Tenders for the €100 million redevelopment of the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) grounds at Ballsbridge are to be sought when this year's horse show ends, according to RDS chief executive Michael Duffy.
He told a press conference at the opening of this year's show yesterday that work on the site would be completed in phases over the next 10 years and would include four office blocks, an upgraded Anglesea Stand and many other facilities.
Work on the construction of the first of these office blocks, at Simmonscourt Road on the Bewley's Hotel side, was scheduled to begin at the start of November, Mr Duffy said.
"We will be going for tender straight after the show at the end of August. We have a 10-year planning permission which incorporates the offices and the development of the showgrounds which will include the Anglesea Stand. We are anxious to get started as quickly as possible."
He said the society was conscious of the need to minimise interruptions during the construction work.
The project team, he added, was working on this as 250 commercial and 100 foundation events were held there every year.
He said it was a busy site and the challenges for them, from a management point of view, was to carry out the building work, minimise interruption and make sure it was "business as usual" for the horse show and all other events.
The planning permission for the development of one of Dublin's most prestigious sites was granted on appeal by An Bord Pleanála after many years of negotiation.
Mr Duffy said the development of the site would significantly increase revenue for the RDS Foundation activities in agriculture, science, industry and the arts, and would also underpin the continuation of the Dublin Horse Show.
Mr Duffy, who took over the post of chief executive two years ago, said the development would also lessen the society's dependence on events business.
Mr Duffy restated the reasoning behind the new development which he said was about securing the future of the RDS in Ballsbridge and providing a stable income.
"The world is getting more competitive. The society wants to have an income stream which will allow it to invest in its foundation activities and to develop the site.
"It really gives us that income stream going forward and gives a good foundation for the work the society wants to do."
The chief executive also announced an extensive review of the Horse Show in the coming months which would look at the classes, their structures and the national jumping competitions to see how relevant they currently are.
Mr Duffy said exhibitor research carried out after last year's show had not indicated that high entry fees for taking part in the competitions was a major issue but that did not mean it would not be investigated.
He said the review being undertaken was about standards and types of classes.
It was also about people coming and being able to feel they were "getting the right shop window".
"We want to attract the best. We want to go forward and have the best structured show. We want to ensure we have the best horses and ponies competing and we want to ensure the decisions we make are going to be fundamentally in the context of making sure the show is relevant to the industry's needs today and tomorrow."