Event centre build may not start until 2023

Five years after the sod-turning ceremony, talks are taking place among key players in an effort to move the long-stalled project forward

The site of the proposed Events Centre, off South Main Street, Cork: Building work has yet to start on the proposed 6,000-capacity venue five years since former taoiseach Enda Kenny turned the sod on the former Beamish and Crawford brewery site. Picture: Denis Minihane

It could be another two years before construction work starts on the beleaguered Cork event centre project.

The news emerged on the fifth anniversary of the project’s sod-turning ceremony on Friday amid confirmation that talks are continuing to inch the long-stalled process forward.

Chief executive of Cork City Council Ann Doherty said all involved were still working towards delivery.

She said while Covid-19 has obviously had a devastating impact on Live Nation – the entertainment company lined up to operate the venue has seen its global revenues decimated in the last year – the pandemic has also underlined how important it will be for the city to have a large entertainment venue in the heart of the city post-Covid.

"Everyone involved in the project is still in the game – and that in and of itself is positive," she said.

Building work has yet to start on the proposed 6,000-capacity venue five years since former taoiseach Enda Kenny turned the sod on the former Beamish and Crawford brewery site.

Beset with design, planning and complex funding issues, the State has since upped its investment in the project from an initial €16m to €50m in a bid to secure its delivery.

Meetings have taken place in recent weeks, including one as recently as this week, involving all the key players from Cork City Council, which is overseeing the entire process, with representatives of construction company BAM and of Live Nation, and their various legal advisers.

A source close to the process said the fact that Live Nation is still involved in talks despite its own pandemic-related difficulties is a positive sign.

It is understood the company is bullish about prospects of a recovery in the live entertainment business, linked to the global rollout of a vaccine.

But the source said realistically construction won't start on the venue within the next 18 months, and possibly even two years.

Industry sources have also warned that construction inflation, which is running at about €400,000 a month, and fall-out from Brexit, could add to the overall cost of the project, which could have implications on the level of State investment required to make the project viable.