"Temporary" Event centre
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What do people make of this story in today’s Examiner?
4,000-seater events centre aims to lure biggest stars
By Eoin EnglishThursday, July 22, 2010
AN EVENTS centre, larger than the main hall of Dublin’s RDS, is to be built in Cork city within months.
The ARC Event Centre will be built in the city’s docklands and will open in September with a Stars Wars convention, its backers confirmed last night.
They also said several other high-profile events including Toys 4 Big Boys, Cork On Ice and the Ideal Homes Exhibition have also been confirmed for the venue.
The long-awaited facility, which the city has been trying to secure for several years, will be housed in one of the world’s most sophisticated temporary structures — The Veldeman TFS (Tensile Frame Structure).
It will offer all of the safety, comfort and finishing of a permanent building including air conditioning and heating. It will be constructed within weeks on the Live at the Marquee site — the site of the city’s proposed permanent events centre — which already has planning permission for a 5,000 capacity venue.
Discussions are under way with Cork City Council to ensure that the new venue meets relevant planning requirements.
The ARC measures 40,000 square feet (3, 716sq m), is larger than the main hall of the RDS and is capable of seating up to 4,000 people for a concert. But it is flexible enough to host the largest consumer and business exhibitions. It will be located on a 10-acre site, with parking, and is just one kilometre from City Hall.
The project is backed by Clowater Investments Ltd, SDL Exhibitions Ltd, a leading exhibition company, and Bill Cremin of Cool Runnings Entertainment, the company behind the Cork On Ice event.
Clowater’s Jason Clerkin said the ARC’s arrival is fantastic news for the city and Munster.
“The success of the ‘Live at the Marquee’ series has shown the appetite that exists in Munster for an event centre,” he said.
“While this version of the ARC is a semi-permanent structure, we’re committed to developing a permanent structure on the same site, ensuring that Cork’s docklands remain the home for entertainment in the city.”
ARC general manager Bill Cremin said the facility represents a fantastic opportunity to add to the cultural, social and economic life of the city.
“We now have a venue that can attract the biggest shows and stars to Cork and we’re confident that the centre will prove a huge hit with the public,” he said.
SDL Exhibitions’s Sean Lemass said he is confident the venue will be a huge hit.
“We have already confirmed a number of high profile events for the centre, including Toys 4 Big Boys, Cork On Ice and the Ideal Homes Exhibition and we are inundated with inquiries from other exhibitors who previously were restricted to Dublin only,” he said.
As part of the deal to sell the Mahon Point lands to O’Callaghan Properties in 1998 at a massive discounted price the deal sealer was that OCP would build an event centre and hand it over to the city at a cost not exceeding one pound (Yes one pound / 1.27 euro)
Ten years on and following questions asked by a city councillor that wasn’t fully asleep (there are one or two such creatures) the city decided to call in a cash settlement in lieu.
Hopefully the investigation into council matters by the Department of Environment will look into such ‘business practice’
We were promised an event centre; we will get a giant tent.
We were promised a light rail system; we may get ‘bendy buses’.
We were promised a public park in the docklands; we plan to sell the land to the GAA.
We were promised a 1 billion euro docks development; we have a derelict site.:oWe really get what we deserve with the people we elect to represent us at local level!
@kite wrote:
As part of the deal to sell the Mahon Point lands to O’Callaghan Properties in 1998 at a massive discounted price the deal sealer was that OCP would build an event centre and hand it over to the city at a cost not exceeding one pound (Yes one pound / 1.27 euro)
Ten years on and following questions asked by a city councillor that wasn’t fully asleep (there are one or two such creatures) the city decided to call in a cash settlement in lieu.
Has the city received that settlement, and if so how much? I could be wrong, but I thought there was mention of a figure (2m?) which would be paid if the event centre wasn’t built.
On another note, isn’t there also some kind of grant available for building an event centre in the city (7m?). Does this temporary development claim that grant? If so, it’s a bit disappointing.
Still, it sounds like it’s bringing some big events to the city. If they prove to be a success, it might spur on the permanent event centre (supposedly going to be built at the same site, according to the article above).
OCP planned one on Albert Quay I think as well, what is the story with that?
What do I think of this…….if there is such demand just build the f****** thing, stop giving us tents and temporary events centres!!!
hopefully, this is just a way for the company involved to generate a revenue stream to allow them proceed with the permanent events centre, for which permission has been given.
to support that view, they seem to be using the same brand name for the temporary centre as was shown on the plans for the permanent centre. hopefully going to see something in the Arc will become as ingrained in our minds as going to the O2 is now
i assume the grants cannot be drawn down for this, and that the city council will have a strict time limit on how long the “temporary” structure can remain in place
The return of the Howard Holdings boys?
