€369k to select Cork event centre

Consultants were paid just over €369,000 to oversee the process used to select the developers of Cork’s multi-million events centre.

The city council’s head of finance, Tim Healy, confirmed the figure at Monday’s council meeting following a question from Cllr Seán Martin.

The lengthy tender process, which concluded on December 22 last, was led by business consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers, and included chartered quantity surveyors, KMCS, and the IMD Group, an international consultancy which specialises in venue design and management.

They had to assess two bidders — the joint Heineken-Bam project on the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main St and developer Owen O’Callaghan’s proposal on Albert Quay — and determine who should qualify for a €16m State-funded kickstart package.

The process, which came close to collapse twice, was saved last December after a last-minute deal to increase State investment from €16m to €20m was secured.

The selection team finally chose Heineken Bam’s 6,000-seat €53m facility, which will be the centrepiece of their massive Brewery Quarter regeneration of the entire brewery site.

“Total fees to date in relation to tendering amounted to €369,537, inclusive of Vat,” Mr Healy said.

Meanwhile, city officials believe the lack of parking at the new events centre will actually reduce the number of ‘direct trips’ on event nights.

They expect punters to use buses and nearby car parks. The venue operators must also produce a traffic and mobility plan for each major event.