Plans for Dublin to get new 2,000-seater music and arts venue

Entrepreneur Harry Crosbie had unveiled plans for a new 2,000-seater music venue beside his Vicar Street venue in Thomas Street.

Mr Crosbie has reached an agreement with Fr Martin Dolan to rent a piece of land behind Meath Street Church that has not been used for more than 50 years.

It is generally acknowledged that Dublin needs a venue for acts that are too large for 1,000 capacity venues like Vicar Street and the Olympia but are too small to bridge the gap to play the 3Arena.

Mr Crosbie envisages retaining the existing Vicar Street venue and upgrading it while creating a musical quarter with the 2,000 capacity venue and also a 250 seat mini-venue in the old famine school in Vicar Street.

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He has been responsible for three of the largest arts venue in Dublin, the Point Theatre, now the 3Arena, the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and Vicar Street.

The area at the side of Meath Street church has a community hall and a basketball court at present. It will be landscaped and the area will be turned into a cultural quarter.

All three venues will be programmed by Aiken Promotions which has a long-standing relationship with Mr Crosbie.

In February this year Mr Crosbie unveiled plans to put the 2,000-seater Vicar Street South venue in the Docklands area, but he has now relocated it beside the existing Vicar Street.

Details on planning permission will be announced in the coming months.