Sporting bodies to develop facilities at National Sports Campus

Four major sporting governing bodies have signed up to a new Government plan to develop the National Sports Campus at Abbottstown in Blanchardstown, with work set to start this year, Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar announced today.

Four major sporting governing bodies have signed up to a new Government plan to develop the National Sports Campus at Abbottstown in Blanchardstown, with work set to start this year, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar announced today.

Minister Varadkar was joined by the chief executives of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and the Irish Hockey Association (IHA) to launch the new plan, as well as by representatives of the National Sports Campus Development Authority (NSCDA).

“This marks a new beginning for the National Sports Campus and I am delighted that these four sporting organisations have come on board under this new plan,” Minister Varadkar said.

“Despite the current economic situation the Government, the NSCDA and the sporting organisations have worked together to drive this exciting project forward.

“I expect to see good progress being made over the next 12 months.”

The new National Sports Campus will provide a home for around 19 other sporting organisations, with multi-purpose all-weather pitches and training facilities for GAA, soccer, rugby and hockey to be developed.

Work on access roads and infrastructure is to begin in September and will be completed by the end of the year, Minister Varadkar said. The budget for the work is €19m over four years.