Temporary structure it may be, but are facilities in the form of sewage infrastructure etc capable of coping with 4000 people, or will portaloos be the order of the day?
does this mean its obviously a thumbs down for OCP development on albert quay by navigation house?and does anyone know when that is due for decision?
@daniel_7 wrote:
does this mean its obviously a thumbs down for OCP development on albert quay by navigation house?and does anyone know when that is due for decision?
OCP have yet to actual lodge an application for an events centre on Albert Quay. They only announced plans for their intention to develop such a site. However I doubt the Docklands temporary events centre will affect their plans. According to the ARC Events Centre website they are accepting bookings from September to February, suggesting it will be dismantled in the Spring.
Hard to know what will happen then. Maybe if it’s a major success someone will build a permanent centre in the Docklands because full planning permission has already been granted, while OCP will have to go through the full planning process.
Hopefully cork can prove it can attract major concerts and events over the next six months.
@barneymagee wrote:
OCP have yet to actual lodge an application for an events centre on Albert Quay. They only announced plans for their intention to develop such a site. However I doubt the Docklands temporary events centre will affect their plans. According to the ARC Events Centre website they are accepting bookings from September to February, suggesting it will be dismantled in the Spring.
Hard to know what will happen then. Maybe if it’s a major success someone will build a permanent centre in the Docklands because full planning permission has already been granted, while OCP will have to go through the full planning process.
Hopefully cork can prove it can attract major concerts and events over the next six months.
Well the marquee has been very successful, so it bodes well. Let’s hope there’s more to it than just the novelty factor of a few events a year, but there’s genuine, long-term demand.
BTW, does anyone know the planning application number for the docklands event centre. I’ve looked and not found it.
@who_me wrote:
BTW, does anyone know the planning application number for the docklands event centre. I’ve looked and not found it.
Howard Holdings lodged it under the name Allequay. 0832919
Those behind the ARC Event Centre are claiming that the proposed development falls under ‘exempted development’. City planners are raising concerns on a number of grounds including traffic and mobility, will be interesting to see if it gets up and running within months as planned.
Will be interesting indeed. Its so badly needed. I am sick and tired of having to travel to Dublin for concerts and exhibitions. Surely the site is perfect for this kind of venture given the success of live at the marquee
@barneymagee wrote:
Howard Holdings lodged it under the name Allequay. 0832919
Thanks for that! I’d forgotten that was part of the big Atlantic Quarter development. Is that all now dead in the water?
Confirmation that difficulties may arise in relation to the proposed ARC event centre.
http://www.corkindependent.com/local-news/local-news/confusion-over-arc-centre-plan/
@kite wrote:
Confirmation that difficulties may arise in relation to the proposed ARC event centre.
http://www.corkindependent.com/local-news/local-news/confusion-over-arc-centre-plan/
seems like a bizarre way to operate a business.
its this type of attitude, that you can brazen it out and have your way, that is partly responsible for the planning and financial mess that is ireland.
requiring planning permission is not an unreasonable requirement.
how would a bank back such a proposal without basic requirements like planning permission being in place? have they not learned anything?
i hope an events centre is built in cork, and the permanent ARC seems an appropriate way to achieve this, but if the promoters are such a bunch of cowboys that they can’t organise a glorified tent properly, i hold little hope that the real thing will be built, or operated successfully
So what ‘plans’ for an event centre are still in play?
– The temporary ARC centre.
– The O’Callaghan proposal on Albert Quay.
– The Atlantic Quarter event centre (dead in the water?)
– The Beamish & Crawford site, to be developed by Heineken & BAM (???)Any others?
@who_me wrote:
So what ‘plans’ for an event centre are still in play?
– The temporary ARC centre.
– The O’Callaghan proposal on Albert Quay.
– The Atlantic Quarter event centre (dead in the water?)
– The Beamish & Crawford site, to be developed by Heineken & BAM (???)Any others?
I believe the group who have planning permission for a big hotel on the corner of Cornmarket Street and the Coal Quay have also suggested building an events centre there. Not sure if it would involve a whole new planning application. 07/32620 Murrayford.
Surely that site would be too small.
I have concerns about the OCP proposal in terms of capacity, but at least that’s just on the small size. Any building on Cornmarket St would be completely inadequate.
If you could get your hands on the Bridewell Garda Station (Which many be a listed building????) and close off Kyrl’s St, things improve a bit, but it’s still small.
Plus any construction at that location is going to end up tortuous because of archaelogical digs.
I suppose on the positive side, it’s a great city centre location.
@barneymagee wrote:
I believe the group who have planning permission for a big hotel on the corner of Cornmarket Street and the Coal Quay have also suggested building an events centre there. Not sure if it would involve a whole new planning application. 07/32620 Murrayford.
i know its off topic, but any sign of that hotel being built? it looks great in the renders that were linked to here on a different thread. its a great location for a hotel, as long as it doesn’t flood, and it would put a good cap on the cornmarket project.
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