Milestone for Dalymount Park as tenders invited for €60m rebuild

Bohemians are considering Richmond Park and the RDS as temporary homes

The cost of the Dalymount Park redevelopment has risen from €40m to €60m over the past 18 months. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Dalymount Park’s redevelopment into a modern 8,039-capacity Uefa category 3 stadium has reached another milestone step with the €60m build tender issued by the Government.

Costs of the project have risen over the past 18 months from €40m, leading to Dublin City Council seeking approval to borrow €34m over a 30-year period.

Timelines have altered since the overhaul was first mooted in the lead-up to the FAI’s co-hosting of Euro 2020, which they were unable to fulfil due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The latest concrete plans are for Bohemians to vacate the Phibsborough venue at the end of the current season in November, paving the way for a four-year construction plan ‘including renewals’.

The Gypsies are considering Richmond Park and the RDS as temporary residences for the two seasons that they’re away from their Dublin 7 base.

Bohs won’t have to inject any private funding as grants have been sourced through a variety of routes, principally €24.7m in the 2024 Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund.

The same pot had supplied €918,750 to kickstart the design phase, while Uefa contributed €500,000.

Under the project specifications, the famous Dalyer pitch that Liam Brady made his Ireland debut on in 1974 is to be reorientated 90 degrees, faced onto by two new stands and terraces apiece.

“The works include the demolition and removal of all existing stadium structures and associated infrastructure, site investigation and testing, and the execution of the new construction works in accordance with the employer’s requirements,” states the invitation to tender.

“The project is sponsored by DCC’s Community, Culture, Leisure and Area Services (CCLAS) Department and overseen by the Corporate Project Governance Board (CPGB).” 

Bohs were due to groundshare with Shelbourne until the Reds opted out, preferring to remain at Tolka Park and undertake their own revamp mission.

The Gypsies succeeded in ensuring a safe-standing area that accounts for 1,794 of the capacity.

As well as contemporary matchday, office, and club facilities, there will be a 585 sq.m publicly-accessible community space and gym along with a public plaza linking North Circular Road and Connaught Street, space and infrastructure for concerts and non-sporting events, bolstering the wider regeneration of the local village.

“Bohemian FC contributes to Irish society through sports, community engagement, significant economic impact both locally and further afield, and through progressive social policies – a redeveloped Dalymount Park will ensure we can continue to do so and build upon it,” the club said.

“We would hope to be on site this time next year,” Dublin City chief executive Richard Shakespeare informed councillors last November when they ratified the borrowing package.