Dublin City Council to borrow €34 million to fund redevelopment of Dalymount Park

DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL plans to borrow €34 million to help fund the redevelopment of Dalymount Park, with the project now expected to begin construction in 2027.

A new report by the local authority has also outlined a number of minor changes to the proposal, which is now expected to cost over €63 million — a more than 50% hike on the €40 million price tag put on the project a year ago.

The council plans to demolish the existing stadium and structures on the site and to build a new stadium with 6,240 seats and capacity for another 1,794 people standing.

The pitch will be re-oriented to run north-south and get new sand-based grass, along with new changing rooms, match-day facilities for teams and officials and club offices. 

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The ground is currently home to League of Ireland side Bohemians, but was bought from the club for €3.4 million by the council a decade ago.

The redevelopment project has already received around €25 million in central government funding via the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).

It had previously remained unclear how the council planned on funding the remainder of the project, but it’s now expected that this will come from a 30-year loan of approximately €34.03 million.

It’s expected that loan repayments would cost the council €1.8m a year, which it expected would be partly funded from rental income on the stadium from Bohemians, as well as match day revenue.

The council also plans to amend its planning application to incorporate some changes, which the local authority says will result in a saving of €3.5 million on the project.

These include alterations to the proposed roof, changes to the proposed basement and relocation of changing rooms.

Under a new timeline, Bohemians will vacate the stadium after the 2026 League of Ireland season concludes next November, with the redevelopment expected to be completed towards the end of 2028.

Councillors are expected to vote on a decision to seek the loan next week, before the proposal is sent to the Minister for Housing and Local Government for final approval.

Written by Stephen McDermott and posted on TheJournal.ie