Lansdowne Road stadium plans lodged with council

PLANS for the development of the proposed new Lansdowne Road stadium were officially lodged with Dublin City Council yesterday.

Construction proper, depending on the planning process, is scheduled to commence early in 2007 and to finish in the second quarter of 2009. The existing stadium will be available for matches during 2006.

The proposed new 50,000 all-seated stadium has been designed by international stadia architects, HOK Sport Architecture, working in conjunction with leading Irish company Scott Tallon Walker. The development, budgeted to cost e365 million, is a joint venture between the IRFU and the FAI, with the Government providing e191 million towards the funding. Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company (LRSDC), the company making the planning application, was set up by the IRFU and the FAI in September 2004 to manage the project on their behalf.

A one-year period has been allocated for due process on the planning application.

When complete, the stadium will consist of a continuous curvilinear stand enclosing all four sides of the ground. The South, East and West stands will have four tiers of seating. The second tier will provide facilities for premium ticket holders and the third tier will provide facilities for corporate boxes. There will be 10,000 seats at premium level and a further 1,300 at box level. Many of these will be sold in advance to help finance the overall project.

Space for the redevelopment has been created by a realignment of the pitch and by the creation of a new access podium over the railway line. Underpasses will also be built which will enable the level crossing gates for the Dart to be permanently closed on match days.

The existing two rear pitches that run east-west at present will also be realigned and combined into one pitch running north-south.

The stadium will also feature improved player facilities for home and away teams, warm-up rooms and state-of-the-art treatment facilities; enhanced press facilities; TV/radio commentary boxes on the upper level; a large number of high quality toilets adequate both for match days and for events such as concerts; quality medical support facilities; better facilities for disabled fans; wide concourses and a hi-tech communications nerve centre to allow for continuous monitoring of all aspects of the stadium, both inside and outside the ground; and pitch floodlighting.