Live Nation Plans For Cork Venue On Track

The Government has committed €20 million to the multi-functional events centre planned for Cork city.
The centre has been in the planning stages for a number of years, but with funding coming from the exchequer, it now seems ready for lift-off. The Minister for Agriculture and Defence, Fine Gael’s Simon Coveney (pictured) – who is a Cork South Central TD – confirmed that the project has the backing of the Government. He has indicated that €12 million of the required funds will come from national Government, and the balance of €8 million from Cork City Council.
The centre will be built on the site of the old Beamish & Crawford brewery, which is owned by Heineken. The Dutch brewing giants were joined in a consortium by BAM Ireland, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dutch owned construction company, Royal BAM. They won the competition to develop the centre, ahead of property developed Owen O’Callaghan. According to its own website, BAM Ireland ranks in the top 2 of major Irish construction companies. Royal BAM had turnover in excess of €23 billion in 2014 and employs more than 23,000 people worldwide. The Irish operation contributed €7.3 billion of that turnover.
The venue capacity will be 6,000 and Live Nation, who run both 3Arena and the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin, have been advising on the construction and design. The chief executive of Cork City Council Anne Doherty is quoted in newspapers today saying that a very productive meeting took place between the developers and Live Nation last week. All going according to plan, the venue will host a wide range of events, including conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, festivals, concerts, musicals and variety shows.
Heineken has recently entered into a partnership with Live Nation on a number of festivals, as well as landing the pouring rights in 3Arena and Bord Gais Energy Theatre.
The ambitious plans for the Beamish and Crawford site also include a 360º viewing tower, a tourist centre, a cinema complex which will accommodate seven screens, artists studios and student accommodation – which is almost as badly needed in Cork as it is in Dublin.