Updated Monday, November 12th with comments from IRFU’s Philip Browne
Most of the media commentary on Irish Rugby this week will focus on the Saturday visit of the All Blacks to the Aviva Stadium but it is an area to the South West of the Stadium that may actually provide the greatest longer-term impact.
It was confirmed this morning to the London Stock Exchange this that the IRFU has sold a parcel of land which it has held near the Luas Red Line terminus on the other side of the M50 to the Red Cow, for an initial sum of €27 million.
That alone would be ten times the surplus recorded last year by the IRFU and its different interests across international rugby.
What is of even greater benefit is that if the lands are rezoned within the next ten years from their current agricultural use to a residential category, the value of the 92.5 acres will rise substantially and the IRFU will benefit to the tune of whatever uplift there is on the initial payment up to a ceiling of 44 per cent of the market value at that time.
The land has been sold to property investment company Hibernia Reit, one of the states biggest landowners.
Quite what this will mean for the future financial planning within Irish Rugby may not become fully apparent until we see the inclusion of the figures in next year’s annual report but to say they will be transformational for a generation and beyond is likely to end up as something of an understatement.
To put it in context the entire cost attributed to running the professional game in 2017/18 was a little over €42 million while the same cost of running club and domestic rugby from central funds was €10.5 million.
The impact on the IRFU’s strategic ambitions over the next decade and beyond will be significant and could give rise again to fresh ambitions towards staging a Rugby World Cup.
Exciting times drawn from the commercial property arena as well as the more visible team performance.
“The IRFU regards the delivery of a sustainable, long term additional income stream for investment in the domestic game, for the benefit of clubs and schools, as one of its key priorities,” said IRFU CEO Philip Browne.
“The sale of the lands at Newlands, acquired by the IRFU between 1994 and 1996, has been identified for some time as imperative to delivering on this objective.
“It will now allow the Union the opportunity to progress investment options which will, in addition to securing a new realisable asset, produce an additional, long term income stream to support further development of the domestic grass roots game on this island, in the decades to come.”
“It is also envisaged that a portion of the proceeds will be provided for new club and playing facilities development programmes.”
