this is something we have accomplished. Today
our main competitors for business are Vienna,
Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam and Edinburgh”,
explains the chairman.
“The design was conceptualised by the famous Irish
architect, Kevin Roche, a man behind the design
of over two hundred of the world’s most recognised
buildings. The intriguing thing about this building
is that, due to the importance of its functionality
as a facilitator of large business events, the interior
was the priority and the exterior followed – form
followed function.”
With a capacity to comfortably host 8,000 delegates,
the world’s first carbon neutral convention centre is
comprised of four floors, with the main auditorium
sitting atop three fully kitted-out floors that are
equipped to facilitate meetings of all sorts. The
auditorium itself made its international television
début most recently on the popular singing
competition, X-Factor. Luckily, or unluckily
for those outside the room, depending on the
contestant, the auditorium is sound-proofed to the
point of acoustic isolation, ensuring that even the
noisiest of events will not disturb the conduct of
important business in any of the 670 meeting rooms
throughout the building.
The Convention Centre competes for international
business in four distinct categories; international
associations, associations from the UK and Ireland,
domestic and international corporate clients and the
banqueting and exhibition category. An agreement,
whereby the Chief Executive, Nick Waight and
other senior managers have been seconded from the
NEC Birmingham, has enabled the centre to hit the
ground running in terms of lead generation.
“Our partnership agreement with NEC provides us
with the necessary skills from day one – we didn’t
have to go through the usual learning-curve”,
explains Dwyer, “They provide us with management
services, intellectual property (meaning their
systems), and access to their client base”.
The fact that the development is located on Spencer
Dock is something that Dwyer sees as crucial to the
future success of the centre, as it is set to become a
logistical hub for the city,
“With the opening of Terminal 2 at
Dublin Airport, we now have a fitting point of
arrival for our international business guests, but
more importantly, the fact that, with the new
Port Tunnel, they can be here literally 20 minutes
after leaving the airport, is critical. The new
Samuel Beckett Bridge provides direct access
to the Southside of the city. If you combine these
factors with the plans to make Spencer Dock the
site for the new electric DART interconnector,
it becomes clear that this is set to become the best
connected transit hub in the city. There are 17,000
hotel rooms in Dublin, a great number of which
are directly beside us here. The fact that our price
competitiveness is returning makes Dublin a very
attractive place for international conferences”.
The Convention Centre Dublin is one of the most
visible examples of public-private-partnership in
the State. This puts Dwyer in a unique position to
comment on the day-to-day operations of this most
intriguing juxtaposition of state bodies and private
enterprise, working in unison.
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