Taxpayers will have to cough up more funding to deliver elusive Cork event centre project

€57m in state aid has been pledged already

A computer-generated image of BAM's plans for the Cork event centre.

With €57m in state aid already pledged, taxpayers will have to cough up more funding to deliver the elusive Cork event centre project.

It follows confirmation that Cork City Council has finished its assessment of the detailed designs and costings for the venue which were submitted to the local authority last summer by the consortium which won the tender for the initial state-aid package of €20m in 2014.

It is expected that the council will make a recommendation on the additional state funding required within weeks. Exactly how much extra is required has not been revealed.

Council chief executive Ann Doherty told city councillors that it is anticipated that construction will start in the first quarter of next year.

However, numerous target dates for construction to start have been missed over the years.

The news comes just over two months before the eighth anniversary of the 2016 sod-turning ceremony on the South Main St site. 

Developers Bam and global entertainment giants, Live Nation, have yet to start construction on the proposed 6,000-capacity venue.

After years of delays and false dawns, hopes were finally raised last summer that the project was still viable when the consortium submitted the long-awaited final detailed designs for the venue to the council’s planning department, triggering a verification process.

In September, Ms Doherty told councillors that the detailed designs had resulted in a cost increase, and talks were ongoing.

Then at Monday’s council meeting, she faced two written questions, from Cllr Mick Finn and Cllr Joe Kavanagh, seeking an update on the project.

She said verification of the detailed design cost has now been completed.

“Cork City Council is currently engaging with the consortium on the outcome of this verification process and will in due course be making a recommendation to the department as to the amount of the public contribution required,” she said.

“It is anticipated that construction will commence in Q1 2024.” 

Mr Finn described the update as good news, and added: “Obviously, a lot of water has passed under the South Gate bridge over the years, and when can we get an update on the technical aspects of this?”.

Ms Doherty said she will provide a further update in January.

In the planning documents submitted last summer, the consortium said the entire design team working on the project is committed to ensuring the development is completed and that the “latent potential of this iconic and historic site and venue becomes a reality for Cork City”.

Bam won the competitive tender process in April 2014 for some €20m of state aid for the development of the venue, which was estimated at the time to cost just over €50m.

However, following the 2016 sod turning and various delays caused by planning, redesigns, requests for further state funding, and the covid pandemic, overall costs have soared to some €85m. The state funding has been increased to €57m — more than the original entire cost estimate.