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.