Tenders sought for Curragh project

The owner of one of Ireland's premier racecourses is seeking tenders for a €100 million redevelopment of its grandstand facilities.

The Turf Club, owner of the Curragh racecourse in Co Kildare, is seeking applications from building companies interested in tendering for the redevelopment of its grandstands and viewing facilities.

The project will involve replacing the existing two stands with a modern, glass-fronted, five-storey structure that will be the largest grandstand on an Irish racecourse. The estimated cost is €100 million. The development is running a year behind its original schedule as a result of local opposition. A local group, Friends of The Curragh Environment, is leading the challenge to the plan.

An Bord Pleanála recently approved the proposal, to which Kildare originally gave the green light. The High Court is set to review the board's decision next month.

The lobby group is taking a parallel case relating to its own legal costs. Last month the High Court turned down its application to cover its costs, and the organisation has since said it will appeal this to the Supreme Court.

When the club began planning the redevelopment in 2003 it hoped to have work completed by next year. It now looks like it will be 2008 before the first phase is complete.

The legal action does not stop the Turf Club from beginning work on the development. This week it published its notice on etenders.gov.ie, the Government's public procurement website. Along with viewing facilities, the new stand will include hospitality boxes, function rooms, bars, restaurants, a museum and landscaping. Applicants will first have to pre-qualify for a shortlist from which tenders will be invited. While the Curragh racetrack is rated as one of the best in Europe, the existing grandstand and public facilities have come under increasing fire in recent years because of their poor standard.

State body Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) will provide some grant aid to the project, but the Turf Club, which is a private body, will be largely responsible for funding the development.

Three years ago the Aga Khan, owner of Giltown Stud in Kildare, paid for the Turf Club's purchase of the Stand House Hotel, behind the existing grandstand. The deal was valued at €15 million.

This will be incorporated into the new structure. That element of the project will require a new road to be built, and this is one of the elements of the plan to which locals have objected.

The Turf Club regulates horseracing throughout Ireland. The Curragh is the headquarters of flat racing in this country. It hosts the Irish Derby and numerous other contests.