| Aviva Stadium | |
|---|---|
UEFA Elite Stadium |
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| Location | 62 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 4, Dublin, Ireland |
| Broke ground | March 2007 |
| Built | 2007–2010 |
| Opened | 14 May 2010 |
| Owner | Irish Rugby Football Union and Football Association of Ireland |
| Operator | Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company[1] |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | €410 million (inclusive of EUR € 191 million of government funding) (2010)[2] |
| Architect | Populous (formerly HOK Sport)[3] Scott Tallon Walker[4] |
| Structural engineer | Buro Happold |
| Services engineer |
ME Engineers Town Planning Consultants = Tom Phillips + Associates |
| Capacity | 50,000 seated (football, rugby union)[5] 65,000 (concerts) |
| Field dimensions | 106 × 68 m (348 × 223 ft) |
| Tenants | |
| Ireland national rugby union team (IRFU) (2010–) Republic of Ireland national football team (FAI) (2010–) Leinster Rugby (2010-) Emerald Isle Classic (NCAA football) (2012-present) |
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The Aviva Stadium (Irish: Staid Aviva) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 50,000 spectators(all seated)[6]. The stadium is built on the site of the old Lansdowne Road venue, which was demolished in 2007, and replaces that stadium as home to its chief tenants: the Irish rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland national football team. The decision to redevelop the stadium came after plans for both Stadium Ireland and Eircom Park fell through. The Aviva Group signed a 10-year deal for the naming rights in 2009.[7]
The stadium, located adjacent to Lansdowne Road railway station, officially opened on 14 May 2010. The stadium is Ireland's first, and only, UEFA Elite Stadium and in 2011, it hosted the Europa League Final. It also hosted the inaugural Nations Cup, as well as the regular home fixtures of the national rugby team and national football team from August 2010 onwards.
Unlike its predecessor, which was solely owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the current stadium is controlled by the IRFU and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) through a 50:50 joint venture known as the Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company (LRSDC). The joint venture has a 60-year lease on the stadium;[8] on expiry the stadium will return to the exclusive ownership of the IRFU.
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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 holds 11,000 spectators, while the box level holds 1,300.[9] The remaining 38,700 seats are shared between the top and bottom tiers. The capacity of the stadium was criticised even before its opening for being too small, particularly in light of the large supporter attendance figures for Irish rugby internationals and soccer internationals at Croke Park since 2007.[10] The stadium's roof is designed to undulate in a wave-like manner so as to avoid blocking light to local residences.[11]
The stadium was officially opened on 14 May 2010 by former Taoiseach Brian Cowen.[12][13][14] Over the months before and after the stadium was officially opened Aviva Insurance had commercials where at the end, an old couple would walk out of a hallway and into the main stand.
| Rugby Union matches | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Competition | Home | Away | Score | Attendance |
| 31 July 2010 | Challenge Match | Leinster/Ulster | Munster/Connacht | 68–0 | 34,000 |
| 2 October 2010 | 2010–11 PRO12 | Leinster | Munster | 13–9 | 50,645 |
| 6 November 2010 | Test Match | Ireland | South Africa | 21–23 | 35,515 |
| 13 November 2010 | Test Match | Ireland | Samoa | 20–10 | 37,955 |
| 20 November 2010 | Test Match | Ireland | New Zealand | 18–38 | 49,640 |
| 28 November 2010 | Test Match | Ireland | Argentina | 29–9 | 45,340 |
| 18 December 2010 | 2010–11 Heineken Cup pool stage | Leinster | Clermont Auvergne | 24–8 | 44,873 |
| 13 February 2011 | 2011 Six Nations Championship | Ireland | France | 22–25 | 51,700 |
| 19 March 2011 | 2011 Six Nations Championship | Ireland | England | 24-8 | 51,700 |
| 9 April 2011 | 2010–11 Heineken Cup quarter-final | Leinster | Leicester Tigers | 17-10 | 49,672 |
| 30 April 2011 | 2010–11 Heineken Cup semi-final | Leinster | Toulouse | 32–23 | 50,073 |
| 20 August 2011 | Test Match | Ireland | France | 22–26 | |
| 27 August 2011 | Test Match | Ireland | England | 6–20 | 48,523 |
| 4 November 2011 | 2011–12 PRO12 | Leinster | Munster | 24-19 | 48,365 |
| 17 December 2011 | 2011–12 Heineken Cup pool stage | Leinster | Bath | ||
| Row colours: green for club matches, yellow for international ones. | |||||
The Ireland rugby union team is playing its home games at the stadium, as it did previously at Lansdowne Road, taking over from their temporary home, Croke Park, where games were being played during Aviva's construction. Ireland's first international game was on 6 November 2010 against South Africa, with the Spingboks winning 23–21. The game drew a disappointing crowd of 35,515, mainly due to a backlash by Ireland supporters over the IRFU's controversial ticketing strategy for the November Test series.[15] Initially, the IRFU announced that tickets to the November Tests would only be sold as packages for all four matches. Later, it announced that the tickets would instead be split into two packages, with the South Africa Test bundled with the following week's match with Samoa for a minimum of €150, and the New Zealand and Argentina Tests bundled for a minimum of €190. Single-game tickets were to be available only for the Samoa and Argentina Tests. On 1 November, the IRFU backed away from this plan amid heavy criticism from member clubs that had problems selling the packages in a difficult economy.[16]
