RDS Arena

RDS Arena is a multi-purpose sports stadium, owned by the Royal Dublin Society and located in the Dublin suburb of Ballsbridge, Ireland.

The arena was originally developed to host equestrian events, including the annual Dublin Horse Show, which was first held there in 1868. The site was acquired in 1879 by the RDS. The primary tenants of the RDS are Leinster Rugby who compete in the Pro 12 and Heineken Cup. The arena has also hosted football, tennis and wrestling events as well as concerts. The arena has a capacity of 18,500, 16,500 of which is seated.

The north and south stands at the ground are removed for equestrian events, with only the Grandstand and Angelsea Stand permanent. The Grandstand was rebuilt in 2006 for the 2006–07 rugby season, to replace the old wooden stand when Leinster first became permanent tenants. A roof was added for the 2008-09 season. There are plans to replace the Angelsea Stand with another new permanent stand, which would incorporate the only terraced area of the stadium.

After much speculation regarding a redevelopment of the RDS arena after Leinster rugby began playing their home matches there, including comments from Leinster Rugby CEO Mick Dawson that "plans had been drawn up", RDS Chief Executive Michael Duffy confirmed that the society continues to press ahead with plans to sell the naming rights to the arena to help fund a proposed €17 million redevelopment of the stadium that would boost capacity to 23,000.

He added "There are a number of parties that we’re engaged with at the moment, but the process still has some time to run".