The IRFU would prefer to redevelop Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road has emerged as the clear favourite for development as a national stadium for Ireland.

A feasibility study examining various locations for a stadium has been submitted to the Irish Government by the county's rugby and soccer governing bodies.

The study is understood to have ranked the redevelopment of the existing Lansdowne Road venue as the cheapest option.

An upgraded Lansdowne Road has been costed at 353 million Euro over a six-year period while it is estimated that 397m Euro would be required for a scaled-down version of the so-called 'Bertie Bowl' at Abbotstown.

The Irish Rugby Football Union and the Football Association of Ireland are prepared to make a joint contribution of nearly 120m Euro into the project.

They would be depending on the Irish exchequer to foot the rest of the bill.

Neither sporting body has been prepared to officially say which venue it would prefer although it is understood that Lansdowne Road is the favourite.

They say it is now up to Sports Minister John O'Donoghue and the Irish Government to advance the project.

Taoiseach's Bertie Bowl option losing support

The Sports Minister has said that the case for a national stadium, with a capacity of around 65,000 is "compelling".

He now plans to hold discussions with the consultants who produced the report.

In addition to Lansdowne Road and Abbotstown, the report also assessed three other Dublin-based sites: Newlands Cross, the Irish Glass Bottle Company at Irishtown and Sillogue at Ballymun.

It is understood that the Sillogue option has already been ruled out.

IRFU chief executive Philip Browne described Tuesday's meeting with the Mr O'Donoghue as being "very positive".

FAI treasurer John Delaney added that the report had been "well received" by the government.

The Irish Sports Minister said that the IRFU and FAI found themselves in an "almost untenable" position of losing out on substantial funds because of the 49,000 capacity of Lansdowne Road.

Temporary seating

The IRFU is estimated to be missing out on around 2m Euro per home international because of the situation.

In recent years, the FAI has been forced to erect temporary seating on the terraces at Lansdowne Road to satisfy Fifa and Uefa regulations.

However from October onwards, temporary seating will be outlawed which seems certain to reduce attendances at Republic of Ireland home matches.

Mr O'Donoghue did not hold out much hope of GAA stadium Croke Park being made available for soccer and rugby international in the near future.