State seeks bigger stake in Cork event centre as it ups its aid pledge to €90m
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The State wants more “bang for its buck” out of the embattled Cork event centre project, it has emerged.
As a new tendering process for financial aid for the long-stalled centre is set to get underway, documents released under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act show that the State is looking at a range of options to increase its stake in the project.
The scale of taxpayer funding has increased from the pledged €57m to close to €90m.
A range of options will be considered by a new project development board which has been set up in the wake of October’s Cabinet decision to re-tender the State aid designed to help build the venue. The sod was turned on the project in 2016 but construction has yet to start.
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Heavily redacted documents released under FoI show that the board has been asked to reconsider all aspects of the project including the appropriate funding model in the context of public or private ownership, or a public-private partnership approach to the scheme.
The board has been tasked with ensuring that everything is in full compliance with State aid rules, and with progress reports to government every three months.
It is understood that the board’s membership has been decided, that it will be overseen by Cork City Council, and that it includes extensive project management expertise. It is due to meet formally soon.
It is also understood that its initial deliberations on greater State involvement will determine the qualifying criteria for bidders for the State aid package.
Labour councillor Peter Horgan, who has submitted dozens of FoI requests seeking details on the project’s protracted decision-making process, said more transparency is needed as the tendering process gets underway. He said:
The detail comes as two contenders, the Bam/Live Nation consortium with their planning-approved site on South Main St, and Marina Market, with a ‘design-in-progress’ proposal for their south docks site, look to be in pole position for the bidding.
It was expected that Bam would be the sole runner in the tendering process, but Marina Market confirmed just before Christmas that it is working on a conference centre/hotel plan and plans to bid for the State aid too.
In its first official statement since Marina Market made its announcement, Bam said it is still committed to the event centre project.
“Bam remains committed to delivering a world-class events centre for Cork. We will consider the detail of the procurement process once agreed within Government,” it said.
While Bam’s five-year grant of planning for its proposed 6,000-capacity venue on South Main St is due to expire in March, it is likely to be extended to June arising out of delays during covid.
But the re-tendering process is still expected to take between 12 and 18 months, adding another layer of complexity to an already complex and protracted process.
The estimated cost of the venue has since more than doubled, from €50m in 2014 to at least €85m in 2023, with the latest estimates breaking the €100m mark.
The amount of available State aid has also soared, from the €20m tendered for by Bam in 2014, to the €57m pledged shortly after covid, with an additional €30m to €40m in aid now required.