An agreement has been reached over the naming rights for the stadium that has been known throughout its history as Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The Leeside stadium will be known as SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh as part of a 10-year partnership between Cork GAA and the retailer.
The matter of naming rights is expected to be finalised at a special meeting of delegates of Cork's county board on Thursday night.
It was suggested weeks ago that the venue would become SuperValu Páirc. However, that speculation engendered negative feedback from the public, GAA members and the family of Pádraig Ó Caoimh - after whom the stadium is named.
The value of the partnership is regarded as a confidential commercial matter and has not been disclosed. It was previously reported that the naming rights deal could be worth €250,000 per year, but that estimate may have erred on the conservative side.
Páirc Uí Chaoimh was redeveloped in 2017 and has a debt of €30m, which is to be repaid over 25 years.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Cork GAA chief executive Kevin O’Donovan denied that negative feedback played a part in the retention of the stadium name in the sponsorship agreement.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin was among those criticising the proposal to change the name, the Cork North Central TD saying he was "deeply disappointed and annoyed" by the plans, but O’Donovan refuted any suggestion of government pressure in the decision.
"There was no influence from government, there was no interference," he said. "We had no communication with government throughout this process, but we are sure they are happy with the outcome."
Dónal Pádraig Ó Caoimh, grandson of the former GAA director general Pádraig after whom the stadium was named after, said previously he was "shocked and saddened that SuperValu would consider making the eradication of my grandfather’s legacy a condition of sponsorship", but O’Donovan insisted that the family were fully on board with the announcement.
"We have been engaged with the family, the O’Higgins family in Dublin, we engaged with Donal O’Keeffe this morning," he said.
"All are incredibly positive that we have retained the heritage, but they are also positive that we have done a good deal for Cork GAA.
"Everybody wants to preserve the name. We did also. All parties wanted to, but they understood the difficult position we were in. We expect a very positive response when we go back to our delegates tomorrow with the good news."
Pressed whether the deal with SuperValu was less than if the stadium named was changed to SuperValu Páirc, O’Donovan was adamant that wasn’t the case.
In a statement released after the confirmation of the deal, O’Donovan added that the stadium is just one area in which Cork GAA is looking to address the €30m debt.
"The realisation of naming rights is another step in the right direction and shows the value that the Cork GAA brand retains as we continue to expand our commercial model in support of our games."
