By Madina Toure
The first phase of a project to redevelop Frank Golden Park in College Point for a Gaelic football club in Queens, the construction of a synthetic-turf playing field, will start this summer when construction of a synthetic-turf playing field begins.
The Shannon Gaels Gaelic Athletic Association Field of Dreams, on 132nd Street and 14th Road, will consist of an underage playing field for training and scrimmages.
Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Shannon Gaels GAA and private funds will fund the first phase, which is expected to cost $1.6 million.
Gaelic football, a popular Irish sport, consists of 15 players on each side who score points by advancing a round ball up the field through the opposing team’s goal posts.
“We have over 300 children playing these games and we have been playing in the Frank Golden Park for the last five years, so it’s overdue to be upgraded because the surface is pretty purged,” Colin Mathers, chairman of the Field of Dreams initiative, said.
The second phase of the project will consist of a full-sized GAA playing pitch. The third phase will include a car park and plaza area that will allow Shannon Gaels GAA to host cultural and field-day activities. The final phase will put in a high performance floodlight system that allows for all year round use.
Since 2010, Shannon Gaels GAA has had permits to play the Gaelic games at the park. The association invested private money into the improvements and maintenance of the park.
In April 2014, Shannon Gaels GAA and the city executed a 15-year maintenance agreement for use of the park. In January 2015, Community Board 7 unanimously approved the conceptual design for the park’s upgrade.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
