Nowlan Park will be 'playable and safe' for U20 All-Ireland Final vows Kilkenny PRO

The Nowlan Park pitch will be more than playable by the time of the U20 All-Ireland Hurling Final between Offaly and Tipperary on Saturday evening, a Kilkenny Co Board official has vowed. 

Concerns have been raised about damage caused to the pitch in the aftermath of the Bruce Springsteen concert held at the Kilkenny ground recently. It is understood that heavy machinery moving the stage equipment on the day after the concert, when it began to rain, caused damage to an area of the pitch. 

"There are a couple of spots where the grass is a little bit... scarce," PRO Mary Morgan said.

"But it is playable, it is safe. And in the next few days, with the rain drying up - I don't think there is going to be any problem," she said. 

"I don't think any team would use it as an excuse (for losing)," she said. 

While Wexford manager Keith Rossiter did raise the condition of the pitch after their defeat to Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship, Ms Morgan said he added that it wasn't the reason that they lost. 

"The pictures make it look worse than it is. It was solid and there didn't seem to be any issues on Sunday with balls getting stuck or anything like that. It's just unfortunate that it's in one spot and it rained on the day after that concert," Ms Morgan said. 

Footage on RTÉ News during the week showed work being done on the pitch. 

Many people during the week have called for the All-Ireland Under 20 hurling final to be moved to a different venue with the key issue being that the current demand for tickets exceeds space at the venue as well as concerns over the level of grass following a recent concert.

This year the Kilkenny ground was the GAA choice as it is the 100th year anniversary of the death of GAA stalwart James Nowlan whom the ground is called after. It has a capacity of 26,000 for Saturday's game, with supporters from both counties saying a larger venue was required. 

However, ticket issues appear to be easing and Tipperary has sent back some of its allocation, which have been eagerly snapped up by Offaly fans. 

Ms Morgan said they had approximately 19,000 supporters at the ground for the Kilkenny v Wexford clash, which she said was a very good "dry run" ahead of Saturday's final.