National Stadium (Ireland)

The National Stadium for boxing on South Circular Road

The National Stadium (Irish: An Staidiam Náisiúnta) or National Boxing Stadium, which is located in Dublin, is one of Ireland's best known boxing venues.

The National Stadium was the first purpose built boxing stadium in the world and was opened by Frank Aiken in 1939.[1]

Venue

The stadium is owned by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) and has been used by the IABA for over 60 years as the venue for their national and international contests.[2]

Music

Historically, the stadium was used as music venue, regularly hosting bands such as U2,[3] Led Zeppelin,[4] Van Morrison,[4] Horslips,[5] and many others. On 26 February 1980, the band U2 performed a concert at this venue which was attended by executives of Island Records; at the end of the show, Island Records signed U2 to their first recording contract.

Facilities

The venue is situated between Clanbrassil Street to the east and Dolphin's Barn to the west on the South Circular Road, Dublin 8, Ireland. The stadium stages amateur and professional boxing and professional wrestling bouts as well as providing facilities for music concerts, conferences and corporate hospitality events.[6]

Capacity

The capacity of the stadium is 2,080 for music events, which is reduced to 1,954 for boxing and wrestling events to accommodate the wrestling/boxing ring. The Ringside club seats up to 300 people for parties or sit down dining but some junior boxing events also take place here.

Refurbishment

In December 1999, the then Minister for Art, Sports and Tourism Jim McDaid, announced an IR£1.3m (1.6m euros) grant under the Sports Capital Programme to undertake the refurbishment of the stadium.[7][8] The two-storey building was provided with a new grey coloured limestone façade during the refurbishment. There is now free parking on the grounds of the stadium, which has pleased the locals.

References

  1. ↑ "Over ninety years of Irish Amateur Boxing". IABA. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  2. ↑ "Facilities at The National Stadium". National Stadium. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  3. ↑ Kootnikof, David (2010). U2: A Musical Biography. ABC-CLIO. p. 12.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "National Stadium review". Time Out. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Cunnigham, Mark (2013). Horslips: Tall Tales - The Official Biography. O'Brien Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-84717-586-1.
  6. ↑ "About The National Stadium". National Stadium. Archived from the original on 15 June 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  7. ↑ "£1.3m grant for National Boxing Stadium - McDaid". Department of Art, Sports and Tourism. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  8. ↑ "CASE STUDY 5 – NATIONAL BOXING STADIUM". Department of Art, Sports and Tourism. Retrieved 13 July 2007.

External links

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Coordinates: 53°19′51″N 6°16′49″W / 53.330706°N 6.280323°W