Future of Cork city events centre is questioned

The future of a €50m events centre for Cork city was being called into question last night after management at City Hall again refused to brief furious councillors on the status of the tender process.

Whips and party leaders from the four main parties, as well as an Independents’ representative, met with acting chief executive Dan Buggy in expectation of an update on the process which hit a major hurdle earlier this month when the proposed operators of the events centre — entertainment giant Live Nation — pulled out citing concerns over funding agreements and penalty clauses.

Those tendering for the project — O’Callaghan Properties (OCP) and BAM/Heineken Ireland — were required to have an operator on board as part of their bids. As a result, OCP did not submit its bid by the July 4 tender deadline. BAM/Heineken Ireland did, raising questions about its validity.