The worst kept secret about the new Lansdowne Road was revealed today with the announcement that the new sports ground is to be called Aviva Stadium, after insurance giant Aviva agreed a 10-year sponsorship deal. Due to open in April 2010, I was given a sneak preview of the place this week and was amazed at progress so far.
The 50,000 seater stadium will feature world class facilities and be home to both Irish rugby and football, with the IRFU and FAI in partnership. As well as sporting events it is envisaged that there will be a number of music concerts staged every year.
Designed by HOK Sport Architecture (which was also responsible for Emirates and Wembley stadia, among others) the new grounds will be state of the art with optimised viewing of the pitch while retaining the old atmosphere of Lansdowne Road. I was particularly impressed by the eco credentials of the development, for example the vast opaque roof makes the most of natural sunlight and also collects rain water which will then be stored to irrigate the pitch.
While many of the seats and corporate boxes have been sold in advance to finance the development the FAI still have a number of options available through its Vantage Club, go to www.faivantageclub.com for more information.
