Hearing of €460m hotel and casino venue plans begins

MAJOR players in the horseracing and leisure fields are expected today to publicly back a proposed €460 million hotel, casino and entertainment venue on an 800-acre rural site.

Opponents of the project told the hearing it could impact negatively on Irish horseracing but backers say the leisure venue will create up to 900 jobs during construction as well as 1,350 full-time jobs when complete.

As well as the hotel and casino development, the project includes horse and greyhound racing tracks, a 15,000-capacity indoor entertainment arena, golf course, replica of the White House, and international equestrian centre.