Bohemians Move Closer To Kicking Off Dalymount Park Redevelopment

Dublin City Council has announced the €40M design plan chosen for the redevelopment of Bohemian Football Club’s Dalymount Park ground in Phibsborough, Dublin.

The proposals would see the complete demolition of the existing grounds and the construction of a four-sided stadium with a capacity of 7,880, comprising 5,880 seats and 2,000 terrace places.

The scheme, chosen from two options put forward in July, also includes upgraded club facilities and match-day accommodation to meet League of Ireland criteria.

Initial plans had envisaged a larger capacity and more terracing but proposals had to be scaled back after rising cost projections saw the bill potentially hit €52M, bringing the redevelopment’s financial viability into question.

The council has also pledged to upgrade the public domain, which would be “enhanced to link in with the proposed adjacent public plaza”, while the pitch will be switched to a north/south orientation. Community facilities, which will be housed separately on the site, have also been included in the plans.

Bohemian FC said it was “delighted that the design is now finally chosen” and that it had been successful in working with the council to reduce costs to an achievable level and increase the capacity by a third from that previously planned.

“The level of support for the Dalymount project remains unanimous across all major parties and there is a widespread recognition of the importance of it for Bohemian FC, for Dublin 7 and for the wider inner-city and north Dublin communities,” the club said in a statement.

Stakeholders and the local community will be consulted while the preliminary design is completed and the council prepares for the planning process, which is likely to take until December 2023. If planning is approved, the construction phase is expected to complete by March 2026, the council said.

The plans will require funding through stream two of the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund and “this fund is under the control of central government and club officials have continued to meet several ministers over the past couple of months regarding this fund, and will continue to do so,” the club said.