Key parties 'remain committed' to Cork event centre, but still no timeline

'Sod was turned on the planned 6,000-capacity venue in 2016

The long-delayed event centre on the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main St, Cork, is still viable, according to the chief executive of Cork City Council, Ann Doherty.

The chief executive of Cork City Council has given a relatively upbeat update on the status of the Cork event centre project, insisting it is still viable.

Ann Doherty said the key parties are still committed to delivering the venue five years after the sod-turning, but cautioned that given the complexities involved, she was reluctant to give a timeline on progress.

“I hate giving deadlines because there are so many known unknowns,” she said.

She made her comments after providing a written answer to a question from independent councillor Ken O’Flynn, who sought an update on the long-stalled project at this month’s city council meeting.

The council is overseeing the process designed to deliver the 6,000-capacity venue on the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main St, with developers BAM and global entertainment giant Live Nation.

BAM is in line for some €50m of State funding to deliver the venue, which will then be run and managed by Live Nation, owners of Ticketmaster.

Mr O’Flynn tabled his question on the back of recent reports about Covid’s impact on Live Nation, whose business was decimated by the pandemic, with all of its live concerts and festivals cancelled worldwide.

Analysts believe the pandemic has cost the firm at least €7bn in lost revenue. 

Last week, it reported losses of some €300m for the first quarter of this year.

The company’s pandemic-related difficulties had fuelled concerns last year about its ability or willingness to follow through on its investment in the Cork event centre project, which has been beleaguered with delays since former taoiseach Enda Kenny turned the sod on the project in 2016.

But Live Nation implemented a near €1bn cost-cutting programme last year and has weathered the storm.

Rolling Stone magazine reported last week that the company remains buoyant about the future and is planning for the resumption of live shows in some countries this summer.

It said it expected a “lucrative post-pandemic touring cycle” and has confirmed twice as many major tour dates for 2022 than 2019, along with higher sponsorship commitments and more Ticketmaster clients.

Ms Doherty told councillors on Monday that council officials continued to meet with BAM and Live Nation representatives throughout the pandemic in a bid to agree the legal terms on which the public funding will be made available to the project.

It is understood the most recent meeting took place last week.

“Substantial progress has been made in recent months and these meetings are now taking place on a more frequent basis in an effort to agree these terms and enable the developer to proceed to the detailed design phase of the project,” she said.

She told Mr O’Flynn: “We are fairly close to getting all of the outstanding issues over the line in, I would hope, in the coming weeks.”