TOBIN Consulting Engineers was delighted to come on board with the Connacht GAA Council in recent years to design a new Centre of Excellence for the province in Bekan, Co. Mayo. This strategically positioned development, at the geographical centre point of the province, now provides top-class facilities for the ever-expanding GAA community spread across its five counties.
Working closely with the Council members on this project, TOBIN was able to push the boundaries of sports infrastructure design, while at the same time retaining the Council’s rich traditional values in terms of their vision for their many members. Aligning itself to this understanding, the TOBIN team set about designing all-weather natural grass pitches, a synthetic pitch, a running track, a clubhouse, indoor training facilities, a terraced stand, handball courts, hurling walls and car parking for the entire facility.
A series of FBD League games marked the venue’s opening and represented a watershed moment of sorts for the centre and indeed the province. From the moment the first whistle was blown, there was a palpable feeling among the large attendance that this centre’s opening served as a real and tangible commitment by the GAA to the province and its future pursuits in Ireland’s leading sport. At the opening, Secretary of the Connacht Council, John Prenty, spoke passionately about how ‘the facilities will be used by development squads, schools’ football and club games well into the future’ adding that ‘the people of the province will be the big winners in this forward-thinking, groundbreaking venture’.
TOBIN is proud to have delivered this development; another landmark project within its GAA portfolio. We continue to work at both a local and national level for the GAA to further enhance the lives of thousands of enthusiasts spanning all grades and codes throughout Ireland and further afield.
Services provided by TOBIN Consulting Engineers on this project:
Civil Engineering 
Structural Engineering 
PSDP 
Specialist Sports Infrastructure Design
Project Management 
Quantity Surveying & Cost Management 
Contract Administration
Assigned Certifier 
Planning Assistance Consultancy Services
This project for Connacht GAA consists of the following main elements;
- 5 No. sand-topped pitches to specific GAA specifications
- 1 No. 3G synthetic pitch
- 1 No. 1.20 km running track
- 1 No. Clubhouse of an area 2000m²
- Changing facilities
- Physio rooms
- Gym
- Conference and meeting room
- Canteen
- Offices
- Landscaping and Services
- Associated parking.
- Associated ancillary fencing and floodlighting. It also includes a 2 storey
- Services for ESB sub-station, switch room, generator room and plant room.
