Irish Government gives green light to National Cricket Stadium

Cricket Ireland is poised to end its search for a permanent home after the Irish Government approved the development of a new national stadium.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne, today (Wednesday) announced approval for the National Cricket Stadium and High Performance Centre project to proceed to pre-tender phase. This will see planning and design completed by mid-2025 with the tender phase to follow.

The Centre, which will be located at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown, Dublin, will deliver a permanent home for cricket in Ireland that meets International Cricket Council (ICC) requirements for hosting major events and competitions.

It is anticipated that the proposed facilities would include both indoor and outdoor practice and training areas and a ground for holding major games with associated media and spectator facilities. This would enable Ireland to stage major international events, with the country currently due to co-host the 2030 T20 World Cup with England and Scotland.

It is intended that the overall project will be delivered on a phased basis, with Phase One scheduled to be completed in 2028. This first phase includes the delivery of a main cricket oval, seating for 4,000 spectators, a high performance centre and some ancillary facilities.

Martin said: “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. It is really pleasing to see how the sport has grown, at all levels, in Ireland over recent years, particularly the increase in female participation numbers and 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 Olympic Games in the not too distant future.”

Cricket Ireland has been in talks with the Government over building a permanent home at the facility otherwise known as Sport Ireland Campus since 2018. In November 2022, it was revealed that Cricket Ireland was poised to end a long wait to receive a permanent stadium after a project was included in a masterplan for the long-term development of the Sport Ireland Campus.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin unveiled the Sport Ireland Campus Masterplan Vision, which set out a framework for the growth of the Campus, located in the Abbotstown area of Dublin, and the long-term development of associated sporting facilities over the next 15 to 20 years.

Earlier this month, the Government granted approval for what will be the first major element of this masterplan, the country’s first National Velodrome, with the project set to proceed to tender.

The National Velodrome and Badminton Centre scheme will comprise of a 250 metre cycling track and up to 12 badminton courts in the in-track area, in addition to spectator seating and ancillary facilities. It will be located in the National Sports Campus and is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

Today’s announcement comes as a boost for Cricket Ireland, which has lived somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle without a permanent home. The governing body has been forced into investing to make temporary conversions to club grounds such as Malahide Cricket Club.

Earlier this year, a proposed tour by Australia was postponed due to these costs, while ‘home’ games against South Africa later this year have been relocated to the United Arab Emirates. The Irish Times notes that today’s news comes after Belfast City Council recently approved planning permission for a multi-sport redevelopment project on the grounds of the Stormont Estate.

The site of Ireland’s recent Test victory over Zimbabwe will receive a £25m (€29.1m/$32.1m) upgrade that will include a new pavilion. Cricket Ireland is also said to have reopened talks with Malahide Cricket Club with a view to redeveloping its pavilion into one that can host international matches.

In response to today’s announcement, Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom, said in a statement: “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 provincially and at 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.

“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, 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.”