Report- Million euro mid-west conference centre scrapped

The possibility of a €60 million conference centre being built in Limerick has been shelved by Minister for Tourism Martin Cullen.

Limerick was earmarked by the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation back in 2006 to be the location of a 2,000 seater international conference centre, however it’s reported today that a new independent report has questioned its economic benefit to the Mid West region and the Minister has concurred.

"The feasibility study was commissioned arising from a commitment in the programme for government in 2007. It considered three possible locations for a conference centre – all in the Limerick area – and concluded that the centre could attract 6,955 additional tourists to the Midwest every year.

In nine separate cost/benefit analysis scenarios, the report found that only three returned a positive net present value for the proposed project."
Via Irish Times

Maria Kelly, who is the chief executive of Limerick Chamber of Commerce told the paper today of her disappointment at hearing the news,

“The landscape has changed since the report was complete with the return of the Shannon Heathrow service, which gives Shannon access to two international hubs, while the customs and borders protection facility for Shannon has been announced.”

The Limerick NewsWire Blog reported in 2006 of how an initial ITIC report had stated that the center would have a “major impact on re-balancing regional growth in terms of overall economic activity.”