Lansdowne Road has emerged as the clear favourite for development as a new national stadium following the submission to Government yesterday of a feasibility study on it and four possible alternatives.
The study, compiled by rugby and soccer associations the IRFU and FAI, ranked Lansdowne as the cheapest option, claiming it would cost the State €353 million over a six-year period, compared to €397 million for a scaled-down version of the Taoiseach's long-championed "Bertie Bowl" at Abbotstown.
The IRFU and FAI are prepared to make a joint contribution of up to €118.5 million towards the project - a sum that must be added to the Exchequer bill to obtain the total development cost.
Neither association would be drawn on which site it preferred, saying it was now a matter for the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, to advance the proposals.
Speaking after a meeting with the two bodies yesterday, Mr O'Donoghue said the case for a national stadium - due to have a seating capacity of about 65,000 - was now "compelling". He said he planned to hold a face-to-face meeting with the consultants who wrote the report, a final copy of which he is due to receive on April 28th, before reflecting on the matter and having his Department study the options.
Only then, he said, would he bring proposals to the Government "recommending the best way to meet the pressing need for additional stadium facilities in the country".
Refusing to be drawn on a timeframe, he said proposals would be brought to Cabinet "as soon as possible".
The study included a technical assessment of five sites - Lansdowne, Abbotstown, Newlands Cross, the Irish Glass Bottle Company site at Irishtown, and Sillogue at Ballymun. The latter was ruled out as an option yesterday.
Sources close to yesterday's talks said the sporting bodies were happy to leave the final decision to the Government, although one said: "Obviously the submission is pushing Lansdowne Road."
IRFU chief executive Mr Philip Browne described the meeting as "very positive". While he wouldn't be drawn on the union's preferred location, he did make reference to the "great history and tradition" of rugby at Lansdowne Road.
Mr John Delaney, FAI treasurer, said the report was "well received" and the reaction positive, despite the fact that there were "no easy fits" available.
The Minister said he was aware of the difficult, if not "untenable", position in which the IRFU and FAI found themselves. The former was losing "substantial funds", in the region of €2 million per home international, by only being able to accommodate 49,000 spectators.
The FAI, meanwhile, had been forced to erect temporary seating on the terraces of Lansdowne Road to satisfy the regulations of the sports' governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, on all-seater stadiums. A derogation allowing the practice lapses in October.
As for the possibility of opening up Croke Park, the Minister said he did not believe it was tenable, given the number of fixtures already taking place at that stadium, probable objections from local residents, and floodlighting and pitch maintenance issues.
Yesterday's report emphasised the benefits to the Exchequer of building a stadium, claiming it would yield up to €71 million in VAT, and €85-€100 million through employment and other taxes. It also pointed out that, for a recent international fixture, more than €50 million was generated in the economy.
