Outgoing Mayo secretary Sean Feeney has defended the decision to redevelop McHale Park at a cost of €18 million.

The project has left Mayo with a massive debt, but Feeney believes Mayo would now be facing the prospect of playing their home games outside the county if the board hadn't decided to proceed with the redevelopment of the Castlebar venue eight years ago.

"My own view on McHale Park is that we set out on that development in 2003, we first planned it, and it developed from there," he told Mid-West Radio.

"Only for the people on the board at that time had the courage and the tenacity to go ahead and develop McHale Park, it would be a tumbledown shack today and there'd be no game played in it.

"We'd have no venue to play our inter-county games, and there would be no venue in Mayo capable of taking them so we'd be playing them outside the county.

"That investment will stand for 50 years. We will restructure our debt, like every other company. A lot of people in this country have to restructure their debt and we will be able to afford that without compromising on teams etc.

"As long as have the support of the Supporters' Clubs in Dublin, Mayo, Boston, wherever they are, we'll survive."

Feeney recalls how the GAA's wisdom to redevelop Croke Park back in the early 1990s was also questioned.

"When you look back at when Croke Park was being developed, they said that crows would be flying in and out of it," he added.

"That it would never be paid for. That it would be a disaster. Hasn't it been the pride of our association? Because people had the vision to do that, maybe they didn't see the benefits of it at that time, the full benefits.

"But the fact that we were able to provide a national stadium for the rugby and for the soccer, I think that's a tribute to the association. And I think the same will apply to McHale Park." Tweet

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