What happens next

How the stadium will be built In order to meet the end of 2009 deadline date set by the developers of the new Lansdowne Road…

How the stadium will be built
In order to meet the end of 2009 deadline date set by the developers of the new Lansdowne Road stadium, initial work on the facility will need to get under way by the coming summer.

Prior to any work taking place, however, a series of conditions on how demolition and construction will take place need to be agreed with Dublin City Council.

Once this is secured demolition can get under way. The demolition of the stadium, which includes the removal of all of the existing stands, will take four months in total.

It can take place only during standard working hours and on Saturdays, and there will be some weekend disruption to Dart services during part of the demolition.

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The construction phase of the project will take 27 months to complete, according to the development company's own estimates.

At the height of the construction period, there will be 1,000 construction personnel on site, and an average of 500 throughout the whole project. This will make it one of the biggest building sites in the country.

The total cost of the project is estimated at €350 million, again one of the biggest budgets for any construction project of recent years.

How the stadium will operate

In the region of 23 major events, including rugby, soccer and, possibly, GAA matches are planned for the new stadium every year, including up to three outdoor concerts.

In addition, the stadium's restaurant and conference facilities will be available for hire for use by groups of up to 150.

When fully operational, the stadium will have 50,000 seats across four tiers. The two middle tiers will be set aside for reserved seating and corporate boxes, which are already on sale.

It will also include 2,410sq m of bar and licensed restaurant facilities on premium levels, which is the equivalent of the floor area of 20 average homes.

There will be an additional 2,048sq m of food serving facilities and another 1,000sq m of bars for general seats.

Just over 2,000sq m has also been set aside for the premium box entertainment and conference facilities.

The kitchens to serve all the food will run to just under 5,000sq m, which is the equivalent of the size of a large supermarket.

A similar amount of space has been set aside for the toilets to cater for the 50,000 fans expected to attend rugby and soccer internationals.

- Liam Reid