‘Unique’ €100 million velodrome expected to be completed by 2028

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA

A “unique” €100 million velodrome and badminton centre will give “a new lease of life” to athletes in Ireland, a minister has said.

The centre will have 12 badminton courts and can host a maximum of 20 track cyclists on the velodrome track.

Minister for Culture and Sport Patrick O’Donovan said the funding would come from National Development Plan funding.

“We hope to see the contractors move in immediately after Christmas and begin the works, and hopefully then it’ll be finished in time for 2028,” he said after turning the sod on the site on Wednesday.

“It gives a new lease of life and a new lease of optimism to people who had thought this was going to happen years ago and who had a number of false dawns.”

In 2022, then-junior minister Jack Chambers said that “all going well”, construction of the centre would begin in the third quarter of 2023, and would take about 18 months to build.

It was then estimated to cost €60 million, although work on the design was still ongoing.

Chief executive of Sport Ireland Dr Una May said the design was a “complex undertaking” and that there are only four or five track designers in the world.

She said that the design was “relatively unique” as the track was at a level “above the infield”, which would allow the two sports to operate alongside one another.

“It also has a double end on it, what we call a ‘double D’, which allows us to have a specific space, just for the high-performance team on one end and then for community users on the other end.

“We have no other indoor track cycling facility in the country,” she told the PA news agency.

“We’ve had incredible success at an international level despite this, and this will allow us now to nurture a whole new crop of young riders and young athletes, and they have role models to aspire to, and now we have a facility which will accommodate them.

Minister of State Charlie McConalogue said it was a “really significant day” for cycling and for badminton, as track cycling athletes had to go abroad for training previously.

“That’s simply not a recipe for excellence or indeed a recipe for increasing participation,” he said.

He said the world-class facility would allow athletes “to maximise their capacity to compete” and inspire young people to take up the sport.

He said a cricket pitch was also due to be built and is expected to be completed by 2030.