Irish Independent Park

Musgrave Park

Irish Independent Park
Musgrave Park stands prior to renovation, September 2013
Location	Cork
Coordinates	51°52′51″N 8°28′18″W / 51.8808°N 8.4718°W / 51.8808; -8.4718Coordinates: 51°52′51″N 8°28′18″W / 51.8808°N 8.4718°W / 51.8808; -8.4718
Public transit	Cork railway station Pearse Road / O'Growney Crescent bus stop
Owner	Irish Rugby Football Union
Capacity	8,200 (planned 10,000)
Surface	Grass
Opened	Original: 1940 After redevelopment: 2015
Tenants
Dolphin RFC, Sundays Well RFC, Munster Rugby

Musgrave Park, also referred to as Irish Independent Park, is a rugby football stadium in the city of Cork, Ireland. The ground is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane. The ground was originally named after Jimmy Musgrave, a past-president of the Irish Rugby Football Union, with naming rights later sold to Independent News & Media in 2014. Owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), it is primarily used by Dolphin RFC, Sundays Well RFC, and Munster Rugby.

The ground was first purchased by the Munster Branch of the IRFU in the late 1930s, and in use by the early 1940s. Named for Jimmy Musgrave, a past-president of the IRFU, this early ground incorporated a small pavilion between two pitches. Terracing and seating were later added. Dolphin and Sunday's Well rugby clubs were tenants from the outset, though the ground also sometimes hosted provincial and international games. The latter included a number of notable Munster Rugby performances against touring international teams, including Australia (in 1967), the All Blacks (in 1973), and Australia (in 1992) when the then world-champions were defeated at the ground.

By the early 21st century, the ground consisted of four terraces, one stand, three tribunes, a jogging track, and two VIP stands on the west side. This configuration provided a seating capacity of 3,450, with terracing giving a total capacity of approximately 9,000.

It was announced in March 2010 that a new all-seated west stand, would bring capacity to over 12,500, however by February 2011 it was reported that this work would not go ahead - due to difficulty raising funding. Instead a 4,000 seat temporary stand was erected in the summer of 2011. Later in 2011 the old seated west stand was demolished and replaced by a temporary structure, giving an overall capacity of 10,000 with 4,000 seats.

In March 2013 it was announced that a new permanent 3,300 seated west stand would be built. It would incorporate changing, medical, media and function rooms. The east terrace would also have a roof added as part of this development. To fund this development a 1.1 acre strip of land to the east of the site was made available for sale. When complete, the development would provide a ground capacity of 10,000 in total, phasing in from a capacity of 8,200 from the initial reopening in January 2015. This €3.2m investment and work took place between June 2014 and January 2015, and included a new west stand seating 3,500, with the east terrace being covered from endline to endline.