New indoor velodrome to open its doors in Limerick by 2027
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Turns out velodromes are like buses. You wait years, decades, for one to be built and then two of them get greenlit in the space of a month.
A National Velodrome and Badminton Centre boasting a 25-metre cycle track and 12 badminton courts at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin was given the go-ahead to go to tender at the start of the month.
And it has now been confirmed that the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) and Cycling Ireland (CI) have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a separate €15.4m indoor velodrome on the northside of Limerick City.
Both projects are due to be completed by 2027.
The availability of two facilities will, finally, negate the need for Ireland’s international track cyclists to spend vast amounts of time, and the national body major sums of money, in training abroad.
The Limerick velodrome will be central to the proposed new multi-purpose sports arena on the Technological University’s Coonagh Campus. TUS and Cycling Ireland have agreed to pursue the project as a joint application through the Large-Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund.
The indoor arena will be built with a twin-skin pressurised system similar to the Air Dome built in Bekan by Connacht GAA, and to the Raymond Poulidor Velodrome in France which was opened in July of 2019.
The facility will include a 200m cycling track, changing facilities and 476 permanent spectator seats and will cover 8,000 square metres. It will be suitable for gymnastics, badminton, volleyball, tennis and for other events and exams.
“Sports infrastructure projects, like this Limerick Velodrome, have a hugely positive and wide-reaching community benefit,” said Neill Delhaye, Cycling Ireland High Performance Head Coach.
“To be able to train, race, have fun and compete all year round in a safe, spectator-friendly environment is a potential game changer for cycling at every level from participation, pathway development and all the way to high performance.
“It’s very exciting to think we may soon have two velodrome facilities in Ireland. The athlete and coaching talent we have on this island has as much potential for international success as any country, and with facilities like this to get more kids on bikes and develop that talent to potential, we are well positioned for future Olympic and Paralympic cycles.”
Lara Gillespie finished tenth in the women’s Omnium at the Paris Olympics having pushed hard for a possible bronze and Irish cyclists have consistently achieved eye-catching results in major events despite the absence of any suitable facilities on home soil.
“We want to continue providing high-quality facilities to help increase participation in sport, as well as providing quality facilities for the region in line with our campus masterplan,” said Jimmy Browne, vice-president of campus services and capital development at TUS.
“This facility will form part of our broader City North Sports Park at Coonagh.
“Limerick has transport infrastructure that makes it easily accessible to most of the country, together with the proximity to Shannon Airport, which makes Limerick an ideal location to also support plans for the national centre in Abbotstown.”