Council plans for new third stand in Tallaght Stadium approved
The development of a third stand in Tallaght Stadium was today given the green light by South Dublin County Councillors at their monthly meeting.
Finance for the new stand at the south end (car park end) of the ground will come from a combination of surplus funds from 2015 and 2016, with the total cost expected to be in the region of €1.9 million.
The proposal was approved by the Corporate Policy Group and councillors noted the report on the Capital Programme under which this was included and no objections were raised, therefore the proposal was approved.
The new stand will seat approximately 2,150 people, taking the capacity of the stadium up to 8,000 seats in total.
The hope is, with some additional work, Tallaght stadium can be brought up to category four status, which is required to host Champions League qualifiers or any games in the competition.
Speaking after the development was given the go-ahead, Councillor Dermot Looney said: “It certainly brings the stadium up to scratch to hold bigger and better games and other events – it will make it more attractive for concerts, for example.
“I think Tallaght Stadium has been a good news story for Tallaght, and its continued development will be good news not just for Shamrock Rovers or football, but for the area in general.”
There were previous discussions around building a new stand at the norht end (N81 end) of the stadium, but, as Cllr Looney pointed out, it makes more sense to have the stand at the north end.
He said: “There were initial discussions about a stand at the south end (N81/The Square).
“Those of us who attend games in the stadium on a regular basis pointed out that the wind blows down from the mountains and that it would be best to have a stand at the far end from a spectator comfort point of view.
“There are longer term goals for a fourth stand at the N81 End – I think the phasing of this makes sense.”
A date for construction of the new north stand has not been announced at this time.
