Events Centre

kub

KCAccidental wrote: »

Well yes, Live Nation are the elephant in the room in regards to the project.

Please tell me who Live Nation are, who made them the Gods of entertainment and do they have any competitors?

namloc1980

kub wrote: »

Please tell me who Live Nation are, who made them the Gods of entertainment and do they have any competitors?

They're massive. Ticketmaster is a subsidiary of them. Annual revenues of $7.6 billion in 2015. If they don't think it's viable then it's not likely to be.

the beer revolu

Owen O Callahan is responsible for Merchants Quay shopping centre. That pig of a building was dated looking before it was even finished.

Opera Lane is, in my opinion, the most soulless and bland effort at creating a street imaginable.

I'm very glad that OOC hasn't been given another large building project in the city.

Meursault

namloc1980 wrote: »

They're massive. Ticketmaster is a subsidiary of them. Annual revenues of $7.6 billion in 2015. If they don't think it's viable then it's not likely to be.

How is an event centre not viable though? The marquee is a big success and it stages concerts every night for about a month. The marquee is basically a tent with no proper facilities, stuck down the end of a derelict dockland, with no night life.

Surely it is a sign that cork is crying out for an event centre. This is without even considering big business conventions, shows, etc.

namloc1980

Meursault wrote: »

How is an event centre not viable though? The marquee is a big success and it stages concerts every night for about a month. The marquee is basically a tent with no proper facilities, stuck down the end of a derelict dockland, with no night life.

Surely it is a sign that cork is crying out for an event centre. This is without even considering big business conventions, shows, etc.

I don't know but I suppose for it to be viable it needs to be hosting events virtually every night for 12 months of the year. Perhaps that's something that they felt Cork couldn't support. And the Marquee certainly doesn't sell out every night down there. If this gets cancelled, then maybe we might get more details.

BrianJD

Meursault wrote: »

How is an event centre not viable though? The marquee is a big success and it stages concerts every night for about a month. The marquee is basically a tent with no proper facilities, stuck down the end of a derelict dockland, with no night life.

Surely it is a sign that cork is crying out for an event centre. This is without even considering big business conventions, shows, etc.

Surely Christy Moore would keep it full for at least 3 months of the year 😂

Joking aside, how often would it need to be used to be viable. Surely the 3 arena isn't filled every night.

Meursault

namloc1980 wrote: »

I don't know but I suppose for it to be viable it needs to be hosting events virtually every night for 12 months of the year. Perhaps that's something that they felt Cork couldn't support. And the Marquee certainly doesn't sell out every night down there. If this gets cancelled, then maybe we might get more details.

Maybe, but the Bord Gais theatre is comparable in size and I am pretty certain it doesn't host events every night. Same goes for Three Arena, which is much bigger than the planned size for the event centre.

It would be interesting to find how many events are required to break even.

Also, does Live Nation have any cash on the line here? I thought it is €20m in public money and the rest comes from Heineken and BAM? I could be wrong here though.

P.lane78

Meursault wrote: »

Maybe, but the Bord Gais theatre is comparable in size and I am pretty certain it doesn't host events every night. Same goes for Three Arena, which is much bigger than the planned size for the event centre.

It would be interesting to find how many events are required to break even.

Also, does Live Nation have any cash on the line here? I thought it is €20m in public money and the rest comes from Heineken and BAM? I could be wrong here though.

Will Simon Coveney and Enda Kenny flanked by fg crooneys make the official cancellation announcement. They love the big set piece !! Maybe they could turn the sod back and run back to Dublin in there Mercedes

namloc1980

Meursault wrote: »

Maybe, but the Bord Gais theatre is comparable in size and I am pretty certain it doesn't host events every night. Same goes for Three Arena, which is much bigger than the planned size for the event centre.

It would be interesting to find how many events are required to break even.

Also, does Live Nation have any cash on the line here? I thought it is €20m in public money and the rest comes from Heineken and BAM? I could be wrong here though.

