrace, lights

All a contractor has to do is strip the topsoil and put in the sand subbase - then roll our the material

Its a €500-600k job if the club buys the materials (avoiding the contractors mark up on materials) - a top quality lighting system is €50k.
If you did in in the summer it would all be done for €600k max.

€5m per weaker county
16 counties - €80m
money better spent than doing up Pairc Ui Chaoimh for €110m to fill it twice a year."

Replying To Pikeman96:  "Right, here goes.

Viking's club put in a small astro area recently at the price he outlines above. My own club is currently looking at developing an astro area of 60m x 40m (2,400 sq. m.). That's about one-fifth the size of a full GAA pitch (based on a full pitch being 140m x 85m = 11,900 sq. m.)

Our quote from our preferred tenderer is €183,000. Times that by five for a full-sized pitch, and you'd get €915,000.

Have had a detailed look at the quote, and turns out you're correct that the price of the synthetic surface alone is in the region of €30 per sq. m. The price we're being quoted is €28.50 plus VAT. But you're vastly underestimating the cost of everything else when you say "all a contractor has to do is ........"

Examples from our own quote include almost €8,000 for initial earthworks, almost €10,000 for drainage, more than €40,000 for bases of stone & grit, almost €5,000 for kerbing, and almost €20,000 for a shock pad system. There are several other things too.

Overall, the cost of the "all a contractor has to do" things add up to almost twice the price of the synthetic surface itself. So, I stand by my assertion that the cost of installing a full-size 4G pitch would be in the region of €1 million. The cost of the synthetic surface itself might "only" be about €350,000 but the overall cost of going from a grass pitch to a 4G one would be around €1 million.

I repeat that these are prices from our preferred tenderer. Other tenders we received were higher.

Also, you're way off on the price of lights, if you think that a "top quality" system can be installed for €50k. You're talking closer to €300k for LED floodlights of the required standard for hurling (and you won't get planning permission these days for anything other than LED lights). A club near me installed lights a couple of years ago and I know for a fact the cost was in the region of €275k - I assume it's gone up a bit in the meantime.

Finally, let's just say all this money was found, and a club somewhere did indeed hand over a pitch for development as a 4G facility. Has it occurred to you - what's that club to do when the pitch is needed for matches or anything else involving other clubs, but they have squads who want to train at that time too? You'd basically be shutting them out of their own ground."

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "Im a contractor myself - the rates in Wexford are better than anywhere else btw.
Also, rates per m2 improve with scale of project.

Its the top half of the county this would take place and up here there are lots of NI contractors who will work for half nothing.
If thats the kind of money needed for hurling lights - ye shouldn't be allow play outside of March to October.
There also must be no nocturnal animals within 5 miles of a hurling field.

Anyway - the plan would be to use a junior clubs field - In most rural counties - there are lots of junior clubs that have amalgamated and now have two pitches - they alternate matches between both grounds - just take one of them for a 4 g pitch and let them use it for football when there is not hurling on.

Bearing in mind my proposal is to increase the no of hurling clubs in Mayo from 4 to 8 - they wont exactly be hogging the pitch from dawn to dusk - 24/7 not a runner due to ridiculous cost of hurling lights and their negative impact on nesting birds, and nocturnal animals."

Replying To tirawleybaron:  "Im a contractor myself - the rates in Wexford are better than anywhere else btw.
Also, rates per m2 improve with scale of project.

Its the top half of the county this would take place and up here there are lots of NI contractors who will work for half nothing.
If thats the kind of money needed for hurling lights - ye shouldn't be allow play outside of March to October.
There also must be no nocturnal animals within 5 miles of a hurling field.

Anyway - the plan would be to use a junior clubs field - In most rural counties - there are lots of junior clubs that have amalgamated and now have two pitches - they alternate matches between both grounds - just take one of them for a 4 g pitch and let them use it for football when there is not hurling on.

Bearing in mind my proposal is to increase the no of hurling clubs in Mayo from 4 to 8 - they wont exactly be hogging the pitch from dawn to dusk - 24/7 not a runner due to ridiculous cost of hurling lights and their negative impact on nesting birds, and nocturnal animals."

Replying To Viking66:  "At the end of the day why do we need state of the art astros and lights to set up a hurling club?"

Replying To Viking66:  "At the end of the day why do we need state of the art astros and lights to set up a hurling club?"

Replying To Doylerwex:  "Far from astros and floodlights I was raised.

I remember having to move a crushed can of Dutch gold to take a penalty in a rackard league game. Honestly a true story."