Aviva Stadium

UEFA Elite stadium
Location	Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Ireland
Broke ground	March 2007
Opened	April 2010 (scheduled)[1]
Owner	Irish Rugby Football Union and Football Association of Ireland
Operator	LRSDC [1]
Surface	Grass
Construction cost	€ 365 million (2004)
Architect	Populous Scott Tallon Walker
Structural engineer	Buro Happold
Services engineer	ME Engineers
Capacity	50,000
Tenants
Ireland national rugby union team (IRFU) (2010-) Republic of Ireland national football team (FAI) (2010-) Leinster Rugby (Leinster Rugby) (2010-)

Aviva Stadium is the name of a new stadium being built in Dublin, Ireland, to open in 2010. It will replace the demolished Lansdowne Road Stadium, and will have an all-seater capacity of 50,000. Its primary tenants will be the Irish national rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland national football team.

The stadium, located adjacent to Lansdowne Road railway station, will become Ireland's first, and only, UEFA Elite stadium. In 2011, it will host the Europa League Final and the inaugural 4 Associations' Tournament, as well as the national rugby team's two home fixtures in that year's Six Nations Championship. It is also expected to host a Magners League game that year.

[edit] Facilities

The stadium has four tiers, with the lower and upper tiers being for general access, the second tier for premium tickets and the third tier for corporate boxes. The north stand however is single tiered due to its proximity to local housing. This stand is expected to be the away stand for soccer internationals. There are two basement levels and seven storeys of floors. The premium level will hold 10,000 spectators while the box level will hold 1,300 [2]. The remaining 38,700 seats will be shared between the top and bottom tiers.

[edit] Usage

The stadium will host all home games of the Republic of Ireland national football team and the Ireland national rugby union team as did Lansdowne Road. Both of these teams have played most home games at Croke Park during the construction of the Aviva. The stadium will presumably also host occasional home games for Leinster Rugby when the RDS Arena's smaller capacity will not satisfy demand. The Aviva will also annually host the FAI Cup Final which was shared between the RDS Arena and the Tallaght Stadium while the stadium was being built. Tickets for the final are to be included as part of the ten year international tickets.

The 4 Associations' Tournament 2011 will take place in the Lansdowne Road, the tournament features national football teams from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The 2011 UEFA Europa League Final will also take place in the Aviva.

[edit] See also

Artist's impression of the Aviva Stadium

• Stadiums of Ireland

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company
• Engineer's press release

Coordinates: 53°20′6.5″N 6°13′42.0″W / 53.335139°N 6.22833°W / 53.335139; -6.22833