Plans for a €30 million redevelopment of the Sportground by Connacht Rugby have been granted planning approval.
The decision to grant planning permission for the project comes after the city council decided this week to prioritise the Sportsground in an application to the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund.
Connacht Rugby are planning a historic redevelopment of its home turf at the Sportsground to convert it into a modern 12,000 person capacity stadium with a high performance training centre.
As part of this massive project the existing Clan Terrace, Connacht Rugby offices, maintenance and training facilities and other parts of the Sportsground will be demolished and replaced.
A new North Stand will be constructed with terracing and seating areas over four levels, which will also include player and match day facilities, café, merchandise store, and various hospitality and supporter areas.
The existing South Stand will be refurbished and extended, and new High Performance Centre will be constructed with an indoor synthetic training pitch, offices and player welfare facilities to replace the clubhouse being demolished.
The new High Performance Centre will be located adjacent to the Bohermore Cemetery wall boundary, which is a protected structure.
Other works will include relocating access points off College Road, the creation of 81 new car parking spaces and the construction of a new concourse area adjacent to the North Stand.
Finally, the existing pitch will be removed and replaced with a top of the line 4G surfaced playing pitch.
