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An Taoiseach, Mr Brian Cowen, TD, officially opened the new Aviva Stadium at Lansdowne Road, Dublin,on Friday, 14 May. The stadium which will be the new home for Ireland’s international rugby and soccer teams is a joint venture by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Funding of €191 million was provided by the Government for the project which came in slightly under the budgeted figure of €410 million.
Speaking at the official opening An Taoiseach said that he believed that the new stadium was a tribute to all involved in the project given the fact that not alone had it come within the budgeted figure but that it had also been delivered on time in less than three years.
He especially thanked the board of the stadium company (Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company) which he said epitomised the partnership between the FAI and IRFU in delivering an iconic stadium which he believed everyone in Ireland could and would justifiably be proud.
Planning permission for the new stadium was received in March 2007 with work on site beginning two months later in May with the demolition of the old Lansdowne Road Stadium. From the start of demolition, through to the handing over of the stadium to the FAI and IRFU, the project took slightly less than three years to complete.
The result is a state-of-the-art 50,000 all seated stadium which while making a bold architectural statement does not impact environmentally on the Dublin skyline. The stadium which is on four levels on three sides sweeps down to one level at the northern end in respect to the housing at that end of the ground.
Aviva Stadium Dublin is already attracting a wide range of corporate events and that is before the doors had even opened. Upcoming events being hosted at Aviva include Eurocloud Ireland, the Volvo VIP S60 Preview, College of Anaesthetics, Microsoft, CEPIC and the Event Industry Awards. Collectively the confirmed corporate events will bring over 10,000 delegates to this new venue.
Aviva Stadium’s sales and marketing manager Cailin Keaney is confident that the venue is going to be a major international success. “Home to our international rugby and soccer teams the Aviva will rapidly become known all over the world. It is a hugely advanced structure in terms of its design and a great deal of work has gone into making it a really sustainable venue. We look forward to welcoming many national and international events over the coming months.”
Aviva Stadium is part of Lime Venue Portfolio, the UK’s biggest collection of unique, sporting and cultural venues. Louise Amphlett, head of Lime Venue Portfolio said, “Aviva Stadium Dublin has already proved to be a huge success with corporate event planners and association meeting organisers. The demand for the venue is certainly outstripping availability as planners seek to utilise Europe’s hottest opening of the season.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
