Tipperary venue plans unveiled

Updated: 19:55, Monday, 1 November 2010

Plans to build a €460m sporting and leisure development in north Tipperary were unveiled today.

1 of 1Plan - Project will include a racecourse
Plan - Project will include a racecourse

The business venture is expected to create 2,000 full-time jobs. A further 1,000 people will be employed during the three years of construction.

The planned 800-acre development beside the village of Two-Mile Borris will be known as The Tipperary Venue.

The chief investor is Dublin-based businessman Richard Quirke.

A former Garda from Thurles, he is best known within the gaming industry for his Dr Quirkey's Good Time Emporium.

The ambitious project will include a racecourse featuring a National Hunt Track, Sprint Track and all-weather floodlit track.

A 500-room hotel is also planned to incorporate a casino. The Government has initiated a policy review and a redrafting of the current legislation on gaming in Ireland.

The centrepiece of the venue will be a replica of the White House in Washington, in homage to local man, James Hoban, who designed the original building.

A golf course and greyhound track and a 15,000-seat entertainment venue are also planned.

The Tipperary Venue has been backed by racehorse trainer, Aidan O'Brien, concert promoter Denis Desmond and local Independent TD, Michae Lowry.

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