Increased funding needed for event centre
Cork City Council Chief Executive Ann Doherty has said that increased funding is to be requested from Government to get the Cork Event Centre back on track.
It has been 8 years since the sod was turned at the former Beamish & Crawford site on South Main St., and initially the 6,000 seat centre was expected to be completed by 2018. However, the project has faced numerous challenges in the intervening years.
Speaking at a media briefing earlier this week, she said that in spite of setbacks, the project is in “a great place.”
“The project has been through many loops as we know, it has been through procurement process and faced legal challenges. It's been through a Covid pandemic and the complete collapse of the live entertainment industry.
“We have a war and massive building inflation, but at the end of all of that we actually have a really viable project that will do enormous things for the city,” she said.
She explained that that a memo is due to be sent to Government requesting additional funding on top of the €57 million grant approved two years ago.
“What's happening at the moment is the detailed design is complete. It's fully costed it's all been out to tender to the developers and there is an inflationary ask back to me, which I have sent to our parent department who will be responsible for the production a memo to Government, that would then be asked to approve that sum of money,” she said.
“I can't share the sum of money because obviously it's subject to Government decision and it wouldn't be fair,” she added.
“But there was a very clear commitment in the last Government decision that if there were inflation issues that they would be looked at in the context of the estimates process.”
She said that while the decision on whether the event centre gets additional funding will lie with Government, she believes that there is significant backing for it in cabinet.
“Yes, we need a Government decision. I do think there's good support for this project at Government level,” she added.