Cork's long awaited concert and event centre will go ahead on the old Beamish & Crawford brewery site. The Heineken/BAM consortium’s plan was approved yesterday.
The €150m project will include a 6,000-seat music venue, a 360-degree viewing tower, tourist centre, a seven-screen cinema complex, retail units, artists' studios, student accommodation and offices.
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It is understood that the selection process has been close to collapse - but it was saved by a last-minute commitment from the Government to increase its investment in the project from €16m to €20m.
Irish Examiner has learned that the Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, Public Expenditure Minister, Brendan Howlin and Cork city council's CEO Ann Doherty were involved in the deal.
Minister Coveney, whose constituency is Cork South Central, spoke to the paper about the project: "There have been several false dawns on this project for Cork but I am delighted a decision has now been made. This facility will be the equivalent of the 3Arena, the National Arena, and the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, in one."
Heineken Ireland/Bam beat the only other bidder, developer Owen O’Callaghan, who proposed to build a 6,000-seat venue on Albert Quay.
Work could begin on the site early in 2015. The development will provide 400 jobs, and support as many as 900 direct jobs and 300 indirect jobs when completed.
