Local Councillor, Charlie O’Connor, the Chairman of the Tallaght Area Committee, has welcomed confirmation by South Dublin County Council that the new Stand at Tallaght Stadium will be completed in October 2018.
Charlie O’Connor has also been told by Council Management that architects have now been appointed to examine options for a 4th Stand at the northern end of the Stadium and management has also said that a report on the matter will be brought to a Council meeting in October.
According to Charlie O’Connor, these are clearly exciting plans for the completion of Tallaght Stadium and he has stressed to senior Council Management the need for a feasibility study in respect of future usage of the Municipal Stadium.
Charlie O’Connor said that a recent report to him from Council Management stated that:
“Tallaght Stadium hosts forty games a year for Shamrock Rovers Football Club, on top of these fixtures the pitch hosts on average an additional thirty–forty events. These events have ranged from FAI Senior Women’s and U21 international matches, South Dublin Schoolboy League football finals, American football games, GAA Feile finals and Leinster rugby matches amongst others as well as using the stadiums conference facilities for various business, social and community events which all bring revenue towards stadium running costs.
The pitch sees an average of nearly two events per week between February and November every year which is considerably in excess of the average number of events hosted in many of the stadia in the country. There is a balancing act that takes place to ensure the pitch usage is maximised without any detrimental effect to the playing surface.
Stadium management are tasked with actively looking for events suitable for the venue with initial steps in the entertainment sphere taken in 2015 when Nitro Circus brought their show from the US to Tallaght. The development of the new third stand will increase seating capacity to 8,000 and we will then look to bring a concert to Tallaght Stadium with exploratory discussions underway with some promoters in this regard. In addition, plans for festive attractions at the Stadium over the Christmas period are also advancing and should be announced in the coming weeks.
The County Promotion Unit will continue to explore sporting, entertainment and other events for the stadium.”
He added that he will continue to closely monitor the situation and will seek regular reports from Council Management.