The proposed Events Centre is substantially bigger than the Bord Gais Theatre: c.6,000 vs 2,200. Maybe Live Nation feel they couldn't get enough acts to draw 6k people through the doors regularly enough.
Or maybe they didn't want to compete against themselves....3Arena vs Cork Events Centre.

flo8s967qjh0nd

Nancy Unkempt Shop wrote: »

A person close to the builders on this project told me this evening that a statement is going to be made at the start of next week basically saying that the event centre is not viable in its current form and that the site will be redeveloped in a different way.
Presumably that means handing back (or not drawing down) the 20 million.
IF this correct (and i'll wait and see what comes of it), this would seem like the end of any hopes for an event centre in Cork for a long time to come.

I would caution that I haven't heard anything further to back this up. Hopefully I've heard wrong and we get something positive at the 11th hour.

Meursault

namloc1980 wrote: »

The proposed Events Centre is substantially bigger than the Bord Gais Theatre: c.6,000 vs 2,200. Maybe Live Nation feel they couldn't get enough acts to draw 6k people through the doors regularly enough.
Or maybe they didn't want to compete against themselves....3Arena vs Cork Events Centre.

Ok, but 3 Arena can hold 14,500, and is only down the road from Bord Gais, so surely cork and surrounding counties has the population to make event centre viable.

You might be on to something with regard to competing directly with the 3 Arena. They would lose a fair bit of business if the event centre opened. I go to a few events in 3 Arena a year myself. I assume most of us are in that boat and would obviously opt for the event centre if you could see the same gigs in cork.

mire

I actually heard something this weekend that would suggest a more positive outcome! But, it's not a reliable source or from the horse's mouth.

P.lane78

mire wrote: »

I actually heard something this weekend that would suggest a more positive outcome! But, it's not a reliable source or from the horse's mouth.

Hopefully !!!

D'Agger

the beer revolu wrote: »

Owen O Callahan is responsible for Merchants Quay shopping centre. That pig of a building was dated looking before it was even finished.

Opera Lane is, in my opinion, the most soulless and bland effort at creating a street imaginable.

I'm very glad that OOC hasn't been given another large building project in the city.

Agreed on the look of Merchants Quay (which is getting a facelift I hear?), but don't understand the Opera Lane hate - think it's been a positive for the city, looked well over the Christmas lit up. I guess the thing here is - would you prefer to look at beautiful plans and not see something get built, or take a relatively ugly building that gets built on time, serves its purpose etc?

It's a difficult one, because I think Cork 100% needs this & should have it. If it was an eyesore like Merchants Quay then the city would probably be best off without it really....but it would still serve its purpose of giving Cork events/gigs/conferences.

With a building of this magnitude for the city though, obviously it needs both - to look good & serve its purpose but would be interested in hearing whether the people of Cork would take a relatively ugly building, just to have the services available.

mire wrote: »

I actually heard something this weekend that would suggest a more positive outcome! But, it's not a reliable source or from the horse's mouth.

Could you give us a completely hypothetical idea of what may be coming by chance?? :pac:

Meursault

I think the designs for the outside of the event centre look fine. It's better than the pile of rubble that currently exists anyway.

Merchants Quay is a blight on the eyes, but most buildings thrown up in the 70s and 80s are horrible to look at now.

flo8s967qjh0nd

D'Agger wrote: »

With a building of this magnitude for the city though, obviously it needs both - to look good & serve its purpose but would be interested in hearing whether the people of Cork would take a relatively ugly building, just to have the services available.

Look at the Opera House. Awful to look at from day one but it serves it's purpose wonderfully. I've even grown fond of the ugly old thing after all these years.
That's not an argument for crappy buildings. It's just that sometimes we have to make do, particularly with stuff built back in the 70s and 80s.
We obviously, shouldn't compromise on the Event Centre. It must look good and do its job. Not that difficult to get it right.

