National Velodrome gets green light for Sports Ireland campus

The velodrome and badminton centre is expected to cost an estimated €60m and will be the first indoor velodrome track in the country.

Construction on the centre is expected to begin in the third quarter of this year and take around 18 months to complete.

Plans were lodged with Fingal County Council by Sport Ireland. Designs for the new centre include a 250-metre cycle track, with 12 badminton courts.

Other spaces include a café, changing rooms, offices, training facilities and bicycle hire/stores, which will sit under the track at ground level.

The velodrome will act as a landmark within the wider Sport Ireland Campus, capable of hosting national and international cycling and badminton events.

The building will be multi-functional, with approximately 1,000 permanent seats and 2,500 temporary seats to accommodate events and activities.

The Sport Ireland campus in north Dublin already hosts multiple facilities, including an indoor athletics arena and offices for the Football Association of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union.

Dr Una May, CEO at Sport Ireland, said: “News of the velodrome’s approval is a really exciting start to 2023. We are delighted to see our plans for the Sport Ireland campus progressing and the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre is an important next step.

“This will be somewhere for the community and for elite athletes to come together, sharing facilities at a new destination for sport in Ireland.”