The redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh could be delayed by up to 12 months.
The home of Cork GAA was to undergo a €70m facelift but there are fears that the schedule could be put on hold owing to an EU probe.
The
Sunday Independent are reporting that plans for a new stadium are under threat after European officials intervened to investigate a grant for the project, as much as €30m.
Cork County Board await the grant but, even if the investigation eventually approves the money, it could take as long as a year to do so.
Plans were already afoot for the modern 45,000-seater stadium to create new jobs and boost the local economy and, crucially, it was also set to play a big part in a Rugby World Cup bid for the country in 2023.
The IRFU are set to contest for the rights to host the tournament in eight years' time but, with doubts over Páirc Uí Chaoimh's development, and the stand-off in Belfast over Casement Park's new stadium, the country would be pitching for a global competition using stadia that are yet to be approved, never mind completed.
With the deadline for World Cup bids set for June, the host nation will be announced within 11 months, in May 2017. Páirc Uí Chaoimh was expected to reopen in July 2017 but this investigation could scupper all of those plans and, even if the stadium is given the green light in the end, its redevelopment could be delayed considerably. During the Rugby World Cup decision process and all.
Concerns over the size of the grant have warranted scrutiny and, now, the Cork County Board and Department officials must work to satisfy the EU's worries. And they need to do it quickly in time for a World Cup bid.
UPDATE: Cork GAA have since issued the following press release which seems to suggest that the delay might not be as long as initially suspected.
Statement from Cork County Board
The Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium re-development project meets all the conditions for State funding under the Public Spending Code.
The Board has been made aware of a process that has to be undertaken by Government with the EU with regard to State aid.
The Board and the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport are working closely together and the Board anticipates a speedy and successful conclusion to the process.
