Cork developer Tom Coughlan, whose Urban Green Private portfolio includes the Marina Market food hall in Cork Docklands, is proposing his site as the location for the city's long-awaited events and conference centre, estimated to cost in the region of €100m.

The Irish Examiner reported that Coughlan engaged London-based Níall McLaughlin Architects to develop a conceptual vision for the site and held discussions with live entertainment company AEG, which operates venues including the O2 in London.

Plans for a Cork events centre were first proposed 18 years ago but have suffered repeated setbacks. Cork City Council is now partnering with management firm Aecom to advance a new tendering process, with a proposal by BAM to develop an arena on the former Beamish brewery site on South Main Street remaining the most prominent submission currently in play.

Coughlan said his preferred scale is a 4,000 to 5,000-seat venue, arguing it is large enough to be commercially viable and intimate enough to generate atmosphere, while keeping the cost base manageable.

He said the gap he most wants to fill is in the conference and convention market, stating that medical conferences, trade conferences, and European association events, at a rate of one per month, would be transformative for Cork, and that the concert side would sort itself out.

Coughlan cited the Marina Market's three vehicle access points as a key logistical advantage over other sites in the city, noting that touring productions and major concerts require heavy goods vehicles and staging equipment to arrive days in advance, and that the city's infrastructure cannot accommodate that level of activity without disruption elsewhere.

Access the full report on Tom Coughlan's events centre proposal and Cork's tendering process.