Nowlan Park

Facilities

The stadium consists of the following stands:

• Old Stand (O'Loughlin Road) mainly bench-seats (uncovered, planning for a new roof submitted after storm damaged the old roof in 2014) (The new roof completed in late 2014 and opened in early 2015)
• Paddy Grace Stand (New Stand, Hebron Road) mainly bench-seats (covered)
• Ted Carrol Stand (country end) 4,000 plastic seats (covered)
• City Terrace (covered) The target capacity under the Kilkenny GAA 2010-15 plan was 30,000. A large portion of the Old Stand's roof was blown off during a violent storm on 12 February 2014. The rest was removed for health and safety reasons.

Hurling

History was made at Nowlan Park on 7 June 2014 when Kilkenny versus Offaly was broadcast on Sky Sports, the first time a Championship fixture of any kind was broadcast live to a UK-wide audience. British viewers were reported to have been "amazed and confused [...] bemused but impressed [...] amused and confounded" after catching a glimpse of the broadcast.

Other uses

Nowlan Park also serves as a concert venue, with festivals featuring performers such as Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul Simon, Bryan Ferry, James Taylor, Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, and in July 2013 it played host to the European tour finale of Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen performed at the venue again on 12 May 2024 as part of the Springsteen and E Street Band 2023 Tour.

Nowlan Park was also included in Ireland's bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nowlan Park was used as a drive-through test centre.

Naming rights

It was announced, in October 2019, that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) had agreed a naming-rights deal with the Kilkenny County Board. Running for 10 years, from 2019, the sponsorship deal involved the rebranding of the ground to "UPMC Nowlan Park".

References

References

1. (20 May 2016). "Nowlan Park capacity to be 'capped'". hoganstand.com.
2. "Leinster SFC: Ticket sales slow for Dublin trip to Kilkenny". [[The Irish Times]].
3. "Rated and slated: All 32 GAA county grounds assessed – but how does yours measure up?".
4. Humphries, Tom. "Kilkenny Hurling". The Irish Times.
5. (27 February 2014). "Nowlan Park must wait for new roof".
6. "Proud Kilkenny's Nowlan Park now stands among the best grounds in the country – Kilkenny People".
7. "Garland | Nowlan Park, Kilkenny".
8. "Nowlan Park set for further revamp".
9. "Kilkenny Strategic Plan 2010-2015".
10. "Proud Kilkenny's Nowlan Park now stands among the best grounds in the country – Kilkenny People".
11. Knox, John. (13 February 2014). "Nowlan Park roof damaged". Kilkenny People.
12. Fogarty, John. (10 April 2014). "Sky Sports' GAA debut to feature Kilkenny's roofless stand". Irish Examiner.
13. Moran, Seán. (7 June 2014). "Kilkenny aiming to put on a show for new Sky audience: Daunting task facing Brian Whelehan's Offaly at Nowlan Park". The Irish Times.
14. (2 June 2014). "5 Ways the UK will React to Hurling on Sky Sports". Hon the Banter.
15. O'Brien, Kevin. (8 June 2014). "The Definitive Guide to the British Reaction to Hurling". Live Gaelic.
16. (8 June 2014). "Captivated but confused... British twitter users react to hurling on Sky Sports". Sunday Independent.
17. (8 June 2014). "11 British-based tweeters who can't believe that hurling is a thing". The Score.
18. (31 January 2013). "Two Kilkenny dates for Bruce Springsteen". RTÉ Ten.
19. Farrell, Sinead. (19 March 2020). "Kilkenny GAA's Nowlan Park will be used as drive-thru testing facility for Covid-19".
20. (18 October 2019). "Sponsors name announced for Nowlan Park".