Yippee - FIFA OK for Lansdowne Road

[Footie_Fan]

Originally posted by Ozymandias
The only thing wrong with that Éanna is that lansdowne is so accessible and there is always a great buzz in the pubs before and after the games...that will be lost in abbotstown as we will all just sit in a traffic jam for hours before and hours after..

I agree. The infrastructure that would required for Abbotstown would increase the real cost of the stadium considerably.

[Slash/ED]

The Irish team aren't going to play in Abbotstown, only the U21s and other youth teams if any of thjem at all. It will be 15,000 they say and house the FAI headquaters and all the facilities needed. There's no reason why they couldn't simply build that in Tallaght and do domestic Irish football a favour, or do what the rumour is, and build it in Abbotstown but let EL sides groundshare and use it.

[lopez]

Originally posted by Slash/ED
The Irish team aren't going to play in Abbotstown, only the U21s and other youth teams if any of thjem at all. It will be 15,000 they say and house the FAI headquaters and all the facilities needed. There's no reason why they couldn't simply build that in Tallaght and do domestic Irish football a favour, or do what the rumour is, and build it in Abbotstown but let EL sides groundshare and use it.

What's wrong with the present system of playing U21 and youth games around the country? Abbotstown sounds like the Bishopstown fiasco of the mid nineties in Cork. Poor crowds, no bars and no public transport access. Surely the money spent on another stadium could be spent on improving an existing ground in Dublin or stadiums around the country?

[petef]

Waste of time exactly building a national stadium out of the city, no buzz, no pubs, no nothing, it would really **** people off stuck in jams etc.

[gspain]

We badly need a stadium.

I'm agnostic on the venue.

Abbotstown would mean continued use of Lansdowne until it was finished and no planning issues but the downsides re being out of town and lack of atmosphere around the area do apply.

Lansdown ewould mean game sin the UK for a couple of years and horrendous planning problem swith the most influential people in Dublin lining up to object. Great location though and game can be a real day out.

If the government go either way I'd be thrilled. If they bury a decision until after the next election in a quango then it will be a disaster.

[lopez]

Originally posted by gspain
We badly need a stadium.

I'm agnostic on the venue.

Abbotstown would mean continued use of Lansdowne until it was finished and no planning issues but the downsides re being out of town and lack of atmosphere around the area do apply.

Lansdown ewould mean game sin the UK for a couple of years and horrendous planning problem swith the most influential people in Dublin lining up to object. Great location though and game can be a real day out.

If the government go either way I'd be thrilled. If they bury a decision until after the next election in a quango then it will be a disaster.

Agree. Damned if we do and damned if we don't. I can't see how residents can object, through planning laws, to replacing a crumbling old stadium with a new stadium that holds exactly the same capacity. I would have thought that argument would come into it if houses or a factory are built there.

I'm no expert but the venue should be a fait acompli. There is no legitimate grounds for residents to object so that they can effectively wipe Lansdowne Road as a sporting venue off the map. Anyone here work in a planning department?

Playing outside the country, and there is still no guarantee that it will come to that, would be a small sacrifice worth paying if there was movement on the stadium issue. Trouble is, there is no movement. Anyway there is always plan C. Croke Park.

[MikeW]

Lopez, you're right that a rebuilt, similar proportioned Lansdowne Road should be a fait accompli, but it won't be. There'll be an avalanche of objections from the privileged few who happen to live around the stadium (and probably someone like An Taisce who'll want to preserve Lansdowne as it is for its historical value!!) because thats the way the planning process works. They'll claim the stadium will "overshadow" their houses and cause a "loss of amenity" to the area and other such nonsense since a stadium already exists there, but it'll hold everything up nonetheless.

Any objection no matter how stupid and petty it sounds has to be heard and investigated by An Bord Pleanala which can take anything up to a year for a decision due to heavy backlogs of cases around the country. Even if they decide to give the plan the go-ahead the objectors can take the case to court (much like the Carrickmines fiasco lately) and tie it up even longer there.

It happens all over the country with various developments - nothing ever gets started quickly if theres even one objection. Meanwhile the cost of the projects begins to soar due to all the hold-ups - incredibly frustrating and unnecessary but its what'll happen.

[lopez]

Originally posted by MikeW
...the cost of the projects begins to soar due to all the hold-ups - incredibly frustrating and unnecessary but its what'll happen.

I never thought I'd say this, but we could do with Eoin O'Duffy here as Taoiseach.

Still, I'd hate to see those two cottages go.

[gspain]

A snail scuppered the Kildare bypass and cost the taxpayer millions.

The M50 final stretch will be the most expensive road in the history of the planet (source newstalk 106 breakfast show this morning). Every crank in the country has had their day in court here

One gaa man caused Rovers endless hassle in Tallaght.

The smoking ban is being delayed and delayed as we speak.

Luas!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now you are trying to build a stadium in the back gardens of the most influential people in this country. How many barristers et al live nearby and don't want to live near a building site for a couple of years?

A sweet deal was also done on the social housing legislation when it came to Ailesbury Road (D4) and the builder managed to provide them elsewhere.

[frano]

Hey, MikeW, you said that An Taisce will want to preserve Lansdowne for it's historical value!!

Does that include the ****ehouses

[lopez]

The only reason I'd think that An Taisce would want to keep any part of Lansdowne Road would be as a monument to poor taste in architectural design. We get the same cranks here. The land that Arsenal had their eyes on near Kings Cross was turned down because someone wanted to keep these huge monstrosities of gasometers from being knocked down. I've got one behind my house and if they knocked that down my house price would rocket. The irony is that these people will end up destroying a true piece of heritage, namely the oldest site in the world still used for international football and rugby.

Could a change in the law help here?