Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 19/06/2026 21:32:00

Built on the hallowed turf of the former Lansdowne Road ground, the Aviva Stadium is Dublin's premier sports and entertainment arena, home to the Ireland national rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland football team. The original Lansdowne Road site staged sport from 1872, making it the oldest international rugby venue in the world, before it was demolished to make way for a state-of-the-art replacement that opened in May 2010. Designed by the renowned stadium architects Populous alongside Scott Tallon Walker, the arena is instantly recognisable for its sweeping, bowl-shaped form and curved glass facade, which rises and falls around the ground to respect the daylight of neighbouring houses. Costing in the region of 410 million euro, it holds 51,711 spectators for sport, all seated across a continuous curve of stands that wrap the pitch on four sides, and is rated as a UEFA Category 4 elite stadium. Beyond rugby and football, the venue has become one of Ireland's most sought-after concert destinations, with capacity rising to around 65,000 for live music. Its stage has welcomed many of the biggest names in the world, from Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Ed Sheeran to U2, Coldplay, Metallica and the Rolling Stones, drawing on cutting-edge sound systems and panoramic sightlines to deliver large-scale shows to match the sporting spectacle. The stadium also functions as a major conferencing and events destination, hosting corporate functions, exhibitions and hospitality alongside its headline fixtures, and welcoming well over a million visitors a year. Its combination of scale, versatility and a genuinely central location, in the leafy Ballsbridge district just south of the city centre, sets it apart from more remote out-of-town arenas. Excellent public transport, with the Lansdowne Road railway station on its doorstep, makes the ground easy to reach for capacity crowds, and its place in Irish sporting and cultural life is firmly established. More than a century and a half on from the first matches at Lansdowne Road, the Aviva Stadium carries that heritage forward as a world-class venue for rugby, football and the very biggest concerts.