File:Lansdowne Stadium Under Construction (3747392657).jpg

Lansdowne Road was a sports stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). It was used primarily for rugby union, but also for major association football matches and music concerts. It was demolished in 2007 to make way for the construction of Aviva Stadium, due to open in 2010.

The stadium was situated in the neighbourhood of Ballsbridge in the city's Dublin 4 area. The stadium had convenient public transport links as the Lansdowne Road station of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit rail system is adjacent to the site and passed directly underneath the West Stand.

The stadium was named after the nearby road, which in turn was named after the Marquess of Lansdowne. The Marquis was also the Earl of Shelburne, and nearby Shelbourne Road is also named after him.

The stadium is set to be replaced in April 2010 by a 50,000 all-seater soccer and rugby stadium. The development of the new stadium was finally announced in January 2004 at a cost of approximately €365 million; of this, €190 million will come from the Irish government, with the remainder paid by the IRFU and Football Association of Ireland. The new stadium is designed by Populous, Scott Tallon Walker and Buro Happold, with ME Engineers providing the building services design. The development was originally meant to begin in January 2007 but was delayed. The demolition work of the stadium commenced on 17 May 2007, and construction is currently underway.

The last international rugby match before demolition was a 61–17 Ireland win over the Pacific Islanders on 26 November 2006. The final soccer international was a 5–0 win for the Republic of Ireland over San Marino on 15 November 2006. The last soccer game ever before redevelopment was Derry City's FAI Cup final win against St. Patrick's Athletic on 3 December 2006. The last ever contest in the old Lansdowne Road Stadium was a rugby match that took place on December 31, 2006. Leinster beat Ulster 20 points to 12 in a Magners League game that set a record attendance of 48,000 for such a league match.

It has been decided that soccer and rugby games will be played at Croke Park while the Aviva Stadium is being developed. Croke Park is owned by the Gaelic Athletic Association, whose rules until recently did not allow "foreign" sports to be played on their grounds. Croke Park staged two rugby internationals and four soccer internationals during 2007. In 2008, Ireland again played their home games of the Six Nations at the GAA ground and will do so again for 2009.

In September 2006, Lars-Christer Olsson, CEO of UEFA, hinted that the new stadium might stage the UEFA Cup Final in 2010. The 2010 final was ultimately awarded to Hamburg, but in January 2009, UEFA named the new ground as the host stadium for the renamed 2011 UEFA Europa League Final.