Plans go ahead for €35m National Cricket Centre in Fingal
Gordon Deegan
Fingal County Council has given the green light for a new €35 million National Cricket Centre that will host the 2030 T20 World Cup matches.
The Council has granted planning permission to Sport Ireland after consultants estimated it will generate a €93 million tourism dividend over five years.
A planning report drawn up by Cunnane Stratton Reynolds states that during the same 2026 to 2030 period, the cricket stadium will generate an additional €29 million through ticket sales and operational expenditure.
In July, Sport Ireland opened the tendering process for the construction of the NCC, estimating that the spend would be €35 million.
The National Cricket Centre (NCC) will include a spectator bowl with a permanent capacity of 4,240, which can be expanded to a maximum capacity of 12,000.
It will also include a High Performance Centre (HPC), and supporting infrastructure for the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus at Abbotstown.
The report states that the planning application “will provide Cricket Ireland (CI) with a permanent, world-class facility, within the home of Irish Sport”.
An evaluation of the stadium’s economic impact carried out by EY shows that €39.9m would be spent as a result of the 2030 T20 World Cup Cricket tournament, which is to be co-hosted by Ireland, Scotland and England.
The EY findings show that, based on an average year’s operation, the centre would support 460 jobs per year in the period 2026 to 2030.
Overall, including the impact of the Cricket World Cup in 2030, the net impact of the centre would result in 1,555 jobs.
The planning report states that a one-off capacity of 20,000 will be required for the T20 Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2030, and as it is a one-off, it will likely require an events license closer to the time.
A report lodged with the application also stated the economy will benefit from co-hosting the Cricket World Cup in 2030 - where the centre will host a maximum of eight matches, with the remaining matches to be played in Ireland held in Malahide or Stormont.
Planning documents lodged show that the proposed development is likely to generate approximately 200 construction jobs.Outlining the need for the development, it states that “Cricket Ireland has no home of its own. It needs a home of its own. It cannot rely on using club facilities, much to the club's inconvenience and at great cost.”
