IRFU seeks development partner for hotel and apartments beside Aviva Stadium

A wide range of investors, developers and hotel groups drawn from both Ireland and overseas are expected to vie for the opportunity to develop and operate a new, landmark hotel and residential scheme immediately adjacent to the Aviva Stadium on Lansdowne Road in Dublin 4.The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is, from today, seeking expressions of interest for a partner to design, build, finance and operate the proposed scheme, known as the Lansdowne Quarter, under a long-term ground lease, with the IRFU retaining the freehold interest in the site.The proposed Lansdowne Quarter has an estimated gross development cost (GDC) of €150 million and is being envisaged as a 257-key hotel alongside a 77-unit residential apartment development, with extensive food and beverage and conferencing facilities. The site, which sits next to the Lansdowne Road railway level crossing and directly opposite the entrance to the Aviva Stadium, is being brought to the market without planning permission, providing the incoming development partner with the flexibility to shape the final design, configuration and overall positioning of the scheme. A computer-generated image of the Lansdowne Quarter site with a suggested hotel design The proposed hotel is expected to generate a significant proportion of its business from the Aviva Stadium, with the remainder flowing from other nearby venues such as the RDS and Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, and the major employers to be found in Ballsbridge and Dublin’s south docklands. READ MORESince opening in 2010, the Aviva Stadium has had over 10 million visitors and hosted more than 330 events along with its staple of international rugby and football fixtures.Apartments in the proposed residential scheme meanwhile will be expected to command prices similar to those achieved over recent years at the nearby Lansdowne Place, which developer Joe O’Reilly’s Chartered Land built on the site of the former five-star Berkeley Court Hotel. In September 2025, the scheme set the record for the most valuable transaction in the Irish apartment market when one of its penthouses, 27 The Nicholson, sold for €7.2 million (VAT included). The price paid equated to an average of about 1,895 per sq ft based on the apartment’s 353sq m (3,800sq ft) floor size.The overall value of the Lansdowne Quarter hotel and residential scheme, and its attractiveness to potential investors will have been further enhanced by the fact that Chartered Land’s original plan to develop a hotel, apartments and shops on the site of the former Jurys Hotel was abandoned following the US government’s acquisition of the property in 2024 for its new embassy. CBRE has been appointed by the IRFU to seek proposals from developers and operators for the Lansdowne Quarter development. Paul Collins of CBRE’s UK & Ireland hotel brokerage division said: “This is a superb opportunity to deliver a flagship scheme in one of Dublin’s most sought-after locations. The combination of a stadium-adjacent site, exceptional connectivity and strong underlying demand fundamentals in both the hotel and residential sectors makes Lansdowne Quarter a compelling proposition for developers and operators alike. We expect strong interest from both Irish and international parties.”Kevin Potts, CEO of the IRFU, added: “This process allows the IRFU to unlock the long-term potential of a strategically important site, while also retaining ownership of the land. Importantly, the development will be wholly funded by the successful development partner. The resulting lease income will provide a long term and significant new revenue stream for Irish rugby that will be invested into all levels of the game across Ireland.”