A senior UEFA official "has admitted that European football's governing body is struggling to get the San Siro pitch up to standard for next weekend's Champions League final." Real Madrid face cross-city rivals Atletico in Milan next Saturday. UEFA Senior Match Operations Manager Keith Dalton admitted "we're having problems bringing the pitch up to Champions League standard." He said,
"Two clubs use it, the stadium is owned by the city, and the ground staff are outsourced by another company. The groundskeeper, with all due respect to him, is very junior but he is the only one with the technical expertise operating in that stadium. The others can hold a fork at best" (London DAILY MIRROR, 5/19).
Irish Pro12 rugby side Connacht wants "to redevelop the Sportsground or build a new stadium with a capacity of around 10,000 in the next four years," according to the province's new strategic plan for '16-20. CEO Willie Ruane said the club wants to have a “clear idea by the end of this summer” about the way forward regarding its ground and he also said the negotiations with the Irish Greyhound Board (IGB), from whom the province lease the stadium, "have already begun."
The Galway venue "is sold out" for Saturday’s Guinness Pro12 semifinal against Glasgow Warriors and Ruane believes that Connacht could have doubled its 7,800 capacity for that game. Ruane: "The stadium is something we have as one of our utmost priorities" (RUNNING RUGBY, 5/19).
