Phoenix Park racecourse to be sold to housing developer for £37m

The disused Phoenix Park Racecourse in Dublin is to be sold to a leading firm of housebuilders for about £37 million following the selection of an alternative site for a national conference centre.

The sale is expected to thwart the campaign to open a casino in the city.

Flynn and O'Flaherty is understood to have completed contracts for the purchase of the 100-acre tract of land which will be used mainly for housing but is also likely to include a hotel, offices and a retail element.

In addition, the company has acquired 17 acres on the opposite side of Navan Road which will form part of the overall development.

The sale, unlikely to be finalised for some weeks, is expected to be the largest such deal when completed.

The price agreed for the racecourse is expected to be marginally above that paid last month by a housebuilding consortium for 118 acres a short distance away in the grounds of Blanchardstown Hospital.

The decision to sell comes after one of the old stands was damaged by fire on Thursday night. Gardai believe it was started deliberately.

The old stand was derelict and had not been used since the racecourse was closed in 1990.

The sale of the racecourse comes after four frustrating years for Ogden Leisure, an American corporation which had already invested funds to secure planning permission for a £200 million leisure development. It was to have included a 2,500-seat national conference centre, a 65,000-seat multipurpose stadium, a 12,000-seat indoor sports area and a Sheraton Hotel with a large casino facility.

The casino was described as the "financial engine" driving the entire scheme. However, before the last general election the Fianna Fail leader, Mr Ahern, indicated that he would not be prepared in government to amend the Gaming and Lotteries Act to allow a casino to be opened.

The development by Sonas Centre Ltd also provoked widespread opposition from residents and was the subject of a week-long public inquiry. The old racecourse will have to be rezoned by Fingal County Council before it can be used for a residential and commercial development. Flynn and O'Flaherty will be pitching for a highdensity housing scheme following the Government's recommendation that more intensive use should be made of available sites close to infrastructural services.