Cavan Sports Campus project moves forward
The shortlisting of potential contractors to lead the delivery of the flagship multi-million-euro Sports Campus development in Cavan Town is currently underway.
Once done, stage two of the European-wide tender process will then get proceed, with the hope of having a team in place by summer.
The proposed sports campus - stretching across the townlands of Kilnavara, Lurganboy (Loughtee Upper), Creighan and Rosscolgan - was granted a 10-year planning permission back in November 2024. Once built, the phased development will feature an indoor sports complex with spectator seating, fitness studios and a café with a footprint of over 10,500m², a covered sports arena, seven outdoor pitches, an athletics track and dedicated cricket facilities. The plans also include new roads and bridges, extensive parking, pedestrian and cycling links, and large-scale landscaping, lighting and drainage works.
“It's a massive contract,” Director of Services with Cavan County Council, Brendan Jennings says of the project, which last October secured a further €15M through PEACEPLUS. This latest announcement follows the November 2024 grant of €19M in funding for the ambitious, state-of-the-art sports campus. That figure, secured through the Large-Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund, was the second largest sum awarded under the scheme nationally.
He expects there to be “substantial interest” in the contract on offer, Mr Jennings says: “As the local authority for Cavan, we would hope there would be interest as well in this from contractors in the county.”
The ambition is to break ground come summer if possible, with Mr Jennings telling the Celt: “Every tender process, particularly of that scale, and getting through the various approvals, can face delays. But we would like to think we can drive this on, get going there towards the end of the summer and have work started.”
The imminent update comes as An Coimisiún Pleanála approved an amendment to the existing planning permission following a technical but critical reassessment of electricity infrastructure criss-crossing the site.
Cavan County Council was forced to return to the independent national planning authority to better comply with the original planning conditions - that all overground cables be buried underground, a move designed to improve safety and visual amenity across the campus.
To make the undergrounding of cables possible, the council sought approval to amend their plans by relocating a previously approved ESB substation to the front of the main sports complex. A second ESB substation must also be added along the western boundary of the site, near the sand mattress GAA pitches, while the path will be slightly widened to allow occasional ESB maintenance vehicle access.
Planning consultants CARLIN confirmed that multiple ageing ESB overhead lines and pole-mounted transformers currently traverse the site. ESB Networks, however, insisted these outdated systems must be replaced with modern standalone substations and underground ducting before construction can proceed.
Following a site inspection in December 2025, An Coimisiún Pleanála ruled last month that the revisions do not constitute a material alteration of the overall project.
In its decision, the Commission described the amendments as “minor” and purely ancillary, concluding that the scale, character and function of the sports campus “remain unchanged”.
Crucially, the planning authority also determined that the revised plans will not result in any significant environmental impacts, nor will they adversely affect any Natura 2000 protected sites.