D'Agger

Nancy Unkempt Shop wrote: »

Look at the Opera House. Awful to look at from day one but it serves it's purpose wonderfully. I've even grown fond of the ugly old thing after all these years.
That's not an argument for crappy buildings. It's just that sometimes we have to make do, particularly with stuff built back in the 70s and 80s.
We obviously, shouldn't compromise on the Event Centre. It must look good and do its job. Not that difficult to get it right.

I like the front of the Opera House....am I alone in that?

Also, to clarify my earlier post - I'm not saying the designs for the proposed events centre are poor - I'm asking, would you accept an ugly building if it were built in say, the next year or two, or wait over ten years for a beautiful building. The classic functionality vs. aesthetics question

Meursault

If it was 2 year v 5 year i would say it would be better to wait. bets case scenario we are talking about 5 years from that infamous sod turning spectacle now anyway.
10 years would be too long for just one building. whatever about the wrongs and rights of Pairc ui Chaoimh, at least it is nearly done within two years. 
it shouldnt be beyond the capabilties of the major stakeholders here to have the event centre designed and build to an excellent standard in 2 - 4 years.
no point in throwing up a half arsed event centre just to have it done in 2 years though. in my opinion anyway

vkid

Nothing worse than buildings thrown up just to get it done. There was so much of that during the boom and the legacy will be around for a long long time. Particularly large developments, they should be planned and executed correctly in my opinion. They should also suit the environment around them. Form should be equally as important as function.

flo8s967qjh0nd

vkid wrote: »

Nothing worse than buildings thrown up just to get it done. There was so much of that during the boom and the legacy will be around for a long long time. Particularly large developments, they should be planned and executed correctly in my opinion. They should also suit the environment around them. Form should be equally as important as function.

While I agree with these sentiments it isn't an either/or question. Something can be well designed AND builtquickly if the will is there. in this case, for whatever reason, it is not.

flo8s967qjh0nd

Anybody hear the result of the planning application for the student apartments? Was due yesterday but haven't heard a thing.

D'Agger

Nancy Unkempt Shop wrote: »

Anybody hear the result of the planning application for the student apartments? Was due yesterday but haven't heard a thing.

Nothing reported in the echo, who, to their credit, have given this plenty of coverage

H8GHOTI

Planners have come back with questions. More delays.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/planners-question-beamish-and-crawford-site-changes-438923.html

flo8s967qjh0nd

H8GHOTI wrote: »

Planners have come back with questions. More delays.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/planners-question-beamish-and-crawford-site-changes-438923.html

*facepalm*

KCAccidental

I think it's fair in this case.

P.lane78

I have a question too...WTF is going on !!!

flo8s967qjh0nd

P.lane78 wrote: »

I have a question too...WTF is going on !!!

A cynic might think that City Hall are deliberately delaying this decision to put pressure on the developers to play ball, meet the concillors and announce a proper timetable for the neighbouring event centre. A cynic might think that...not me of course.

mire

Nancy Unkempt Shop wrote: »

A cynic might think that City Hall are deliberately delaying this decision to put pressure on the developers to play ball, meet the concillors and announce a proper timetable for the neighbouring event centre. A cynic might think that...not me of course.

Good point

P.lane78

Nancy Unkempt Shop wrote: »

A cynic might think that City Hall are deliberately delaying this decision to put pressure on the developers to play ball, meet the concillors and announce a proper timetable for the neighbouring event centre. A cynic might think that...not me of course.[/QUOTE

It will be interesting to see how all this plays out in my opinion. If the event centre element is cancelled, the disingagement of the major players will be
fascinating to say the least, especially the ones that need to be voted back in.
On reflection I think the average corkonian is all too accustomed to big announcements and non existent delivery. Most people have the attitute "...I`ll believe it when it happens" or " that will never get off the ground". What makes this one more annoying for me is that the public money was on the table and if cancelled will disappear into the general government blackhole .
One thing to look forward to is, if an election is called we might get a few more sods turned on site

zetalambda

They should approach Peter Aiken about running the event centre if the issue here is live nation.