Wood and Hannon also said that there was a realisation and an expectation from the very early stages of the conceptual phase of the project that the rugby experience would only have a shelflife of a few years before an alternative use would need to be found for the building.
So the business case never stacked up for the project and the intention was always to offload a tall narrow building with limited and inflexible floorspace to a local authority with limited funds outside of central government transfers and zero history of innovative or imaginative thinking. Yet many braindead Councillors are adamant that the Council take it on despite not being able to propose a single workable solution to bridge the funding gap to keep the current facility going. Nevermind the additional costs of officially taking possesion of what is currently being run as a charitable endeavour (stamp duty, VAT) and future adaptations and renovations to the building.
This really is a sh1tshow of epic proportions!
We should buy it and make it the mayor's office for the laugh. It will really pisss people off 🤣
It was never set up as a commercial venture? WTF? And they always intended to offload it on to the taxpayer knowing it was loss making from day one?
Fair play to Mayor Moran for running a mile from this turkey.
Also 65k visitors in 17 months when the target was 100k a year.
Live 95FM radio piece with International Rugby Experience (IRE) CEO Barry Hannon and Director Keith Wood.
https://shows.acast.com/live-95-limerick-today-podcasts/episodes/international-rugby-experience-management-responds-to-sudden
Summary of the first 15 minutes (Not my opinions - Listen to it yourselves for full context!):
For some reason, people think Rugby is more popular than it actually is. I think that’s a big part of it failing. Generally it’s bandwagon fans - really not many hardcore fans of it.
The Dr.Noel Browne Museum. Problem is if it was successful it would just be another massive healthcare waiting list 🤣
Totally agree on the living and working part.
On Barrington's the government should turn it to a museum to when the health system actually worked!
Not alone but it certainly would help. The only thing that would get the city thriving is more people living and working in the centre.
Indoor golf simulators, tapas/wine bar at the top..something like pitch dublin or kworld golf
- https://www.kclub.ie/k-golf-world.html?srsltid=AfmBOoov6C-bpvAgFY100Xv2ucgB2v3W5lDvsw2htp3RPOCLt2zjpX5f
The government funding a white elephant won't make the city prosperous.
All the suggestions people have put up are loss makers. Things like cinemas and leisureplex if viable would have private companies putting their hands up.
There is forever talk about an art house cinema in the city. Usually from people who have never heard of or couldn't be arssed going to Limehouse.
It is partially the government’s responsibility though to have cities like Limerick prosperous. It is the perfect location for a thriving city.
Maybe he did try to pull a fast one offloading but I would like to see the council exhaust every avenue possible before giving up on it.
They did commit to one. It was never called a museum but rather an "experience". "Museum" was just something it was getting called locally.
I would be all for the government funding bit but Martin pretty much ruled that out today and he was probably right to. If I wasn't from Limerick I wouldn't want national government pouring money into this sinkhole.
Its not the governments or councils job to make this private building viable at the expense of other services. It's no different to all the other empty ones except it's taller and JP tried to pull a fast one trying to offload it.
The far more historically significant Barrington's is also about to be empty.
I believe I said that most don't agree with you. A number of people agreeing with you on here doesn't make that statement incorrect.
Why should I come up with solutions to make it viable? That's down to the people running the place. And even with JPs backing they weren't able to do so.
And you're definitely not doing so by posting random ideas on boards.
They brought in the best of the best. Guinness, Titanic and EPIC are all award winners.
They are also possibly the 3 biggest stories to ever come out of this country and in "capital" cities. The Rugby thing was just a terrible idea.
If you actually read all of the comments here you will see that a number of people do agree with me. The original business plan/ layout is not fit for purpose and is ultimately losing money. Why not try to be creative and come up with solutions to help make it viable? Apply for government funding, move the coffee shop to the ground floor and rent it out. I’m sure there are many people out there that would lease it and back themselves to make a profit due to the location.
It was designed by the same company that designed the Guinness Storehouse Experience in Dublin and the Titanic Experience in Belfast. It's not going to get better. And it's got 4.5/5 on Tripadvisor, so most obviously disagree with your opinion.
An upgrade would also cost more money.
They already have spaces are available for rent. It's still loss making.
I've no idea how you think leasing out the coffee and souvenir shops would be viable. How to propose that the lessees make a profit?
The simple fact is that it is a loss making entity that would require public funding from an already agreed 2025 local budget. This would mean a reduction in services elsewhere.
Maybe they should commit to one or the other. Or even separate them - you pay to go to the leisureplex or the museum with a discount if going to both.
What put me off going is that it isn't a museum and it is a leisureplex. It's all interactive games and no memorabilia.
For it to be successful it has to be more than just a museum. They’d need to get creative, maybe have some sort of a leisure plex in there in addition to the coffee/souvenir shop.
Are there enough people in Limerick town centre to make a museum viable?
I visit occasionally to see friends, but it is often very quiet. Especially during the week. Lots of places not even open early in the week.
No, the key to keeping it open would be to actually upgrade the experience and generate repeat customers. I’ve been and like many I’ve spoke to found it very underwhelming. Rent out certain spaces to generate money like the coffee shop and souvenir shop. They would need to get creative and try different ideas like moving the coffee shop to the ground floor- ideal location for one.
I didn't. Those that I met, few enough, that did found it dreadfully disappointing.
What was it actually like. Did anybody on here make a visit?
That's not what was proposed.
Red wrongly thought the coffee shops pay for the London museums. There was no government funding in his plan.
The key to keeping this open would be to defunding local services to pay for it. They already have a coffee shop. And a souvenir shop. Both of which are open to the public. They're still losing money.
I think Limerick is too desperate to find the magic bullet project that will fix the city centre. For years it was M&S but more recently we have moved on to larger stand alone infrastructure projects but I think a few buildings here and there aren't going to make that much difference either. Until the city centre becomes an attractive place for families that currently choose to live in the suburbs, it'll continue to struggle.
I don’t understand the sarcastic tone you take to any posts you don’t agree with. Renting out some of the space like the coffee shop whilst applying for government funding could help keep the place afloat for the next 3 years. The key to keeping this open would be creativity by the council. It would then be the councils to do with as they please.
Once again he accuses others of making a fool of themselves while he digs deeper and deeper. Oh the irony!
Nope, that's definitely an opinion
Do you have a dictionary within reach? I suggest you look up the definitions before making a fool of yourself again
Museum are not and can't be funded totally by the coffee shop like you suggested.
That is a fact.
