4,000-person stadium by 2030 "is achievable", says Donohoe

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has insisted that completing a 4,000-capacity National Cricket Stadium in Dublin and making it operational within the next six years “is achievable.”

This week the Government approved design and preparations for a new National Cricket Stadium, with Green Party Sport Minister Catherine Martin and Fianna Fáil Minister of State Thomas Byrne unveiling the plan.

The Government has approved planning for a new National Cricket Stadium, with Minister Catherine Martin saying the sport has grown significantly in recent years - in part due to a growth in Ireland’s South Asian community.https://t.co/8u8f9vCWky — gript (@griptmedia) August 14, 2024

The plan and design process is expected to be completed by mid-2025, at which point it will go to tender phase. The stadium’s development will then occur in stages, with the first phase scheduled for completion in 2028. This phase will involve building the main cricket oval, seating for 4,000 spectators, a high-performance centre, and additional support facilities.

Notably, the Department hopes that the stadium will be used to host the 2030 Men’s Cricket T20 World Cup.

Asked by Gript if he thought this could be done in a matter of six years, Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said: “It is achievable.”

He said that this would be achievable with sufficient investment.

“It goes back to the investment we’re making in sport,” he said.

“We’ve given an indication there regarding wanting to go ahead with a new cricket facility. But as part of that and before that, myself and Minister [Thomas] Byrne worked together on the Velodrome and new badminton facility. And that is an example of how we are really increasing our investment in sport.”

The Minister said that there will be “some really big and positive announcements” in capital funding for sport in September around the time of the Budget.

“For those of you who have been out in the national sports campus, at the national indoor arena that’s out there, you can see an example of the investment that the government has already made,” he said, adding: “It’s being used to great benefit and effect by all of the sporting bodies around the area. The money has been really, really well spent out there.

“We saw the effect of that in the Olympics, but we see the effect of it every Saturday and Sunday morning when you see the number of girls, boys, women and men of all ages and all levels of ability that are out there in the national sports campus.”

Previously, Gript asked Donohoe about some of the high profile state construction projects that went over time and over budget, such as the notorious ongoing National Children’s Hospital project.

At the time, Donohoe replied that the State successfully delivers “the majority” of projects “in line” with expected costs and “roughly on time,” adding that the State had learned “lessons” from the Children’s Hospital project/

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