Lansdowne Road Redevelopment Thread

[republic]

Breaking News from RTE

(15:09) The Cabinet has taken a decision on the location of the new National Stadium.

RTÉ News understands the Government will approve the development of a 50,000 seater stadium at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.

It is also understood the Government will announce a phased development of a sporting campus at Abbotstown in Dublin.

The Minister for Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue, is expected to hold a media conference this afternoon to make an announcement.

[John83]

Anyone remember the episode of the Simpsons where Homer wins his negotiations as Union boss with Mr. Burns?

I'd probably do that now, except there are about thirty random punters in the same room as me.

[MikeW]

I'll only believe it when I see the builders laying the foundations for the place. Even if this is true and they have actually made a decision (praise the lord), there's still a mountain of obstacles that could potentially get in the way.

[brendy_éire]

Hurrah! Let's see if it can be finished by the time the Luas is up and running. ;)

[finlma]

Originally posted by republic
It is also understood the Government will announce a phased development of a sporting campus at Abbotstown in Dublin.


I wonder what this "sporting campus" entails. Probably a field with a few cones knowing our government

Good news on Lansdowne though!!

[Plastic Paddy]

Is there a doctor in the house? :eek:

(Thumping sound as PP keels over...)

;) PP

[MikeW]

Originally posted by finlma
I wonder what this "sporting campus" entails. Probably a field with a few cones knowing our government



They're going to build an obstacle course out there, then they're going to bundle Slim Harney into the back of a van ouside the Dail in the dead of night and force her to hop through tyres on the ground, shimmy along a set of monkey bars, climb over large walls etc. All the while Bertie will be firing an AK-47 inches above her head to keep her keen.

I also hear they've also hired Lee Ermey from Full Metal Jacket to be her Drill Instructor - "Get the f*** off of my obstacle Private Harney, get the f*** down off of my obstacle".

"Oh that's right, Private Harney, don't make any f***ing effort to get to the top of the f***ing obstacle! If God would have wanted you up there he would have miracled your ass up there by now, wouldn't he? "

Sorry I couldn't resist another pop at Slim.

[John83]

Originally posted by MikeW
"Get the f*** off of my obstacle Private Harney, get the f*** down off of my obstacle".
I don't think she's privatised herself just yet. I'm sure it's on the agenda though. ;)

[Robinski]

At least a decision (and a positive one at that) has finally been made.

Fair play to the IRFU and the FAI for putting on the pressure.

[finlma]

The question now is will the bigots in the gaa let the "foreign sports" be played there for 4 years.

Unlikely I'd say.

[Peadar]

Ok so we've got the decision we wanted, now the planning issues need to be addressed. After that how soon can we expect construction to start? During the construction both the IRFU and the FAI will be homeless. The only legitimate alternative on this island is Croke Park. Can any level headed GAA members think of reasonable justification to deny temporary access to the FAI and or the IRFU?

P.s. I think the IRFU have been very professional about all this and deserve great credit for getting the project this far.

[liamon]

I just hope the planning process runs reasonably smoothly. Chances are, this won't get up and running for years if the planning thing drags on.

And would the next government support this plan?

God, I'm a pessimist.

[gspain]

Brilliant stuff.!!!!!!

[pineapple stu]

Does it count as a definite strategy that the Irish Government have plans to upgrade the ground?! Might still be playing in Engerland!:eek:

"Yes, Mr. UEFA person - we will be able to stage EURO2008 in Croke Park - the Government's working on it right now...":rolleyes:

[Beavis]

Originally posted by Peadar


P.s. I think the IRFU have been very professional about all this and deserve great credit for getting the project this far.
Probably but I'm really starting to warm to Fran Rooney.Think he genuinely has the football fans interests at heart.


The new Lansdowne will may also be available to the GAA and presumbably the Government hope that this will sway the final vote on Rule 42 (which is being held in April).

[Macy]

The build time is 2 years - they're not planning on starting till 2006, so are allowing 2 years for planning....

[liamon]

Originally posted by Beavis
The new Lansdowne will may also be available to the GAA and presumbably the Government hope that this will sway the final vote on Rule 42 (which is being held in April).

The GAA already have a large stadium somewhere in Dublin, which they are struggling to fill. As I understand it, they ned to increase use of this facility, and are nowhere maximum usage. Can't see them switching big games anywhere else.

