ESB Independent Energy powers Croke Park

Croke Park, one of the biggest sporting stadia in Europe will be powered by ESB Independent Energy following the signing of a contract with the GAA on Monday, 27th February worth almost €500,000 (£350,000 stg). The 4.67MW contract will see ESBIE supplying all the electricity needs of Croke Park from its special pitch maintenance lighting, to its 140 square meter stadium screen, its warm-up and changing facilities, hospitality arena and other power requirements. Croke Park will make substantial savings on its electricity bill as a result of the contract.

Commenting on the announcement Liam Molloy, Managing Director ESBIE said 'As the sophistication of the Croke Park stadium and its facilities has grown so has its energy needs. With this growth it is important that the best value in power is delivered and that a partnership approach to managing energy use is established. As Croke Park further positions itself as a worldclass sporting, conference and concert destination so grows the sophistication of power requirements in volume and timing. This high profile contract with Croke Park is testament to our ability to deliver on service and price.'

Peter McKenna, Stadium Director Croke Park added 'In order to efficiently run one of the largest sports stadiums in Europe we need to have a robust infrastructure. With over 1.6 million spectators and exhibitors passing through our doors we need to be able to deliver customer focused amenities from lighting, heating, food to large screen viewing and all of this needs to be powered in a cost effective manner. We are delighted that ESBIE will be our electricity supplier powering the stadium for the next two years.'

About ESBIE
ESBIE is an independent electricity supplier in the deregulated electricity markets in Ireland. Wholly owned by the ESB Group, ESBIE has successfully entered new markets in the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland and has expanded its range of services to include renewable energy and value adding services to their customers.

About Croke Park
Home to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) Croke Park is at the heart of Irish sporting life. In 1993 a grand plan to completely reconstruct Croke Park was unveiled. This redevelopment has been the biggest single venture ever undertaken by an Irish sporting organisation. Now a world-class stadium, Croke Park is the largest stadium in Ireland and the fourth largest stadium in Europe and sits on 700,000 sq feet. In addition to hosting sporting events the stadium has also been the location for international performers from Tina Turner to U2 and in June 2003 it played host to the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies of the Special Olympics World Summer Games. The facility also offers conferencing facilities and receptions for 10 to 2,500 people including private dining, product launches, seminars, conferences, exhibitions, training courses, meetings and set-design.