The High Court may rule later this week on an injunction application by Wanderers Rugby Football Club which could delay the €365 million redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium.
The club applied yesterday for an injunction to halt the demolition of its pavilion at Lansdowne Road as part of the Irish Rugby Football Union's plans to build a new stadium. Ms Justice Mary Laffoy said she hoped to give judgment before the end of the week.
Michael Cush SC, for Wanderers, said its use of the pavilion was governed by the terms of a licence agreement signed in 1987 and which runs until 2017. There was no provision in that agreement allowing for the demolition of the pavilion.
The club accepted that the proposed new stadium required the demolition of the pavilion and was in favour of a new stadium being built, Mr Cush said. It had entered into negotiations with the IRFU and was prepared to waive its rights if terms could be agreed. However, no agreement had been reached in this "unfortunate row", Mr Cush said.
Wanderers, he added, had a historical connection with Lansdowne Road and was one of just two sides which played their home games there. The Wanderers pavilion, built in 1912, was in a corner of the stadium and was unique as it was the only pavilion that overlooked an international rugby venue, Mr Cush said.
Opposing the application, Paul Gallagher SC, for the IRFU, said demolition must start on April 30th and any delay would have "serious consequences" for the IRFU and others. Wanderers only had "limited rights" to the use of the pavilion and the terms of the 1987 agreement clearly envisaged the redevelopment of the stadium, he said.
In an affidavit, IRFU chief executive Philip Browne said Wanderers could not continue to have a "veto" over the plans to redevelop Lansdowne Road.
During negotiations, Wanderers was offered terms in relation to the location of a new facility within the redeveloped Lansdowne Road and the use of a corporate box but had rejected those, Mr Browne said.