A plan to build a 500-room hotel casino and state-of-the-art racetrack in Ireland has been proposed by Richard Quirke, who together with a group of investors is ready to fund the €460 million project.
A replica of the White House-yes, that White House-will be at the heart of the project.
The Sunday Independent reports that Quirke said, “I intend to put my monies into this. I wouldn’t leave them in a bank or institution and you can understand the reasons why. I would commit everything. I would put all of my cards on the table on this one.”
Ireland is in the process of revamping its gaming legislation, which at the moment excludes casinos.
Quirke has already spent €30 million on land, planning and work that has already been performed on-site. The funding is not all there yet and neither is the planning permission for the hotel and other facilities. However, the local racing crowd is said to be optimistic.
“They will have the money, they want no grants and everything is meticulously planned and organized,” said trainer Tom Hogan. “I’d say everybody would be behind it in Tipperary. The only thing is if something like a rare snail in the field could stop it.”
Barring that rare snail, the development will include a 15,000-seat, below-ground entertainment venue with a retractable roof, an 18-hole golf course, a helicopter landing pad and a chapel. The racing facility will have a jumps track, a sprint track, the ability to handle greyhounds as well, and the country’s second flood-lit, all-weather course. The grandstand will hold 7,000 spectators.
Local legislator Michael Lowry is backing the project, according to the Independent.
The construction of the 800-acre facility would employ 1,000 workers. The facilities when up and running would employ 2,000. The estimated time to completion is three years from start.
