Irish unveil new national stadium

PROUD Irish rugby and football chiefs convened at the sight of the old Lansdowne Road yesterday to officially open the impressive new 50,000-capacity Aviva Stadium.

The sun glistened on the newly-laid pitch as the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) showed off their new shared home on the site of Lansdowne's hallowed turf. It took three years to demolish the much-loved ground and replace it with the new 349million structure. The IRFU's Philip Browne said his hunt for a new home for Irish rugby and football began in 1994 – and brought him back to Dublin's south side.

He hopes the world-class piece of sporting infrastructure will stage the Heineken Cup final in 2013. "It is a financial engine to drive the sport of rugby and soccer for the next 40 years," he said.

The breathtaking structure can be seen from across the city, with three high tiers towering over 3,000 seats in the ground level Havelock Square end.

Up to 30,000 people are expected at the first fixture at the ground between a Connacht/Munster and Leinster/Ulster rugby select on 31 July.

And a sell-out crowd is expected when Manchester United take on an Airtricity League select on 4 August, closely followed with an international football match between Ireland and Argentina.