Approval has been given today for the National Cricket Stadium and High-Performance Centre project to proceed to the pre-tender phase.
Planning and design will be completed by mid-2025, and the tender phase will follow.
The Centre, which will be located in the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown, will deliver a permanent home for cricket in Ireland that meets International Cricket Council requirements for hosting major cricket events and competitions
The proposed facilities are anticipated to include both indoor and outdoor practice and training areas, as well as an arena for holding major games with associated media and spectator facilities. This would enable Ireland to host major international cricket events, including the Cricket World Cup, for which Ireland was granted hosting rights in 2013 alongside England.
The overall project is intended to be delivered in phases, with Phase 1 scheduled to be completed in 2028. This first phase includes the delivery of a main cricket oval, seating for 4000 spectators, a high-performance centre, and some ancillary facilities.
“While cricket is a sport with really deep roots in Ireland, it’s also a sport that reflects the diversity and plurality of today’s society,” said Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin.
“It is really pleasing to see how the sport has grown, at all levels, in Ireland over recent years, particularly with the increase in female participation numbers among our growing community from South Asia.”
“A National Stadium and High-Performance Centre will provide Cricket Ireland with the facilities required to further grow participation numbers.”
“This new Centre will also address the need to provide playing, training and practice facilities to enable Ireland’s elite teams to compete at the highest international levels. ”
“As we enjoy the success of Team Ireland athletes at the Olympics in Paris, we look forward to the return of cricket as an Olympic sport in Los Angeles in 2028. I have no doubt that this new facility will deliver a transformational impact on Irish cricket, and, as a result, we will be cheering on Irish teams at the Olympic Games in the not-too-distant future.”
“Continued Government investment is essential to increasing participation levels in all sports across all sectors of society,” added Minister of State for Sport Thomas Byrne.
“We understand that to achieve our participation targets, we must provide world-class sporting facilities for our athletes. Developing international standard facilities is also necessary to enable Ireland to act as a host nation for major international sports events and competitions.”
“As we look forward to Ireland co-hosting the 2030 Men’s Cricket T20 World Cup with the UK, developing a National Cricket Stadium and High Performance Centre is timely.”
“It will be really exciting to see some of those matches taking place in the new oval at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown. It will further open up the Campus to the wider country and build awareness of what a unique asset Ireland has in this 550-acre site.”
“The National Sports Campus is already an invaluable part of the sporting infrastructure of the country, and this development, along with the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre, will further enhance what are already world-class sporting and support facilities.”
“Today’s announcement is absolutely fantastic – it is a huge tribute to everybody involved at all levels in Irish cricket who have got us to the stage whereby the government genuinely regards us as a sport of national significance worthy of major investment,” said Cricket Ireland CEO Warren Deutrom.
“For me, it is probably up there in terms of significance with the day that we became a Full Member of the ICC – it is a tribute to the enormous growth that the sport has enjoyed over the last 10 to 15 years at all levels of the game. Not just nationally but also provincially and at the club level.”
“These facilities will help drive the sport forward – they will significantly assist our highest performing players nationally and provincially to prepare, train and perform better on the world stage. It’s also going to increase the number of pitches that we can use, helping us ensure that we host more cricket in Ireland. Whether men’s, women’s, seniors, juniors, nationally or provincially, this new facility will help keep our product, our sport, on our shores.”
“Our new permanent ground will also ensure that we have a platform suitable for hosting the world’s top teams on an annual basis and also when we co-host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with England and Scotland in 2030.”
“Yes, it’s going to take time to get there – likely three, maybe even four years, until we begin to use it, but today’s announcement fires the starting pistol on the project. It will enable us to sweat our assets more – getting more bums on seats and generating more revenue to invest back into the sport. And, of course, it means we’re going to be using much less temporary infrastructure, which means we can put that money instead into people and programmes – and allow us to focus investment into club and regional facilities and infrastructure through our new club fund – to help grow the game.”
“Cricket is a sport that indexes massively, not just within Ireland, but also in many large, growing economies overseas. By being at the top table of the world’s second-largest sport, we reach parts of the world that some other sports can’t reach. Cricket is the number one sport for the 20% of the world’s population that resides in South Asia, let alone in the UK, Australasia, and Southern Africa. Recently, of course, we saw the T20 Men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and in the US, while cricket will make a much-heralded return to the Olympics programme in Los Angeles in 2028.”
“We’re very happy about this news,” said Sport Ireland CEO Dr Una May.
“This state-of-the-art venue will be a game-changer for cricket in Ireland, providing a high-performance training facility for our athletes to hone and showcase their talents and for fans to experience the thrill of the game up close. ”
“This news marks a significant milestone in the Government’s commitment to elevating Irish cricket to new heights. We’re looking forward to seeing the incredible matches and memorable moments that will take place here.”
Sport for Business will host its inaugural Children and Sport Conference in Dublin on Thursday morning, September 19th. This is one of many events planned for the remainder of 2024.
Register your interest to attend a Sport for Business event here.
Cricket Ireland and Sport Ireland are among the 300 organisations, which include all the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies, that are members of the Sport for Business community.
Find out more about joining us today.
Check out our upcoming events to discover ways of connecting in person with our membership.
