The documents were published on the Government’s e-tendering website today
13:02, 20 Apr 2026Updated 14:58, 20 Apr 2026
An early rendering of the long-awaited Cork events centre
Cork City Council is seeking bidders for the Cork Events Centre contract, as the first round of assessments went live on the Government’s etendering website today. This marks another key step in finally bringing the long-awaited project to Leeside.
Last week, the council confirmed that the project was moving to the next stage following a Cabinet decision which approved the preliminary business case for the events centre. Prospective bidders were asked to make their case by completing a suitability questionnaire, and now they have less than six weeks to put themselves forward.
A Cork City Council spokesperson clarified that this is not the contract officially going out to tender, but rather the first stage in the selection process. The tender for the project will be awarded at a later stage.
The lucrative contract is valued at €150 million on the tenders website, but a document published by the council last week said the construction could cost up to €200 million.
It’s a major investment for Leeside and the centre aims to attract ‘high profile acts, conferences and events’ to the city. With a capacity of up to 7,000 people – about 75% the size of the 3 Arena – the city centre could help cut out the long trips to Dublin to see big-name acts.
The contract will be awarded to the most economically advantageous tender, which doesn’t necessarily mean the lowest price, but the best value for public money. This means that bidders won’t just have to beat their competition on price, but also demonstrate precisely how the Irish taxpayer will get the most bang for their buck through their proposal.
The contract is open to the EU market, including the previous tender winner, BAM. The Dutch Construction Giant was awarded the first iteration of the contract in 2014, and then Taoiseach Enda Kenny turned the sod on the infamous site two years later.
The former Beamish and Crawford site(Image: CorkBeo)
This latest batch of documents does not identify any specific part of the city for the Event Centre’s construction. It’s understood that a number of locations, including long-empty Beamish and Crawford Site, are in the running, and last week Cork property developer Michael O’Flynn urged Cork GAA to throw their hat in the ring and bring the centre down near the Páirc.
Bidders now have until May 29 to signal their participation in the tendering process; from there, selection will begin. The winner will be awarded a 10-year contract to construct the centre. Given the nature of the project, it is expected that submissions will be made by groups of companies that can combine large-scale construction delivery capability with event venue operation and management expertise.
The re-issuing of the tender is part of a process that has been ongoing since October 2024, when the cabinet decided a new procurement process was required to deliver an event centre for Cork. At the time, the Cabinet reaffirmed its commitment to and ongoing exchequer funding support for the project, and a project development board (PDB) was established.
The procurement process is being overseen by global project management experts, AECOM, which has an office in Cork.
AECOM has vast experience in developing event and conference centres, especially in the US, where it has either helped build or renovate conference centres in cities including Kentucky, Phoenix, New Orleans and Las Vegas, with a combined value of almost €16bn. It has also been involved in the development of an event centre in Cardiff.
