The construction of a permanent stadium for cricket in Ireland is seen as a landmark moment for the sport given the substantial cost of temporary infrastructure.
Ireland’s senior men’s and women’s teams currently use grounds in Malahide, Clontarf, Stormont, and Bready for international matches.
Keane said the stadium will be a “game changer” for Irish cricket given the majority of home fixtures hosted by Cricket Ireland run at a loss.
“We have a lot of resource at the moment that goes into actually creating that [temporary] infrastructure, sorting it all out,” she explained.
“When we open the doors on this facility, it will revolutionise how Cricket Ireland operates at every level and, in turn, impact Irish cricket from international to grassroots.”
Cricket Ireland officials visited the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, New Zealand and Hampshire’s Utilita Bowl in Southampton to gain inspiration for the new ground’s design.
A white-ball series against England is understood to have been informally pencilled in as the first international fixtures at stadium towards the end of the summer in 2029.
“Ireland has produced world-class athletes across many sports. This centre gives cricket the infrastructure to match that ambition,” said Sport Ireland chair Foley.
Keane believes a dedicated cricket stadium located on the Sport Ireland Campus will give the game greater prominence in the Irish consciousness and “more teams will come” to play fixtures.
“I think it will give our cricket community and our high-performance athletes, male and female, a real sense that Ireland believes in them and that they’re an important sport here,” Keane added.
“I think it’s going to be a great opportunity to showcase Ireland on the world stage.”
Meanwhile, total capacity for Ireland’s white-ball series against India at Stormont will be capped at around 4,500 spectators.
The T20 internationals on 26 and 28 June are sold out and interest in the game has increased with 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi poised to make his India debut against the Irish.
Additional seating will be provided through temporary stands for the two T20 internationals, but there are no plans to increase capacity further at the Civil Service Cricket Club Ground because of the limited availability of suitable structures for the venue.
Cricket Ireland are confident the series against India will go ahead despite recent rioting in Belfast which forced them to postpone an inter-provincial T20 series in Lisburn.
