The chairperson of Garvey's Tralee Warriors basketball club fears the town's Regional Sports and Leisure Complex will have to be completely rebuilt after its roof collapsed under heavy snow this morning.
Warriors are currently third in the Men's Super League - which they won in 2022 - and also have teams in the women's development and Under 20s leagues.
"The complex is in a terrible way. The roof of the facility itself caved inwards, so whatever was there for a basketball facility no longer exists.
"It was a horrible call we got first thing this morning, telling us that the roof had fallen in and that was the finish of our Super League season, home games, training our under 20s and other development team and our ladies team.
"The blessing was that there was no one in the hall, that it fell early in the morning. Because we were playing there two nights ago.
"There was a massive amount of snow fell in Tralee and in Kerry. So it was obviously sitting there for a while and decided to come down when it did."
'We're hoping we can keep Garvey's Tralee Warriors on the road this year'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) January 6, 2025
A roof collapse at Tralee Regional Sports and Leisure Complex has put Garvey’s Tralee Warriors' season in doubt
Read: https://t.co/CDkLZaaLSF #RTESport pic.twitter.com/IXo0mmZ0HN
Warriors, who still have former Kerry football star Kieran Donaghy on board as a player, are now trying to source an alternative venue for their three remaining Super League home games.
"There is a very good basketball fraternity here in Kerry," said O'Brien.
"We've had offers from Killarney, our friends in Castleisland. They would have fairly good home venues.
"The only saving grace is we have a few weeks before our next home game. So we would hope to have something established within the next maybe week or so. But it's a huge knock back for us altogether.
As for when they might be able to play again in Tralee, O'Brien warns it could be a long wait.
"This is definitely the season finished and I'd say we're looking at even next season," he said.
"We know how things work. They don't move that fast when it comes to insurance and assessors and what's got to be done and what's got to be changed.
"I would imagine looking at it, this has got to be a totally new hall built from scratch.
"So it's definitely a long-term project for both Tralee Sports Centre and for us as Garvey's Warriors Basketball Club."
