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Waterford hurling boss Derek McGrath has stressed the importance of Walsh Park being fit to host Munster Championship games next year.

The Deise’s home ground hasn’t hosted a major provincial game since 1996 when Waterford played Tipperary, a day when McGrath made his Championship debut, but with a new structure coming next year it’s set to be pressed back into action.

Waterford will travel to play Limerick and Clare in the 2018 Munster SHC, which will be run off on a round robin basis, while they are due to have Cork and Tipperary at home.

(Image: ©INPHO/Cathal Noonan)

Walsh Park’s current capacity is just 11,500 and though redevelopment work is to commence next year, it’s unlikely to take place before the visits of Cork and Tipp.

It has raised the prospect of Nowlan Park in Kilkenny becoming Waterford’s de facto home ground for Championship games though county secretary Pat Flynn effectively ruled out that prospect yesterday when speaking at the announcement of Lismore-based TQS Integration as the county’s new sponsors.

Flynn said: “At the moment it’s fixed for Walsh Park. It’d still be Walsh Park we’d be looking at.

“There may be some development work that has to be done to hold the games to raise the capacity up a few thousand. At the moment the capacity is 11,500 so we may have to look at remedial work to raise the capacity up a couple of thousand, depending on health and safety.”

In terms of more radical surgery on the ground, Flynn added: “The plans that we’re looking at, we may have to wait to commence after the Championship next year, in June probably.”

Meanwhile, McGrath is understandably keen that Waterford retain whatever advantage is due to them given the narrow margins in Munster hurling

He said: “You could lose the four as easy as win any of them and that’s the nature of it. I was for it [the new structure] and I am for it.

“The timing of it is killing me as such in terms of the 20th of May, if we could just move it from June into July and leave the finals as they were.

“Selfishly, you’re here saying that if you drew Cork and Tipp away you’d be used to going to Pairc Ui Chaoimh or you’d be used to going to Thurles.

“Now the draw, we’re going to Clare and we’re going to Limerick, probably the two hardest venues to go to in terms of Waterford’s history.

“I know we went to Ennis this year in the League and won but I think we have a horrendous record in the Championship down in Ennis and we’re going to Limerick as well.

“We haven’t really discussed it as a management in terms of where we play them but I assume we’re playing them in Walsh Park because I think the development of Walsh Park is not started until after this year’s Championship ends.”

While supportive of the new structure, McGrath anticipates a knock-on effect for the League in time.

“I think we should embrace it, give it a chance. People in the GAA will make a decision on it anyway.

“If the year doesn’t go well, they’ll make some sort of decision on it that may involve the League.

“I think the tier two teams could be involved in the League section earlier which wold give them a chance to integrate with higher class opposition.”