Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road is both the name of a street in Dublin and the stadium which sits parallel to it. Lansdowne Road is generally taken to refer to the stadium. The stadium is the worlds oldest rugby union stadium and since the mid 80s the home of both soccer in Ireland and Irish Rugby Union. The stadium itself is owned by Rugby Union and leased out to the Football Association of Ireland for competitive matches. Incredibly the stadium was first opened in 1872.

It was the vision of Henry W. Dunlop that created Lansdowne Road. Dunlop was an exceptional athlete who was also responsible for organizing the first All Ireland Athletics Championship. His vision was to create a purpose built sporting venue, a vision which was realized when Lansdowne Road opened in 1872 for athletics.

Originally Lansdowne Road was a multi-sport venue which included a running track, a crease, three football pitches and a croquet garden alongside facilities for archery and tennis. Rugby was first played at the ground in 1876 when Leinster and Munster took to the pitch.

Although Dunlop’s vision was for a multi sport venue, the ground became recognized in tandem with rugby. The most recent development at the ground was the East Stand which was built in 1983.

It has long been recognized that Lansdowne Road is very outdated and because sport plays such a big role in Irish life, a modern arena should be built to house both the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). The stadium is set to be redeveloped by 2009 with the construction of a 50,000 all seated stadium with an approximate cost of e365 million which will be partly funded by the Government, partly by the IRFU and partly by the FAI.