ALTHOUGH ambitious plans to develop a Kerry GAA museum remain on ice, plans are afoot to give Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney a significant facelift.
Planning permission has been sought from Kerry County Council to reconstruct the existing spectator terrace and scoreboard at the western end of the stadium and to build shops and toilets underneath.
The application, submitted by the Kerry County Board, also seeks to rebuild part of the wall on the western boundary and to construct new entrance stiles and exit gates.
The Fitzgerald Stadium Committee previously had plans for the development of a €3 million Kerry GAA museum but it was shelved during the recession.
A planning application had been lodged with the authorities to build a two-storey museum, with parking facilities for cars and coaches, at the stadium.
It was submitted by Kerry Gaelic Culture Museum Ltd and the plan was for 1,350 sq metre building to be erected on an under-used training field on the Lewis Road side of the main pitch.
Cllr Michael Gleeson, who first mooted the idea and was actively involved in the project during the initial application, said upwards of 1.5 million visitors come to Killarney each year and if 10 per cent of them visited the museum it would be self-financing.
Fitzgerald Stadium, which opened in 1936, can accommodate close on 40,000 spectators.
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