Sisk lands Lansdowne Road contract

John Sisk & Son has won the contract to build the new Lansdowne Road Stadium.

The construction firm, which won the contract following a public procurement tendering process, will have overall responsibility for the construction of the stadium, scheduled to see its first action in 2010.

The contract with the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company was formally signed in the presence of Seamus Brennan, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism. The new stadium is a joint venture between the IRFU and the FAI, with the Government providing €191m towards the cost.

Work began in May of this year with the awarding of both the demolition and sub-structure contracts. Demolition of the old stadium was completed over the August bank holiday weekend with the demolition of the old West Stand.

Work on the sub-structure commenced in tandem with the demolition programme.

A key element in the new stadium, the construction of a podium over the DART line, was completed over the October bank holiday.

Along with the construction of the podium, a major new underpass under the railway line was also completed over that weekend.

Currently the sub-structure programme is well advanced.

This has included the construction of a basement under the East Stand and work on a new underground car park under the back pitch.

Sisk will have complete control over all of the various construction contracts in relation to the stadium.

Tom Costello, managing director of Sisk, said the company was delighted to have won the contract given the fact that it has already been responsible for the construction of Croke Park.

“We fully realise that Lansdowne is quite a different stadium than Croke Park, but many of the challenges are the same,” Mr Costello said.

On completion, the new Lansdowne Road will have an all seated capacity of 50,000.

Courtesy of The Evening Echo