Cllr John Buttimer, Lord Mayor Cork City says, “I would like to see progress on plans to develop an international conference and events centre for Cork. Planning permission has been granted to Heineken Ireland and BAM for their site at the former Beamish and Crawford Site on South Main Street while O’Callaghan Properties also has planning permission on a site at Albert Quay also within the City Centre.”
Cllr Buttimer made his comments in City Hall as he marked the achievement of Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan who recently won the coveted WBO International Middleweight Title.
Cllr Buttimer said, “Gary has to defend his title within a 120 days of winning it and we all hope the fight can be held in Cork. It would be a great boost for Gary and Cork if the fight can be held here.
As the second city in the country and the premier location of the region with a population of 500,000 people within a 45 minute drive of Cork there is a market and population base to sustain and maintain a multi-conference event centre.”
The Lord Mayor added, “The development of a conference and events centre would allow interested parties and promoters to compete and bid for national and international events with delegates of over 2,000 people. It is important that a centre is developed to add to what Cork currently has to offer in the educational, entertainment and tourism sectors.”