The Government has approved plans for the construction of a 4,000-seater cricket stadium that is set to be built in time for the 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup, a competition that Ireland will host alongside England and Scotland.
Since 2018, Cricket Ireland has been talking to Government officials about building a permanent facility at the Sport Ireland campus in Abbotstown, west Dublin. Now that the business case has been approved by the Government, the stadium is set to enter into a tender process midway through 2025, with initial construction to be completed in 2028.
Minister for Sport Catherine Martin and Minister of State Thomas Byrne are expected to announce that plans for the stadium and a new high-performance centre will now move to the pre-tender stage. In time, the full project will include an indoor school and media facilities. No figure has yet been outlined for the cost of the Government-funded project.
Plans will progress in phases, with the first set to include a new square with playing pitches, 4,000 seats and a high-performance centre. Cricket Ireland had originally drawn up plans for an 8,000-seater stadium with the capacity to increase to 20,000 when required. At this initial stage, a lower capacity will be included. Features such as a media centre will be added at a later date.
The news is a significant boost for Irish cricket as concerns had grown that the planned stadium would not be completed in time for 2030 World Cup hosting duties. New grass pitches need a number of years to settle before they can host full internationals, something that looks to be included in this 2028 timeline. In June, the International Cricket Council used drop-in pitches which were not afforded time to settle for World Cup matches in New York. The quality of pitches was the source of much criticism during the competition.
The news is also positive for a governing body that has been forced to postpone or move abroad a number of home international matches due to a lack of facilities. With no permanent playing facility of its own, Cricket Ireland spends six-figure sums converting club grounds such as Malahide Cricket Club into a ground featuring international calibre player changing, media and spectator facilities. Earlier this year, the prospective visit of world champions Australia was postponed due to the cost of such hosting duties. Home fixtures against South Africa later this year have been moved to the United Arab Emirates.
This is the second approval of a large-scale project that will affect cricket after, earlier this summer, Belfast City Council approved planning permission for a multi-sport redevelopment project on the grounds of the Stormont Estate, the location of Ireland’s recent Test match victory over Zimbabwe. That will entail investing £25 million €29 million), with the plan including a new pavilion.
Cricket Ireland has also reopened discussions with Malahide Cricket Club with a view to redeveloping their pavilion into one that can host international matches. In 2019, architectural designs for a project worth about €3.5 million were drawn up, only for the project to stall.
While timelines on those projects are not yet certain, an announcement about Abbotstown by Ms Martin and Mr Byrne would be the clearest indication yet that Ireland will have a permanent stadium in time for the 2030 World Cup.