Inchicore Set For Major Investment As St. Patricks Athletic FC Plan For New 12,000 Seat Stadium
In this article Tony Kennedy details the new stadium plans for Inchicore’s St Patrick Athletic Football Club
In an ambitious move, St. Patrick’s Athletic want to develop a new “urban quarter” at the St.Michaels Estate site in Inchicore. At the centre of this new development will be a Uefa Category 3 12,000 seat stadium. A Category 3 stadium has features such as; VIP seating, at least 2 TV studios, 50 seat press conference room, 1200 vux floodlights, and 5 commentary facilities.
In addition to the stadium, St. Patricks Athletic also want to see the development of retail and leisure facilities, such as a library, swimming pool, theatre, cinema, shopping centre/district and gyms. It is hoped that such a development will also include the building of new residential properties in the area, with the club pointing out “The club can accommodate whatever housing density the City Council needs”. With such a development it is assumed that the project will be financially independent and require no fiscal support from the government.
Right now the development is in the planning stages, and St. Patricks Athletic are in talks with Dublin City Council to develop this urban quarter. President of St. Patricks Athletic Tom O’ Mahony, said on the clubs website:
“We believe our proposal is a game-changer for Inchicore and, of course, for our Club. It would give our supporters an ultra-modern stadium which would also be suitable for a wide range of community events……and would realise the City Council’s vision for a vibrant Urban Quarter.
Should the project achieve planning permission it is expected that the stadium will be known as The Richmond Arena, considering how close it is to Richmond barracks, and to the club’s current ground Richmond Park. The project would be expected to take 2 years to complete from the time planning permission is granted.
Fountain Resource Group will update this story as new information becomes available, and we will also seek the opinions of stakeholders in the area.
Is this a done deal? because as a local resident Im not into the idea at all.