Friday 19 January 2007

Thomond Park Re-development - Council give green light

I haven't had time to get this up yet. But here's what The Irish Times told us:

The €48 million redevelopment plan for Limerick's rugby ground, Thomond Park, has been given the green light Members of Limerick City Council last night voted unanimously to approve the rezoning of property beside the existing ground. All 13 councillors who attended a special meeting in City Hall voted in favour of the proposals, which will see houses on the Knocklisheen Road side of the stadium rezoned to accommodate the project. Only one person objected to the rezoning aspect of the project, which involves more than doubling the capacity at Thomond Park to 29,000. Gerard Kiely, who lives near Thomond Park, at Hassetts Cross, claimed the light in his apartment, which only has two front windows, would be "severely restricted" if he is to be overshadowed by the proposed new stand. Mr Kiely, a taxi driver who works mostly at night, also cited increased noise levels and parking difficulties in his objection. At last night's council meeting, Limerick city councillors insisted that the plans for Thomond Park were supported by 99.99 per cent of Limerick people.

RTE tells us that fans will benefit from the ten-year ticketing scheme. Fifteen hundred tickets for the new East Stand will be sold under the scheme on a first-come, first-served basis at a cost of €5,000 each. Munster have undertaken to play all their home Heineken Cup Pool matches at Thomond for ten years from the opening of the stadium, which is scheduled for the autumn of next year.

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