New arena opens at MTU
A hall, 2 studios, café and a gym have been opened in MTU’s Bishopstown Campus.
The state of the art multi-purpose MTU Arena, in addition to catering for sports, societies and other university activities, will also be available for hire by external groups, including local community groups, for concerts, exhibitions and other events. The main hall of the arena can accommodate 1,200 people seated.
This €13 million development, the first of several new buildings which will be built at the university, will provide a much-needed facility for the MTU community.
The arena will be open 7 days per week and membership of the gym will be open to students, staff and members of the public.
MTU President Prof. Maggie Cusack, said: “MTU Arena was built in just 2 years despite many challenges, not least a global pandemic. The delivery of this state-of-the-art building is a testament to the dedication of all those involved in the project and to MTU’s commitment to becoming a truly great university. The arena will hugely benefit current and future students and staff, as well as the wider south west region, as a brand-new venue for conferences and events.”
President of MTU Cork Students’ Union, Isobel Kavanagh, said: “I am really excited to see the opening of the Arena for our students. It will be a welcome addition to the campus as it will provide a space for students to meet and socialise, play sports, go to the gym and participate in various other extra-curricular activities. The campus needs lots of spaces like this for our students, so this is a great start in our journey to becoming an extremely attractive university which promotes the overall health and wellbeing of our students.”
Mervyn O’Mahony, MTU
Arena Operations Manager, said: “This is, first and foremost, a place for our students. They are key to the life of the university and will be the greatest beneficiaries of this new building. We are looking forward to being able to host a wide variety of events at the MTU Arena. This is a true community asset, and we are looking forward to welcoming people over the coming weeks and months.”
The university will host an official opening ceremony for the multi-purpose arena over the coming months.