[pete]

Stunned that the people we elected to manage the country actually made a decision.

Credit to Fran Rooney for nicely playing the PR battle. He did well to put the pressure on the government in the last couple of months & liked the way he agreed in principle to all this training centre lark at Abbotstown in the full knowledge that it probably never happoen & government just needed the agreement to justify the wasted expense at Abbotstown.

As far as i can see the design deliberately takes into consideration the neighbours around Lansdowne so even allowing for this being Ireland would be surprised if too many delays. Seen reporter on RTE doing his piece from the Landsdowne Rd street end a few days ago & can clearly see be no "light" issues from that side.

[Bald Student]

Also in today's indo:


It was confirmed last night that Lansdowne Road will host Ireland's home games in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers after FIFA gave the green light last night for the continued use of temporary seating at the venue.


so more good news then.

[Peadar]

Originally posted by Bald Student
It was confirmed last night that Lansdowne Road will host Ireland's home games in the 2006 World Cup qualifiers

so more good news then.

That means that we'll need an alternative venue for the Euro 2008 qualifiers only.

[pete]

Originally posted by Peadar
That means that we'll need an alternative venue for the Euro 2008 qualifiers only.

The announcement seem to give the imp[ression that the ground not be closed for 2 years but just some of that time. The FAI have some flexibility with qualifier dates which i think means they can arrange around.

2008 WC qualifier would typically start sept 2006 & finish Oct/Nov 2007.
- means FAI don't have to use Lansdowne from From Nov 2007-Sept 2008
- IRFU don't need ground from March to October most years which is a 6 month window.

[finlma]

Originally posted by pete
Stunned that the people we elected to manage the country actually made a decision.


I'd never vote for the pack of money grabbing moron's that is Fine Fail. They've made a muck of Stadium Ireland and the country. This decision should have been made a long time ago.

On another note......
It looks like the Lansdowne pitch will only be out of action for 12 months as they are going to do a phased development. So we may not have to find an alternative home for too long.

[republic]

Originally posted by pete

Credit to Fran Rooney for nicely playing the PR battle. He did well to put the pressure on the government in the last couple of months & liked the way he agreed in principle to all this training centre lark at Abbotstown in the full knowledge that it probably never happoen & government just needed the agreement to justify the wasted expense at Abbotstown.


The training centre will go ahead if at all possible. The FAI are shortly to make a presentation to the government on the need for a new national academy, comprising training facilities, all weather pitches, medical facilities, a small stadium and administrative offices. Initial estimates of the cost are in the region of EUR20m. The FAI have let it be known that they would sell the Merrion Square offices (one of their primary capital assets) and the offices of the Leinster FA in Parnell Square as their contribution to the overall cost. The government would foot the rest of the bill.

This would achieve one of the main goals of Fran and the boys in their Technical Development plan and would also help save face for Bertie. Everyone wins.

Incidentally, I note that the GAA are whining again today looking for the money that they are "owed" by the government. Unbelievable that anytime there is some good news for any other sports organisation, the GAAH automatically think that they should be looked after too.

[gspain]

I'd hate to see us go abroad and play home games in the UK.

However coming back to a brand new stadium would soften the blow.

Maybe the decent folk in the GAA will outwit the bigots and open Croke Park in the meantime but not looking good.

[liamon]

Originally posted by davros
would have been nice to see Ireland play in a 60K capacity stadium .......the capacity seems a bit small..

Rooney was on Today FM last night being intrerviewed by Matt Cooper and he said the 50k limit was due to financial constraints. Basically, they just can't afford anyting bigger.

Apart from a few matches against teams like Brazil, France and rugby internationals against England, I'm not sure the extra capacity is really warranted. Certainly don't need a 60,000 seater for internationals against Canada, etc.

Anyway, this still leaves Bertie able to come back in a few years wiht a plan to build an 80,000 seater stadium in Abbotstown. :rolleyes:

[SÓC]

The new Stadium will be able to hold GAA matches, which in itself has its pros and cons.

The GAA lose a fair bit of money when they have to open Croke Park up for things like National League Finals, Club finals, ladies finals, some hurling semi-finals etc. They'd be licking their lips at a chance to use a 50k seater where they wouldnt have to open Croke Park. They'll come running. Then they'll hit a brick wall.

