However the term "Athletic Grounds" was in use from at least 1935 when the field hosted a sporting and cultural Feis featuring a football challenge match between Armagh and Dublin selections.

The complex included a new Armagh GAA administrative headquarters (the Ceannáras), a handball alley and an extended and re-seeded playing area.

The cost of refurbishing and maintaining the grounds proved unsustainable for the local club, resulting in the venue being handed back to the County Board and, in 2002, in its being closed again.

[6] In 2002, plans were announced by the GAA's Ulster Council to redevelop a number of stadiums, with the Athletic Grounds to receive £8 million to increase its capacity from 5,500 to 25,000.

Instead, the reconstruction of the Athletic Grounds was taken forward in four phases by a development group that had been established by Armagh County Board in 1997, with funding garnered from a number of sources and eventually totalling £3.5 million.