Dinny McGinley
Ceist:91 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the progress being made with regard to the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15063/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 10 May 2005
Ceisteanna (47, 48, 49)
John Gormley
Ceist:94 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he will report on the progress to date on the development of Lansdowne Road stadium; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14960/05]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Jimmy Deenihan
Ceist:98 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism when he expects a planning application to be lodged for the new stadium at Lansdowne Road; the likely start-up date for the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15025/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 91, 94 and 98 together.
On 25 April I announced the awarding by the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company of the design and project management contracts for the stadium, moving the development plan for the new Lansdowne Road stadium to a new phase. The contracts have been awarded following tender competitions, advertised internationally through the EU Journal as well as in Ireland.
The design contract has been awarded to a consortium led by HOK Sports, one of the world's largest sport architectural practices. The winning consortium also includes Irish architects Scott Tallon Walker. The contract for project management services has been awarded to a consortium led by Project Management Limited, PM, one of Ireland's largest specialist technical consultancy and project management firms.
The Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company has begun the preparatory work leading to a submission for planning application with the intention to lodge a planning application in December of this year, in accordance with the timetable previously announced. The newly appointed design team has already begun to develop a final detailed design for the new stadium. It is expected that ‘enabling works' will happen during 2006 and the actual main construction work will commence in 2007 with an estimated building time of 29 months.
I reaffirm the Government's commitment to the project and its decision to provide an amount of €191 million towards the cost of the project, which is estimated to cost €292 million.