De La Salle Principal Gearóid M O’Brien shows the extensive plans for the college to Student Council President, Joe Foley. |Photo: Gavin Downey DOW002
A multi-million euro development, including an underground 400 space carpark and an astro-turf, GAA sized pitch, is planned for the grounds of De La Salle College in Waterford city.
Approval for the plans, which are the brainchild of college principal, Gearóid M O’Brien, has been obtained from the De La Salle Provincialate in Dublin and a planning application will be lodged with the City Council in the next two weeks.
Mr O’Brien has developed a bold €6m business plan that incorporates a 400-space carpark underneath a new state of the art sports pitch.
“We are a voluntary Catholic school and I’m not going to have parents fundraising for the next ten years for the pitch and the Department is not going to pay for those type of facilities”, he declared.
“To give the students the best that they deserve, I had to kick in a business model. All I want is what’s on the roof, the astro-turf pitch, and if I have to put something underneath that will pay for it all, and if it’s helping the community, why not do it.”
According to Mr O’Brien, the astro-turf pitch alone will cost two million euro to construct properly. He has only held the post of principal at De La Salle since September 2008 when he became the school’s first lay principal.
Mr O’Brien engaged with CJ Falconer & Associates, Charted Architects & Planning Associates, together coming up with the idea of developing a car park underneath the new pitch. Additionally, the development includes proposed new tennis and basketball courts and a terraced seating stand.
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