Cork events centre may become 'a big empty room'
Chief executive Brian Fenton backstage at the Everyman theatre in Cork. Picture: David Creedon
The chief executive of the Everyman Theatre has said the events centre planned for Cork will be too large to host major theatre shows and could end up a “big empty room”.
Plans for an events centre have envisaged a capacity in the region of 4,000 to 6,000.
But, in an interview with the , the Everyman co-CEO and executive director Brian Fenton said Cork should instead be planning for a theatre-style venue which can also accommodate large conferences — similar to how Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre operates.
His comments come as a preliminary business case for the events centre has been approved, the Cabinet will be told tomorrow.
“There’s no question from my point of view that a 3,000, 4,000, 5,000 seat venue won’t get the West End shows — it’s too big,” said Mr Fenton, who previously worked in London theatre production.
“It’s too big for those big musicals — the stage is too big, the auditorium, even the level of risk. In the theatre business, it’s all about the scale: if you get the scale right, you’ll have year-round activity. But with the Events Centre in Cork, there are a lot of voices, and it has become this big, big, big arena.
“Commercial producers in the West End want to play theatres. West End venues are 1,800 seats, 2,000 seats. In Dublin, there’s a reason those touring West End shows are not going into the 3Arena.”
The Cork events centre plan has been in the ether for 18 years but a new tendering process in place with Cork City Council, led by management firm Aecom, has injected fresh momentum.
Proposed sites include the original proposal by BAM to develop on the former Beamish brewery site on South Main Street as well as a plan by Marina Market boss Tom Coughlan to develop it in Cork Docklands.
“In terms of year-round activity for audiences in Cork and for employment in Cork, I do believe there is space for a 2,000-seat Bord Gáis-type venue with a commercial year-round musical and concert and music programme, which can hold large conferences, and allow Live at the Marquee to continue in the way it has every summer,” said Mr Fenton.
“Logistics is the other big thing.
Mr Fenton said the Everyman was invited into the formal consultancy on a new events centre by the project managers and “we gave our opinion on that”.
“We have been told clearly that there isn’t a site identified yet, and there is a whole process to go through.
“We [the Everyman] support the idea of a bigger venue in Cork — our position is an events centre would be brilliant for audiences.
"Cork is the fastest-growing city in Ireland, and the growth projections for Cork set by the Government are massive, so there’s absolutely a business model there for a 2,000-seat venue. That would already be twice the size of the Opera House.
"My concern is that the conversations we have had both formally and informally are that the vision for it is for a much bigger venue.
"I worry that it’ll be a big empty room."
First proposed almost two decades ago, the sod was turned on the original Events Centre in 2016, but the project continued to stall. The cost of delivery for a 6,000-capacity centre has soared from the initial estimate of about €50m to about €150m.
In 2025, the Cork Events Centre project received fresh momentum under the new project development board.
The Everyman itself has seen its revenues for the first three months of the year up a massive 80%, while on Saturday, March 14 it enjoyed the busiest day in its history, attracting 2,500 people through the door over four shows.
However, challenges remain as it looks to its milestone 130th anniversary next year.
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