HVO Case Study
Fuelling the World’s Largest Sports Dome with HVO!
Connacht GAA, Provincial hub for all things Gaelic Games and National Hub for the Green Clubs Initiative, are pioneers in both facilities and sustainability. We took some time to speak with CEO John Prenty and Facilities Manager Kurt Reinhardt to find out what it is that they’re striving towards, what they’re doing to achieve it and how they align their innovative sports dome design with their ambitious sustainability goals.
Both John and Kurt are passionate about the GAA community on a local level, and to do everything in their power to create a strong association between the GAA community and environmental responsibility. Being situated in the volatile West as far as weather is concerned, those at Connacht GAA had to think outside the box to offer consistent pitch availability. After much research, they came to the conclusion that they should build the world’s largest sports air dome. Yes, that’s all!
“Most people, when we first came up with the idea of building an air dome like this, thought we were off our rockers”, said John Prenty when asked about the air dome.
“Now that it has happened, everybody is fascinated by the fact that you can put a GAA pitch inside a tent.”
Connacht GAA’s grounds are the home to the local schools programme, which sees approximately 115 games played between November and March, which happens to be the worst weather period of the year, hence the need for an indoor facility.
“If you come here next Saturday morning at 9 o clock you’ll see 100 kids come in that door and their eyes will be absolutely popping out of their head with excitement going into a place where they can play a football match inside. It’s just unbelievable”."
The air dome was built with the initial intention of being fuelled by diesel, but for such a formidable structure to remain inflated year-round, the team at Connacht GAA spent much time researching alternative and less harmful options. Aligning with both the power required to keep the dome upright and the group’s environmentally conscious ethos, they found HVO to be the perfect marriage between the two.
Among their many efforts to contribute positively to the environment, Certa HVO has been a key aspect in their journey to becoming Ireland’s first carbon positive company, which they achieved and actively maintain to this day.
To see the fascinating air dome for yourself and hear from the equally impressive minds behind the operation, watch the video above.
