Councillors vote in favour of Cork event centre despite '€100m vanity project' claims
The site of Cork's Event Centre on South Main Street, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan
Cork’s city councillors have voted overwhelmingly in favour of pursuing the controversial event centre project which was branded “a €100m Fine Gael vanity project” at a special council meeting on Tuesday.
The vote followed a robust defence of the handling of the lengthy saga by chief executive of Cork City Council, Ann Doherty, who said whatever state aid is finally approved for the venue — above the €57m already pledged — could be recouped even before its doors open.
With its future now hinging on a Cabinet decision on the required additional funding, Ms Doherty declined to discuss how much extra is required, citing commercial sensitivities.
However, she insisted that no contract or funding arrangement has been executed yet between the council and the Susie’s Field consortium, involving Bam and Live Nation, which is lined up to build and operate the venue.
She made her comments during the special council meeting on Tuesday night which was called following the serving of Section 140 notice, signed by Rabharta Glas Cllr Lorna Bogue, Worker’s Party Cllr Ted Tynan, and Solidarity Cllr Brian McCarthy.
They called for the withdrawal of what they say is a request for additional state funding and said the council should instead secure central government funding for a publicly owned and operated venue.
Criticising the “lack of transparency” around the project, Ms Bogue said: “I do not expect the parties in government in this chamber to back my motion.
“Your political interests force you to press forward pig-headedly on this absolute scandal of public accountability for this €100m Fine Gael vanity project.”
Cllr Tynan and Cllr McCarthy both criticised the amount of public money involved, with Cllr McCarthy saying: “Those involved in the 2016 sod turning have done work on site than the contractors."
Ms Doherty said no public money has been handed over to BAM or Live Nation — that the only money spent on the project to date has been on legal and consultancy fees, including defending a legal challenge.
She recapped the long and complex history of the project, and said the detailed design was only completed in July 2023, and was subjected to an independent verification process carried out by a professional QS company, which concluded last December.
Based on their verification report and a final business case, she said the council submitted a recommendation to the Department of Local Government and Housing on the level of state contribution required.
The department will prepare a memo for government, and "it is a matter for government to decide on the extent of the final grant to this project” she said.
She pointed out that Live Nation wants to come to Cork, is investing its own money in the project and said if the city was to pursue a publicly owned and operated event centre, the council would have to effectively start from scratch, identify and buy a site in the city centre, rezone the land, procure a design team, secure planning, attract industry expertise to advise, complete the design, agree the cost, secure the funding, tender and award the construction contract, manage that contract, and then tender for an operator.
Ms Doherty said there are a number of “significant risks” to consider before embarking on such a process, warning that such an approach would lead to “considerable delay in delivering an event centre” and would have detrimental economic implications for the entire city and the wider region.
Councillors then voted 25-3 against the motion from the three councillors.
