College Tribune 06_30

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UCD has No Investment in Fossil Fuels.

Examining Eating Disorders.

A Love Letter to ‘Other Voices’.

‘Another Day in Paradise’.

Taking stock of UCD GAA’s season.

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New York Fashion Shoot.

College Tribune.

0630

Plans for €14 Million Investment in UCD Sports Facilities and New Running Track Scrapped Jack Power | Editor New €2.6M running track, a €4M refurbishment of the Sports Centre, and a €8M new multi-purpose training facility all abandoned. Sports Minister Leo Varadkar rejected UCD request for €864,500 to help fund new running track, despite ‘aggressive lobbying’ in 2013. The college has abandoned plans for a €14 million development of sporting facilities on campus. The plans included a new 400 meter running track, a refurbishment of the existing Sports Centre, and a new multi-purpose facility extension onto the current Sport Centre. The aspirational plans were to be a second phase of investment following the construction of the €50 million new Student Centre, gym, and 50-meter swimming pool in 2013, which were funded by the ‘Student Centre levy’ UCD students have paid since 2007. A college internal report ‘UCD Sport Precinct: Creating a National Resource’ compiled in 2011 revealed

plans to seek ‘modest state investment’ towards a phase of sports capital projects. The report had outlined that UCD could seek €10 million from the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport to go towards a new multi-purpose training facility and the redevelopment of the existing Sports Centre. However, the aspirational plans were never acted upon by UCD management. Ambitions to build a new running track on the Belfield campus however were given the go ahead, and a private project report and an internal feasibility study were conducted. UCD closed the running track by the Stillorgan end of campus in November 2011. In May 2012

APNA consultants completed a project report on a proposed new athletics track by the Clonskeagh end of campus. The proposed 400-meter synthetic track it was estimated would cost €2.6 million. In mid 2012 the university applied for a €864,500 grant of funding towards the track from the Department of Tourism and Sport, but was rejected. Then Minister for Sport Leo Varadkar revealed he was ‘at the receiving end of some aggressive lobbying’ from UCD over their application for funding, according to emails he sent to his staff obtained by the Tribune under the FOI act. Continues on pg 3.


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