Ireland's largest all-seated indoor theatre
The
Bord Gais Energy Theatre
(originally the
Grand Canal Theatre
) is a performing arts venue, located in the
Docklands
of
Dublin
,
Ireland
. It is Ireland's largest fixed-seat theatre.
[1]
It was designed by
Daniel Libeskind
for the
DDDA
, built by Joe O'Reilly (Chartered Land), and opened by
Harry Crosbie
on 18 March 2010.
[2]
It is owned by Bernie and John Gallagher (of
Doyle Hotels
), who bought the theatre in 2014 from
NAMA
, through their company, Crownway.
[3]
[4]
[5]
History
[
edit
]
The site originally housed various buildings and structures of the Dublin Gasworks Company which were demolished in 1985 and decontaminated by the DDDA in the late 1990s and early 2000s at a cost of over €50m.
[6]
[7]
Development (2004?2010)
[
edit
]
Grand Canal Theatre (148,171 ext. / 117,132 int. square foot, 2,111 seats)
[8]
[9]
[10]
is the largest fixed seated theatre in Ireland,
[1]
and the only Irish theatre with a stage
[11]
capable of hosting major London
West-End shows
.
[12]
[13]
[14]
It would rank as the 4th largest London
West-End theatre
, and exceeds the capacity of all New York
Broadway theatres
.
The theatre was built by Joe O'Reilly
[15]
of Chartered Land (Castlethorn),
[8]
on a 0.8-acre site,
[16]
at a reported cost of €80 million (incl. land), to the specifications of the
Dublin Docklands Development Authority
(or "DDDA").
[9]
[17]
[14]
The cost of the theatre was funded by the sale of two sites, on either side of the theatre, that Joe O'Reilly purchased from the
DDDA
in 2006.
[18]
Therefore, as well as the Grand Canal Theatre, O'Reilly built the south office block (2 Grand Canal Square at 150,000 gla sq ft), and north office blocks (4 & 5 Grand Canal Square at 225,000 gla sq ft), as well as a 222-space car-park (underneath the Grand Canal Square plaza).
[19]
[20]
[21]
Polish-American
starchitect
Daniel Libeskind
designed the theatre for the
DDDA
in 2004 (who were regenerating the area). Studio Liebskind also designed the office blocks on either side of the theatre (2, 4 & 5 Grand Canal Square) to ensure O'Reilly's scheme was integrated.
[8]
Studio Liebskind collaborated with
RHWL
architects in London (theatre specialists) and McCauley Daye O'Connell architects in Dublin (executive architects).
[22]
Construction started on the theatre in January 2007 and finished in late 2009. The main contractor was
John Sisk & Sons
and
Arups
were the main engineers.
[8]
The
DDDA
's wider development of the Grand Canal Square (
Grand Canal Dock
regeneration project), included another office block (1 Grand Canal Square
[23]
at 125,000 sq ft, completed in 2007), a 5-star Hotel (the Manuel Aires Mateus designed, Marker Hotel, completed in 2012 but to a lower specification
[24]
) and a
Martha Schwartz
designed 10,000 sq ft central piazza (on a "red carpet" theme, integrating with the Liebskind theatre, completed in 2008).
[25]
[26]
Ownership (2010 onwards)
[
edit
]
As construction began in January 2007, the
DDDA
reportedly proposed the Grand Canal Theatre to the State (Department of Arts and Culture) or the
Abbey Theatre
, or as a new venue for
National Concert Hall
, but neither were able to meet the cost of fit-out (circa €4m), or handle the scale of the venue.
[17]
The theatre was purchased by Dublin Docklands-based businessman Harry Crosbie (co-owner of Point Theatre, now
3Arena
, amongst other docklands properties) for €10m in July 2007 from Joe O'Reilly. Crosbie borrowed the purchase price, plus another €3.8m for the fit-out, from
Allied Irish Banks
("AIB").
[27]
Crosbie then leased the management contract for the Grand Canal Theatre to
Live Nation
(who were also co-owners, and managers, of the
3Arena
).
[28]
[29]
Crosbie officially opened the Grand Canal Theatre with a performance of
Swan Lake
by the
Russian State Ballet of Siberia
on 18 March 2010.
[2]
The Grand Canal Theatre was formally renamed the Bord Gais Energy Theatre on 7 March 2012 as part of a 6.5-year
naming rights
deal with
Bord Gais Energy
[30]
[31]
worth a reported €4.5 million (or €700k per year).
[32]
The theatre was put into receivership by the
NAMA
in April 2013.
[33]
[34]
Crosbie's AIB theatre loans had been transferred to NAMA, however, Crosbie had larger loans with NAMA on various docklands projects (e.g.
Point Village
).
[10]
He unsuccessfully fought the foreclosure by NAMA's receiver,
Grant Thornton
.
[35]
[36]
[37]
Grant Thornton
took control of the theatre for NAMA, however
Live Nation
continued to manage the venue and support the sales process with
CBRE
.
[14]
The theatre was sold in September 2014
[14]
[13]
[10]
on behalf of
Grant Thornton
for €28m (twice what Crosbie paid in 2007, and 40% above CBRE's €20m asking), to Bernie and John Gallagher (of
Doyle Hotels
),
[4]
[5]
[38]
[3]
one of Ireland's richest hotel couples. They had not previously owned a theatre or concert venue.
[39]
LiveNation
remain as venue managers (not clear if this is Harry Crosbie's original lease or a new management agreement with Bernie and John Gallagher).
Operational performance
[
edit
]
Filed accounts (including 2014 CBRE sales materials
[13]
[14]
[10]
[16]
), indicate that the Bord Gais Energy Theatre:
[40]
[41]
- sells circa half a million tickets per year;
- hosts circa 330 events per year (including afternoon and evening shows), close to busiest UK theatres of 350 per year;
[14]
- 70% of events are described as
West-End musicals
, and 20% are described as
West-End theatre
;
- makes circa €8m in revenues per year (tickets, food and beverage, venue hire and naming rights)
- makes circa €1.5m in
EBITDA
, and circa €1m in pre-tax profit (there is some ambiguity over the definition of EBITDA and pre-tax profit).
[41]
Events
[
edit
]
Productions
[
edit
]
As per above, the Bord Gais Energy theatre imply that circa 90% of the events are
West-End musicals
and
West-End theatre
shows.
The following West End shows have been shown in the theatre:
[14]
The following other notable performances have been shown in the theatre:
Performers
[
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]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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