IRFU/FAI will want to be able to use Croke Park for their bigger games, Rugby matches against England. Football against France etc.

Only problem I see is if the pitch is going to be big enough for GAA a soccer pithch could be lost in it.

[drummerboy]

I listened to the PRO of the GAA Danny Lynch at lunchtime. Apart from looking for the extra funding of Croker, he also seemed disinterested in Lansdowne Road but stated that the GAA would be very interested in using the facilities in Abbotstown. Now if the FAI are going to sell their premises in Merrion Square and Parnell Square to help fund Abbotstown what will the GAA offer?

[tiktok]

Originally posted by liamon
The GAA already have a large stadium somewhere in Dublin, which they are struggling to fill. As I understand it, they ned to increase use of this facility, and are nowhere maximum usage. Can't see them switching big games anywhere else.

to be fair, whatever about the history of the piece, it's be daft to have a national stadium from which our national sports were excluded

a spokesman for the GAA said this morning that they would consider it for matches where Croke Park was too big (but no approach would be made yet). they also came out asking for the cash the government promised them after the development of a national stadium was announced.

i've no problem with the GAA using it, charge them for the use of it to ease running costs, and have the use of Croker during the redevelopment written in as a condition, problems solved all around.

[eamoss]

When should building start?

[tiktok]

Originally posted by eamo
When should building start?

penciled in for 2006, two years doesn't seem long for construction.

saw a report that building could take place without the loss of landsdowne for home fixtures, that the bulk of the demolition work could be done 'off season' and it could operate at reduced capacity as the different sides were completed (much as the GAA did when redeveloping croker).

[liamon]

Originally posted by tiktok

i've no problem with the GAA using it, charge them for the use of it to ease running costs, and have the use of Croker during the redevelopment written in as a condition, problems solved all around.
If you're going to charge them any sort of decent fee, then it's probably more economical for them to play in Croker.

Anyway, I think they need a stadium of around 15-20k for their smaller matches. A 50k stadium is probably too big for them still.

[gspain]

Normal fee is about 15% of the gate receipts.

The ground should be available to the GAA. No other sporting organisation in the world excludes other sports from their facilities. The way to attack the bigots in the GAA is not to respond with similiar attitudes but to expose them fior what they are.

Listening to the voxpop from residents last night there was general agreement that they wanted a sports stadium rather than high rise apartments. Will still be a long road re planning permission but maybe not as bad as feared.

[Bald Student]

According to the papers, the staduim will be owned by a management company with the Government, the IRFU and the FAI having shareholdings according to their relative financial contributions.
If this is the case, the Government will have a large shareholding in the stadium. They are unlikely to either prevent the GAA from playing there or charge the GAA a high fee for using the stadium.

[pineapple stu]

Could GAA be played in Lansdowne? Isn't a GAA pitch 40 yards or so longer than a soccer pitch? They certainly don't have the room to expand the ground by 20 yards each side, surely? How's that going to work?

[Macy]

Originally posted by Bald Student
If this is the case, the Government will have a large shareholding in the stadium. They are unlikely to either prevent the GAA from playing there or charge the GAA a high fee for using the stadium.
I think it the management company is completely seperate though - so the FAI and IRFU will effectively be paying to use the stadium as well. It will probably be a set fee. Just that as non-shareholders the bogballers wouldn't get any share of the profits of the management company....

[Bald Student]

From what I read in the paper, though I'm open to correction on this, the management company would not make a profit. It would only charge enough to cover the cost of maintaining the ground.

I would be interested to know what is to be done with the money made from concerts held in the ground.

[Peadar]

Originally posted by Bald Student
I would be interested to know what is to be done with the money made from concerts held in the ground.

The greedy promoters, who make Ireland one of the most expensive places in Europe to attend a concert, would get it of course.

[Beavis]

Originally posted by pineapple stu
Could GAA be played in Lansdowne? Isn't a GAA pitch 40 yards or so longer than a soccer pitch? They certainly don't have the room to expand the ground by 20 yards each side, surely?How's that going to work?

GAA pitch dimensions are approximately 150m x 90m,those of soccer and rugby are 100m x 70m.
If the new Lansdowne is to hold GAA,it will be the equivilant of having an athletics track surrounding the pitch during soccer and rugby games like in some stadia e.g the Olympic in Munich.
Wouldn't this have a seriously negetive affect on the atmosphere?

