News article – Style E 4522

Minister John O’Donoghue, TD, Minster for Arts, Sport & Tourism, has announced the final two components of the team to undertake the Lansdowne Road Re-Development project.

A consortium led by international sports architecture company, HOK Sport Architecture, has won the contract to design the stadium.

The project management services contract has gone to consortium led by Irish company, PM Management Limited.

– World class consortia combine international and local expertise
– Design team includes HOK SPORTS and Scott Tallon Walker
– Irish Company [Project Management Ltd] leads project management team
– December Date Confirmed for Lodgement of Planning Application

Development plans for the new Lansdowne Road Stadium moved to a new phase today with the announcement by Mr John O’Donoghue, TD, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism of the awarding of the design and project management contracts for the stadium.

The Minister confirmed that the timetable for lodging a planning application is on course for December 2005 and it will be facilitated by these appointments.

Design and project management are two of the key contracts for the stadium development and have been awarded to consortia including Irish and international firms with strong track records in similar developments.

The contracts have been awarded following an extensive process that saw both contracts being advertised internationally, through the European Journal as well as in Ireland. Both contracts attracted substantial international interest involving players with impressive relevant experience.

Commenting on the announcement, the Minister said: “I congratulate the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company on passing another important milestone to having the dream of a new stadium at Lansdowne Road realised.

“The company is now fully geared up to lodge a planning application in December, in accordance with the timetable previously announced. We now have a team in place that can deliver a world class facility which will be a vital support for sport at a national and international level and at the same time can also respond constructively to the concerns of the local community.”

The design contract has been awarded to a consortium led by HOK Sports – one of the world’s largest sport architectural practices. The winning consortium also includes Irish architects Scott Tallon Walker.

HOK Sport, which was also involved in creating the masterplan for the redevelopment of Croke Park, has extensive experience in the design of sports stadia. It is currently involved with both the new Arsenal and Wembley stadia in the UK. Amongst the other major sports projects it has been involved with, are: Stadium Australia, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Ascot and Cheltenham racecourses, and the upgrading of Wimbledon.

The main members of the Design Team are as follows:

HOK Sports
Scott Tallon Walker
Buro Happold
M-E Engineers

The contract for project management services has been awarded to a consortium led by Project Management Ltd (PM) – one of Ireland’s largest specialist technical consultancy and project management firms.

The company, which has an annual turnover in excess of $100 million, operates throughout Ireland, the EU, Central and Eastern Europe. Recent PM projects have included Pfizer, UCC, Abbott in Cootehill, Co. Cavan and Dublin Bus.

The Project Management team comprises:

Project Management Ltd
Capita Symonds
Franklin & Andrews Ltd
KMCS
Berger Devine Yaeger

Capita Symonds and Franklin/Andrews are involved in the redevelopment of Wembley and have also been involved in the redevelopment of Twickenham. KMCS and Franklin & Andrews have worked intensively together in Ireland and the UK including work on the recent Dublin Airport six bay terminal expansion. Berger Devine Yaeger has been involved in the development of many US sports stadia.

In addition to the appointment of the Design and Project Management Teams today, four companies have already been appointed which will form the core group to drive this project. They are:

Planning Consultants: Tom Phillips & Associates Ltd
EIS: ERM Environmental Resources Management
Fire Safety: Michael Slattery & Associates
Traffic Consultants: Steer Davies Gleave

This completes the team assembled to deliver the project.

Speaking of the appointments, Minister O’Donoghue said he was confident that a very professional and competent team had now been assembled by Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company.

The team would now proceed as quickly as possible with the plans, while having appropriate reference to the concerns of the local community. He was very pleased that work on the project had already begun. The newly appointed Design Team will start this week to develop a final detailed design for the new stadium.

He noted that the team would be consulting widely with all of the different stakeholders, including the local community to develop the best possible stadium.

The Minister reaffirmed the decision of the Government to provide an amount of 191m towards the cost of the project which is estimated to cost 292m.

[Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company (LRSDC) was set up in September 2004 to deliver the project and to operate the new stadium. LRSDC is a joint venture between the IRFU and the FAI and has been incorporated under the Companies Act.]

For further information, contact: The Press Office, Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism: Tel: (01) 6313 838, or click on www.lrsdc.ie or www.arts-sport-tourism.gov.ie