Nowlan Park


Nowlan Park, known for sponsorship reasons as UPMC Nowlan Park, is the principal Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Kilkenny, Ireland. Named after James Nowlan, the longest serving President of the GAA, the stadium hosts major hurling matches and is home to the Kilkenny hurling team. It opened in 1927, replacing St. James Park.

Facilities

The stadium consists of the following stands:
  • Old Stand mainly bench-seats
  • Paddy Grace Stand mainly bench-seats
  • Ted Carrol Stand 4,000 plastic seats
  • City Terrace
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 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".