The Irish Greyhound Board announced that the closure of Harold’s Cross Greyhound Stadium "has been brought forward to take place with immediate effect," according to Ruaidhrí Croke of the IRISH TIMES. The gates of the stadium "have been chained shut with security outside and the traps are being dismantled and taken away." The IGB said that the decision to close Harold’s Cross "was taken with regret, but it has been decided to concentrate Dublin racing activities in IGB’s national stadium, Shelbourne Park." The organization is currently "saddled" with €20M ($21.2M) debts "which stem from the building of Limerick Greyhound Stadium" in '11 and the IGB decided the "best course of action is to sell Harold’s Cross." All 12 staff affected at Harold's Cross "will be offered redeployment by IGB." The "historic" Dublin venue opened in 1928 and hosted race nights every Tuesday and Friday (IRISH TIMES, 2/13). RTÉ reported Harold's Cross Stadium Dir Alan Redmond criticized the decision to close the stadium, likening the decision to a "lock out." Redmond claimed that as director of the stadium, "he was not informed of the immediate closure of the stadium and that uncertainty surrounds the future of all employees working there." He said, "If the stadium is locked, then everyone is locked out of their jobs. Somewhere in the region of 80% of our Tote staff are SIPTU members, so I doubt very much Jack O’Connor will take too lightly to his staffed being locked out." Redmond "put the troubles facing the IGB squarely at the feet of the decision to build Limerick Greyhound track" in '11 but insisted that Harold’s Cross is "one of the few tracks in the country currently turning a profit." Redmond: "They blew all the money that they had on building a new stadium in Limerick" (RTÉ, 2/13).
