February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
A new _11 million center at Leopardstown Racecourse, known as the Baileys Center, was formally unveiled last week by Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh and the minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, James McDaid.
Developed by a partnership of Baileys, Leopardstown Race Club and Blarney Woollen Mills, the new center features a 1,200-seat race pavilion and conference center with full view of the track, direct access to the grandstand and a retail gift store for which Blarney Woollen Mills will select and promote Irish goods.
The center comprises a combination of theme bars, restaurants and retail outlets. Beneath the floors, behind the walls and buried in the fabric of the structure is a multi-million pound array of the most advanced auditory and visual technology.
Marian O’Gorman, chief executive of Blarney Woollen Mills, said that her company had been involved in tourism for more than 30 years and she believed that this project “is one of the most innovative we have seen.”