Wanderers strike deal with IRFU

Wanderers Rugby Football Club club has reached agreement with the IRFU over plans to redevelop Lansdowne Road, the club said today.

In a short statement Wanderers said all legal proceedings had been withdrawn clearing the way for the €365 million redevelopment of the stadium to go ahead.

"All legal proceedings have now been withdrawn. Wanderers has enjoyed a long and distinguished history as part of Lansdowne Road for over a century and the Club now looks forward to a future in the new re-developed stadium," the statement added.

The club applied earlier this week for an injunction to halt the demolition of its pavilion at Lansdowne Road as part of the Irish Rugby Football Union's (IRFU) plans to build a new stadium.

Michael Cush SC, for Wanderers, said its use of the pavilion was governed by the terms of a licence agreement signed in 1987 and which runs until 2017. There was no provision in that agreement allowing for the demolition of the pavilion.

In a statement of its own, the IRFU expressed frustration that the matter had been taken before the courts in the first place.

"It is a disappointment to the IRFU and the rugby community that Wanderers chose to take this matter to the courts after two years of negotiations when, in the IRFU's opinion,  the matter should have been settled months ago.

"The focus is now on the development of the new stadium at Lansdowne Road and to ensure that this important project now proceeds on schedule."