[Peadar]

Originally posted by Beavis
it will be the equivilant of having an athletics track surrounding the pitch during soccer

Wouldn't this have a seriously negetive affect on the atmosphere?

They could always have a no-go rectangle in the middle of the pitch during the football so as to push the action out to the edges :D

Seriously though, I was thinking the same thing when I heard that the GAA might use the new ground. It was one point I raised when the question of using Croker for International football was raised.

[pete]

Maybe no one even taught of the pitch dimensions at this stage. Be no probably with with of pitch but could be hard to add the extra 20m length & still fit stadium into allocated space.

Interestingly when Abbotstown first suggested they were going to have an athletics pitch + have a ground suitable for GAA matches which was clearly impossible.

:rolleyes:

[Robinski]

I heard Sean Kelly being interviewed on the radio the other day and he stated very clearly that the dimensions for a GAA pitch had been taken into consideration in relation to the redevelopment of Lansdowne.

[pete]

Originally posted by Robinski
I heard Sean Kelly being interviewed on the radio the other day and he stated very clearly that the dimensions for a GAA pitch had been taken into consideration in relation to the redevelopment of Lansdowne.

Crazy decision. Not only does it mess up a football/rugby stadium but also gives some ammo for local residents to object to more matches at Lansdowne. I don't think anyone thinks the GAA will ever use Landsdowne.

:rolleyes:

[tiktok]

no chance of there being a retractable lower tier over the excess ground as with the covered running track in Paris i suppose?

[Bowsy]

Surely this can't be the case. Gaelic games have to be considered in the Lansdowne redevelopment to the detriment of soccer and rugby yet the GAA still get to refuse the playing of Garrison games in Croker? Only on our ridiculous little island. Shambolic.

[Beavis]

Originally posted by Bowsy
Surely this can't be the case. Gaelic games have to be considered in the Lansdowne redevelopment to the detriment of soccer and rugby yet the GAA still get to refuse the playing of Garrison games in Croker? Only on our ridiculous little island. Shambolic.

It's doubtful,in the event of the GAA rejecting the proposal on Rule 42( which bans foreign sports from Croker),that they will be admitted to the new Lansdowne.I think that Gaelic Games haven't been ruled out because the government and FAI are hoping to give them further incentive to alter Rule 42 before Easter's vote.
After all it's likely we'll need another venue after 2006.

[Peadar]

Taken from BreakingNews.ie (http://breakingnews.ie/2005/04/25/story199657.html)


Lansdowne Stadium contracts move forward
25/04/2005 - 14:19:37

Development plans for the new Lansdowne Road Stadium moved to a new phase today with the awarding of the design and project management contracts for the stadium.

Minister for Sport John O'Donoghue confirmed the timetable for lodging a planning application is on course for December 2005.

The design contract has been awarded to a consortium led by HOK Sports, one of the world's largest sport architectural practices. The winning consortium includes Irish architects Scott Tallon Walker.


The contract for project management services has been awarded to a consortium led by Project Management Ltd. Recent PM projects include work at Pfizer, UCC, Abbott in Cootehill, Co Cavan and Dublin Bus.


The Official Website is here... (http://www.lrsdc.ie/home/default.asp)

[onenilgameover]

Thanks for the link...It will be interesting to find out how they are gonna tackle all the different problems of which there are many. Its exciting all the same though.!!! :D :ball:

[Karlos]

I see the designers appointed are the same ones involved with Wembly and Emirates Stadium. I actually had a look around both Wembly and Emirates stadium sites yesterday afternoon and if Lansdowne is anywhere near as impressive as these two new structures we really are in for a treat in the future - those two in particular are just enourmous and beatutiful pieces of design. :)

[tricky_colour]

Well here are some pictures of the new Wembley stadium
http://www.wembleystadium.com/pressbox/presspack/images/default.htm
Which may give you some idea of what to expect?
(Click on the pics for a bigger pic).

[eirebhoy]

50,000 is the figure. I don't think it would be possible to make it any bigger where it is. If it was I'm sure JP McManus wouldn't have a problem handing out €65m for the extra 15,000 seats. ;)