PROPOSAL JULY Louth GAA Stadium DkIT Campus County Louth

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1 PROPOSAL JULY 2011 Louth GAA Stadium DkIT Campus County Louth

2 2 Louth GAA Stadium Proposed Stadium Concept Conference Facilities Campus Restaurant Facilities

3 The Proposal Denis Cummins DkIT President DkIT has a current student population of 5,500 and it is anticipated that this will grow steadily over the coming years towards 10,000. The Institute has a number of full and part time sports courses that already work in conjunction with Louth GAA and is intent on building comprehensive sporting infrastructure on the campus in addition to their recent pitch developments which has played host to events such as the Sigerson Cup finals, Louth inter county preparation and official Louth club GAA fixtures. DkIT is proposing that a 12,000 capacity stadium is constructed on lands at their Campus in partnership with Louth GAA. This stadium will be the first phase of the Institutes sporting infrastructure programme which will also include a major sports building that DkIT is independently developing incorporating state of the art sporting facilities and accommodation. The Sports building has already gone to public procurement and is planned to commence once that process has been completed. show that partnership with the local and national sporting bodies is the sustainable way forward and DkIT will be proceeding with their development over the next 12 months. Dundalk Institute of Technology wants to provide a sports stadium and sporting infrastructure that will be the exemplar for all counties and regions. The facility will be for the all of the people of Louth and the North East of Ireland and will be a self sustaining enterprise. The proposed partnership with Louth GAA will be using a model already successfully in use in other parts of Ireland and will initially provide Louth GAA with a state of the art modern County Ground that will also be used by the students at DkIT and other sporting bodies by agreement. The stadium will be complemented by the other sporting infrastructure such as the additional pitches and sports building which will be available to the Joint Venture by agreement. The Institute is fully committed to proceeding with our overall plan to provide the required sporting infrastructure on the campus in order to ensure that the institute s facilities and course offerings are fully resourced. The recent sporting developments in Waterford IT, Cork IT, Athlone IT and Carlow IT serve to DkIT Campus Stadium Proposal 1

4 2 Louth GAA Stadium The Stadium 4,000 capacity fully covered seated stand, incorporating 4 fully fitted dressing rooms, 2 referees rooms, a physio and treatment room, player, official and public toilet blocks and a 200 seat reception room Media facilities 5,000 terraced stand constructed to be converted to a 2,500 seated stand in the future 3,000 capacity embankments to the ends and sides of the ground Stadium fully enclosed with parking for 100 within the enclosed space Stadium grade pitch similar to that installed in major professional venues Floodlighting to 300Lux (with infrastructure to upgrade to 800Lux if required) Electronic scoreboard Facilities directly associated with the Stadium (available for use on Match Days): 2 warm up pitches (sand carpet championship pitches) Restaurant and franchise facilities such as the college restaurant (600 seats) and the coffee dock in the Carroll s Building On site parking for 1,200 vehicles Indoor warm up and preparation hall on the current campus Facilities to be considered: The campus Crowne Plaza Hotel The extensive conference facilities available on campus for running tournaments and sporting events The student accommodation blocks that will facilitate summer camps and training courses The availability of public transport serving the campus

5 The Partnership The Financing of the Project A Company Limited by Guarantee would be established to build and own the Stadium. It is envisaged the company would be owned 50:50 by DkIT and Louth GAA. A board of directors will be established to run and manage the company and it is expected that the company will use the college s facilities and sporting infrastructure to run and maintain the facility. The marketing and management of the facility will require a full time position and this will be to ensure that the income streams planned for the Stadium will be achieved and that the costs will be managed in a professional and accountable manner. This position will be jointly appointed and will be campus based. The advisors to the project will establish the memorandums and articles for the new company and the board of the company will meet quarterly to review and oversee the companies activities. Nominees from Louth GAA and DkIT will be represented on the Board along with agreed independent members to comply with current corporate legislation. The land required for the project will be transferred to the Joint Venture Company; the land currently has a value in excess of 3,250,000. The project will be financed on a 50:50 basis between DkIT and Louth GAA, it is expected that Louth GAA will receive at least half of its funding from Croke Park. In the event that Louth GAA wishes to proceed with the project the matter will go to the Board of Governors and the student body of DkIT for approval. The stadium will be self sustaining in terms of running and maintenance costs and the following income generating centres have being identified as associated with the stadium. Game Rental Income Summer Camp Rental Income Elite Training Camp Income Franchise Income Parking Income Venue Income (Concerts and Public events) All of the income associated with these uses was identified in previous submissions. No grant income has being factored into the financial assessment of this project. DkIT Campus Stadium Proposal 3

6 4 Louth GAA Stadium The Usage of the Stadium on a Headline Basis At the outset of each year Louth GAA will agree with the Stadium JV the usage they require from the ground, the following would be the current annual expected requirements. Louth Inter County Team Matches (All Grades) 40 Louth Training and Preparation 10 Louth Club Championship and League Finals 20 DkIT Teams 30 National GAA Inter County Games 10 National College Games 5 Other Sporting Bodies 15 Elite Training Camps 20 Summer Camp Usage 20 Entertainment and Events 3 Total Usage 163 The stadium will be designed to accommodate a far greater volume of games that outlined, however the proximity of top class additional pitches on the campus will mean that the grounds will be limited to the amount of training usage they will receive. Louth GAA will outline their required usage and the availability of the stadium will be prepared primarily around the GAA seasons requirements primarily. The availability of the stadium will be agreed by the JV that incorporates Louth GAA. DkIT are will ensure the availability of the stadium to all sports on an agreed basis in the establishment of the JV Company. The open availability of the stadium for all sports is part of the institute s mission in serving the wider region and it should be noted that the income from this helps to finance the JV Companies ongoing activities.

7 Site Suitability for Stadium at DkIT Louth Development Plan and Mullagharlin Local Area Plan allows for the proposed facility Dundalk s Gateway status and National Spatial Strategy complementary to the proposal It s location on a higher education campus containing all necessary support infrastructure Excellent roads infrastructure Application site has already being granted planning permission for a sports building A large number of additional sports facilities in proximity to the site Population within 60km catchment (1 hour commute) DkIT Campus Stadium Proposal 5

8 For further information contact The President s Office Dundalk Institute of Technology Dublin Road Dundalk County Louth t e valerie.ward@dkit.ie element design