THE ROOF CLUB
Saints unveil ambitions plans for new ground over retail units
ST PATRICK’S Athletic’s hopes of building a new rooftop stadium were well received yesterday – but it’s hard to shake that ‘believe it when you see it’ feeling.
This plan has been a long time in the making and credit to the Saints for their vision and ambition.
But Irish football is littered with stories of stadium rebuilds, relocations and big reveals.
The wheels are in motion for the redevelopment of Dalymount Park but over the years plans for Bray, Drogheda, Bohemians, Shelbourne, Finn
Harps and others to up sticks have frittered away.
So St Pat’s fans will want to see the diggers on site before they get carried away by thoughts of playing games in a sparkling ‘Richmond Arena’.
Yesterday, the club revealed its ambitious proposals for a 12,000-seater stadium across the road from their current Richmond Park base in Inchicore.
The site at St Michael’s Estate has been earmarked for major redevelopment to include housing, retail outlets, leisure and community facilities.
Saints are proposing to build a new stadium on the roof of the retail and leisure units and club president Tom O’mahony claims it will not require government funding.
Serbian side FK Vozdovac, who are based in Belgrade, play on one of the few rooftop stadia in the world but their capacity is only 5,200.
Should the Saints bid be successful, St Pat’s believe they could be playing at the ‘Richmond Arena’ within two years of receiving planning permission.
The decision ultimately rests in the hands of Dublin City Council who will decide in the coming months how the site will be redeveloped, with a new town-centre for the area envisaged.
St Pat’s owner and property developer Garrett Kelleher is leading the club’s push for the new UEFA Category 3 stadium on the site. Quizzed on funding, club president O’mahony said: “It would be funded by the rest of the development, most particularly the retail. We would not be looking for any government money for this. The income from the development funds the stadium.
“The stadium is essentially just another layer on top of a new town centre for Inchicore.”
While it would be the new home of St Patrick’s Athletic, the ‘Richmond Arena’ would serve multiple uses for other events in the capital city.
O’mahony, said: “We believe our proposal is a game-changer for Inchicore and for our club.
“It would give our supporters an ultra-modern stadium which would also be suitable for a wide range of community events.
“It would transform Inchicore and would realise the City Council’s vision of a vibrant, high-quality urban quarter.”