The first rugby union game at the Aviva was an exhibition game on 31 July, billed as the O2 Challenge, involving under-18 and under-20 players from all four of Ireland's provincial sides, with a Leinster/Ulster side defeating a Munster/Connacht combination 68–0.[17] As part of the run-up to the event, O2 ran a promotion which gave the winner the opportunity to attempt to score the ceremonial first points at the Aviva via a simulated conversion kick on the day before the match. The winner of the promotion, John Baker of Ennis, was successful.[18] The first official points at the Aviva were a try by Ulster's Craig Gilroy in the O2 Challenge.[17]
The stadium also hosts some home games for Leinster when the RDS Arena's smaller capacity doesn't satisfy demand. Leinster won their opening home game in the Aviva against Munster by 13 points to 9, during the 2010–11 PRO12 season, in front of a record PRO12 attendance of 50,645. Leinster won their first Heineken Cup game in the Aviva 24-8, against Clermont Auvergne in a pool game during the 2010–11 Heineken Cup season. During Leinster's successful run to the Heineken Cup title that season, they took their quarter-final and semi-final matches to the Aviva, defeating Leicester Tigers and Toulouse respectively.
The 2013 Heineken Cup Final will take place in the Aviva Stadium in May of that year.[19]
The Heineken Cup final was last held in Dublin in 2003 when Toulouse beat Perpignan 22-17 at Lansdowne Road although since then the stadium, both old and new, has staged an array of classic European contests.
The stadium also hosts the home games of the Republic of Ireland, as did Lansdowne Road. The team had played most home games at Croke Park during the construction of the Aviva. The first soccer match in the Aviva was Manchester United against a League of Ireland XI side, managed by Damien Richardson, on 4 August 2010.[20] Manchester United won the game 7-1, with Park Ji-Sung scoring the first ever goal in the Aviva Stadium.[21] The first international game for Ireland in the Aviva Stadium was a 1-0 friendly loss against Argentina on 11 August 2010.[22] The first competitive goal was scored by Kevin Kilbane in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying game on the 7 September 2010 against Andorra.[23]
The Aviva annually hosts the FAI Ford Cup Final, which was shared between the RDS Arena and the Tallaght Stadium while the new stadium was being built. The first Cup Final at the new stadium was the 2010 FAI Cup Final, held on Sunday 14 November 2010. Sligo Rovers beat Shamrock Rovers 2-0 on penalties after the game finished 0-0 after extra time. A total of 36,101 attended the game making it the biggest attendance at an FAI Cup Final since 1968. Tickets for the finals are to be included as part of the ten-year international tickets.
The 2011 Nations Cup took place in the Aviva Stadium. The tournament featured national football teams from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In the opening round of fixtures the Republic of Ireland beat Wales 3-0 while Scotland beat Northern Ireland 3-0. The remaining four fixtures took place in May, with the Republic of Ireland winning the tournament after beating Scotland 1-0 on the 29th of May.[24]
The 2011 UEFA Europa League Final between Portuguese sides F.C. Porto and S.C. Braga took place in the Aviva Stadium. Due to UEFA rules against corporate sponsorship outside the federation, the stadium was referred to as the "Dublin Arena" for this final, that ended with a 1–0 victory for Porto.
The Dublin Super Cup was a pre-season football tournament which was held in the Aviva. Celtic, Manchester City, Inter Milan and a League of Ireland XI competed in the 2011 edition, with Manchester City winning the tournament.
In 2012, Aviva Stadium will host an American college football match billed as the Emerald Isle Classic between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Navy Midshipmen.[25]
| Concerts at The Aviva Stadium | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Artist | Tour | Attendance |
| September 24–25, 2010 | Michael Bublé | Crazy Love Tour | 105,954 |
| June 25, 2011 | Neil Diamond | World Tour 2011 | 50,108 |
| July 2, 2011 | The Script | Science & Faith Tour | 47,910 |
The stadium is served by public transport with Bus and DART. More remotely, it may also be reached, following a journey on foot by the Luas and Busáras. The stadium is inaccessible by car on match days due to a 1 km car-free exclusion zone in operation.
| Dublin Bus | Pembroke Road | Bus Routes 4,5,7,8,18,45,63,84 - 300 metre walk to stadium entrance |
|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Quay | Bus Routes 2,3,50,56,77 - 500 metre walk to stadium entrance | |
| Luas - Green Line | Charlemont Luas Stop | 1.5 kilometre walk (Main entrance) |
| Iarnród Éireann - DART | Lansdowne Road railway station | Direct to Stadium |
| Preceded by HSH Nordbank Arena |
Host of the UEFA Europa League Final 2011 |
Succeeded by Stadionul Naţional |
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