Document Body

Section 1 Executive Summary


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Introduction
1.1
Ireland is entering the 21 st century as a confident, young and dynamic country, having attained international recognition for our achievements on many fronts including our economic recovery, cultural and artistic renaissance and sporting success.
1.2
Ireland's unprecedented economic performance provides a unique opportunity to address our long-term infrastructural needs, including infrastructure for sports. It is particularly appropriate that we address these needs as we enter the new millenium.
1.3
Sporting excellence is a potent symbol both nationally and internationally and a major source of national pride. Based on our consultations with all the sporting bodies there is a need to develop a Campus of Sporting Excellence in Ireland. A National Stadium capable of accommodating major international events would form a key building block of this Campus of Sporting Excellence. The facilities in which we host our international sporting events, which are broadcast worldwide, are poor in comparison with those of our European neighbours and neither reflect nor project Ireland's desired image of excellence.
1.4
Ireland, despite being a nation of sports enthusiasts, does not have a stadium which is capable of hosting all its field sports. We are proposing a state-of-the-art National Stadium capable of accommodating a wide range of sporting and entertainment events for the island. Only the proposed National Stadium will possess sufficient amenities together with the surrounding infrastructure to satisfy the ever increasing requirements from the public and the media in this new age of commercial sports.

1.5
The Campus of Sporting Excellence will provide an international showcase for Ireland. The integration of the sporting facilities into a major Campus will optimise the use of resources both in terms of the intellectual expertise and the shared physical infrastructure. The National Stadium integrated into the sporting Campus should provide a living stadium in a vibrant environment.
1.6
The vision is a stadium of which Irish people can be proud and one which can compete with any stadium worldwide for international events. It should be and will be an icon for the island of Ireland in the new millennium.
1.7
The National Sports Stadium and its surrounding Campus development is rooted in the belief that strategic investment made today will realise significant benefits for future generations to come. A great stadium will contribute much to national prestige and our sense of national pride, and the existence of a world class stadium accessible to all will act as a catalyst for the 1
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development of sport. Such a stadium will provide the basis for building on our national love of sport and our ability to compete with the best in the world.
The National Stadium – Architectural Flair and Engineering Excellence
1.8
Our Design and Technical Team has designed a stadium for Ireland that combines the very best of architectural flair and originality with technical and engineering excellence.

1.9
The conceptual design for the National Stadium aims to satisfy a number of key objectives: accommodation of all major field games; creation of the best possible spectator experience; and the creation of an icon design for Ireland. An illustration of the proposed design is set out overleaf.