Planning permission has been granted for Ireland’s National Cricket Centre to be built within the renowned Sport Ireland Campus in Abbotstown, Dublin.
Project planners Cunnane Stratton Reynolds (CSR) said the milestone marks a significant advancement in the delivery of a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as the home of Irish cricket.
Fingal County Council gave the green light for a new €35 million National Cricket Centre that will host the 2030 T20 World Cup matches.
The plans include a floodlit stadium with a seated capacity of 4,240 spectators and a two-storey pavilion, where the sport’s high-performance centre would be located.
A proposal for an extra 7,760 non-permanent seats, which would bring the total capacity up to 12,000 for selected events, was also put forward.
It will also include a High Performance Centre (HPC), and supporting infrastructure for the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus at Abbotstown.
Dublin (Ireland)-based Cricket Ireland is the national governing body for the sport of cricket in Ireland. It is responsible for setting the strategic direction and the national administration of cricket on the island of Ireland.
Sport Ireland, formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees and partly funds the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in Sheephill near Abbotstown House in Dublin.
Fingal County Council granted planning permission to Sport Ireland after consultants estimated the new complex will generate a €93 million tourism dividend over five years.
A planning report drawn up by CSR states that during the same 2026 to 2030 period, the cricket stadium will generate an additional €29 million through ticket sales and operational expenditure.
In July, Sport Ireland opened the tendering process for the construction of the NCC, estimating that the spend would be €35 million.
The report states that the planning application “will provide Cricket Ireland with a permanent, world-class facility, within the home of Irish Sport”.
The stadium will be based at the Sport Ireland campus in Blanchardstown, which is in the north-west outskirts of Dublin.
The campus already contains the headquarters of the Football Association of Ireland, Irish Rugby’s high performance centre, Aquatics Ireland and is Ireland’s Olympics and Special Olympics hub.
Ireland’s senior men’s and women’s cricket teams currently use grounds in Malahide, Clontarf, Stormont, and Bready for international matches.
An evaluation of the stadium’s economic impact carried out by EY shows that €39.9 million would be spent as a result of the 2030 T20 World Cup Cricket tournament, which is to be co-hosted by Ireland, Scotland and England.
The EY findings show that, based on an average year’s operation, the centre would support 460 jobs per year in the period 2026 to 2030.
Overall, including the impact of the Cricket World Cup in 2030, the net impact of the centre would result in 1,555 jobs.
The planning report states that a one-off capacity of 20,000 will be required for the T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2030, and as it is a one-off, it will likely require an events license closer to the time.
A report lodged with the application also stated the economy will benefit from co-hosting the Cricket World Cup in 2030 – where the centre will host a maximum of eight matches, with the remaining matches to be played in Ireland held in Malahide or Stormont.
Planning documents lodged show that the proposed development is likely to generate approximately 200 construction jobs.
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