National Sports Campus
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The National Sports Campus ()- (sometimes known as Sports Campus Ireland, Sport Ireland Campus or Irish Sport HQ) is a large site in the western suburbs of
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland, which contains a number of sporting facilities. It is operated by the National Sports Campus Development Authority and is home to a number of sports venues, including the National Indoor Arena, National Aquatic Centre, and National Horse Sport Arena. Several national sports governing bodies, including the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
, have sports facilities on the campus. Other Irish sports governing bodies, such as the
Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...
and
Sport Ireland Sport Ireland (), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill ...
, have their headquarters on the site.


Operations

The National Sports Campus Development Authority (NSCDA) was formally established on 1 January 2007 under the National Sports Campus Development Authority Act 2006. It was formed as a
public body A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, but they are corporations owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...
in Ireland, responsible for the creation, development, operation and promotion of a National Sports Campus. The authority also has responsibility for the operation of the National Aquatic Centre on the Blanchardstown site. Since May 2010. It discharges these responsibilities through its wholly owned subsidiary NSCDA (Operations) Ltd.


Site

The National Sports Campus is in the Abbotstown area of
Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...
, in the western suburbs of
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
. The 477 acre site is in the
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
of Sheephill near Abbotstown House. This area was formerly "mainly open farmland" and previously accommodated the Marine Institute, State Laboratory and a farm operated by the Department of Agriculture.


Development

The National Sports Campus Development Authority allocated a number of plots on the site to accommodate the headquarters of the
Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...
(FAI), the Irish Institute of Sport (IIS) and the Irish Sport HQ. The latter is home to the administrative headquarters of 19 national governing bodies of sport in Ireland. The FAI moved from its former headquarters on Merrion Square in Dublin city centre, to its new offices on the National Sports Campus, in late 2007. In October 2013, the NSCDA completed the development of high performance training facilities for athletes in a variety of sporting disciplines including modern pentathlon, fencing, pistol-shooting, and gymnastics. An equestrian centre, the National Horse Sport Arena, was also developed. In 2016, the
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
opened a National Games Development Centre within the confines of the National Sports Campus site. This facility includes several grass and artificial pitches, a pavilion with dressing rooms, a gym, and conference and dining facilities. The NSCDA has also allocated sites for potential future development in partnership with the governing organisations responsible for cycling, rugby and hockey. For example, in March 2015,
Fingal County Council Fingal County Council () is the local authority of the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that succeeded the former Dublin County Council on abolition on 1 January 1994 and is one of four local authorities in County ...
gave planning permission for an indoor
velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement ...
to be constructed as part of the National Sports Campus. While the track was originally projected to be completed before the
2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
, construction was delayed. In September 2020, it was reported that representatives of
Cycling Ireland Cycling Ireland or CI is the operating name of the national governing body of the sport of cycling in the island of Ireland. Formally the body is a charitable company limited by guarantee, the Irish Cycling Federation. CI is a member of the U ...
were "hopeful" that the velodrome would be ready "in time for preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics". Sport Ireland announced development plans in November 2022, with a velodrome and cricket venues included.


See also

* National Sports Centre (disambiguation)


References

{{authority control Sports venues in County Dublin Indoor arenas in Ireland *