Tallaght Stadium to stand (tall) with revamp

Article posted by Coliseum, June 17^th, 2020

Image: Shamrock Rovers

The South Dublin County Council in Ireland announced recently that work on adding the last grandstand to Tallaght Stadium is on in full steam. It will increase the capacity of the stadium by roughly 2,500 seats, at a price of €6 million.

The planning process for the fourth stand at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin is likely to begin. A decision to this effect was taken during the South Dublin County Council meeting recently. It follows last year’s declarations, though not literally.

The initial plans envisaged the new north end to be a replica of the south stand, which was built in 2018. But, that has changed now. The south stand accommodates 2,195 people, while the north will be bigger, with roughly 2,500 seats. The change comes due to offices and shop of Shamrock Rovers being relocated from the main stand to the north, requiring a larger structure.

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Shamrock Rovers Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin, in Ireland. The club’s senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most successful club in the Republic of Ireland.

The 8,000-capacity Tallaght Stadium is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The stadium is now owned and operated by South Dublin County Council with Shamrock Rovers as the anchor tenants.

The requirement for larger corporate hospitality space within the main stand forced the relocation of club facilities. Due to the astronomical costs involved, the earlier plan to add another floor to the west stand did not materialize.

In total, taxpayers are expected to cough up €7.7 million for the project, including €6 million for the north end, plus €1.7 million for conversions of floor spaces within the west stand. For football games, the stadium will be able to hold 10,500 supporters and for concerts – 20,000 people.

A press release sent out by Shamrock Rovers read, “South Dublin County Council has announced a €7.7m upgrade of Tallaght Stadium that includes the building of a new North Stand and development of the West Stand to a high-quality corporate area. The plans were agreed by elected members of the Council in the recent council meeting held in June.”

“The new 2,000 seat North Stand will see the capacity of the South Dublin County Council-owned Tallaght Stadium increase to 10,000. The stand will face on to the N81 and will be further developed to include an active area that will be home to Shamrock Rovers’ official store and offices,” the release further read.

“The Council also plans to develop the existing West Stand to incorporate a medical area, mixed media zone, match official’s area and new kitchen and dining facilities. The completion of this work will see Tallaght Stadium meet Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Category 4 requirements to host any European competition, including Champions League matches,” the release added.

“In conjunction with these plans, South Dublin County Council intends to promote Tallaght Stadium as an events venue to include music, festivals and all aspects of community events. With stadium seating and temporary on-field seating, the venue will accommodate up to 20,000 people. This is great news for the football club which will further complement what is already Ireland’s best club football stadium,” the release concluded.

Tallaght Stadium rewind

The town in Dublin’s outskirts – Tallaght – was waiting for its new stadium for 22 years which finally opened in March 2009. Shamrock Rovers had their own plans, but was unable to carry them out. It wasn’t until the year 2000 that construction began on the Tallaght Stadium. However, the drainage work of the stadium was halted for seven years. During this interregnum, the whole project got mired in red tapism.

Fortunately, the first stand was opened in March 2009, followed by the second one in August. Today, it is one of ‘The Best’ stadiums of Ireland though it does not boast a huge capacity. Temporary end zones were added to either meet UEFA requirements or for hosting sporting showpieces like the one against Real Madrid, which saw 11,000 spectators descend on the venue.

The stadium had to wait until 2018 for its first permanent end zone, which fits in exactly 2,195 people.

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