APPROVAL HAS BEEN granted for Ireland’s first-ever indoor cycling track and a badminton centre at the National Sports Campus in Blanchardstown.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, and the Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne TD have given the green light for the projects to proceed to tender.
The facility will consist of a 250 metre cycling track, and up to 12 badminton courts in the in-track area. There will also be spectator seating and ancillary facilities.
The work is scheduled to be completed in 2027, meaning Ireland’s track cyclists, in particular, will no longer need to travel abroad to train.
“Minister Byrne and I understand the value of supporting our athletes as they prepare for international competitions and we are committed to ensuring that they have the best training facilities to reach their goals,” Minister Martin said.
“As we proudly support Team Ireland at the Olympic and Paralympic games in Paris, the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre will support the next generation of athletes.
“The National Velodrome and Badminton Centre will provide state-of-the-art track cycling facilities for our cycling athletes who currently have to travel abroad for both training and competition, as well as providing the sport of badminton with a permanent home featuring integrated training, gym and medical facilities.
“The funding provided to build these training facilities will allow athletes in both sports to reach optimal performance levels on the international stage. Our National Sports Campus is already a world leading athlete focused facility and this next phase of its development will further enhance Ireland’s sporting infrastructure.”
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Sam Cane seems to play best when he has something to prove. After being absent in NZ against Ireland, he played some game in that qf. He’ll want to make up for that red card in the final… could be a big game for him
Is it me or does neither team look as strong as during WC? Definitely fancy a cracking at either of those. Amazing how a few injuries can change the whole fabric
@Noel Lynn: they’d love for us to get a crack at them in one off friendly matches. They use the games wisely to blood new players. We use the games to sell DVDs and make RTE documentaries.
@Andrew Smyth: good comment.
@Andrew Smyth: one off friendlies? 2 test series in SA. And a 3 game series against SA. Hardly one off. And those teams fielded against us were their strongest teams. The last SA team was their most capped ever.
@james joyce: 3 game series v NZ
@Andrew Smyth: When we beat new zealand it aint friendlies pretty great since took us over 100 years
@james joyce: triggered :)
@james joyce: either way there’s a new competition coming soon, so they’ll be less series/one off games.
@brian o’leary: ideally, the global season could be aligned better.
@Andrew Smyth: Totally agree, now we’ve hit certain markers it’s time to solely focus on improving our dire World Cup record. We’ve won Grand Slams, Six Nations, Southern Hemisphere tours, beaten both SA and NZ in their own back yard.
The only thing left to achieve in the game for us is to get further than a World Cup Quarter Final, or better win the damn thing.
@Caballo Blanco: 100% agree. This obsession with one/two meanlingless fixtures with a full squad consistently for the last 20 years makes us look weak. And the failures at the World Cups are proof of that weakness.
@Andrew Smyth: you haven’t a notion about rugby with a comment like that. Scurry back to where you came from.
@Cian O: so you’re telling me that not learning from the constant same mistake is not weak?
RJ injured again?
@Ger: Indeed , SA have 4 or 5 Second rows unavailable through injury, De Jager, Mostert, Snyman, Klein.