Casement Park in line for major overhaul - 40,000 all seater Stadium.

[BennyCake]

What's the situation about lowering the stadium? Can't it be done? Wouldn't it solve the residents issues with daylight? I was at Man City's stadium a few years ago, and the pitch is below ground level. Less wind that way too, so it'd be a warmer place to sit, especially in winter.

[armaghniac]

What's the situation about lowering the stadium? Can't it be done? Wouldn't it solve the residents issues with daylight? I was at Man City's stadium a few years ago, and the pitch is below ground level. Less wind that way too, so it'd be a warmer place to sit, especially in winter.

I was in Casement at the Ulster club final some years ago and the paths around the pitch were flooded. Lowering a pitch involves complex pumps etc.

[Walter Cronc]

What's the situation about lowering the stadium? Can't it be done? Wouldn't it solve the residents issues with daylight? I was at Man City's stadium a few years ago, and the pitch is below ground level. Less wind that way too, so it'd be a warmer place to sit, especially in winter.

I was in Casement at the Ulster club final some years ago and the paths around the pitch were flooded. Lowering a pitch involves complex pumps etc.

Would that not be just a case of poor maintenance of that gravel track which surrounds the pitch, causing water to lie as opposed to being lower than the water table??

[stibhan]

Benny to be perfectly honest I hope it doesn't go ahead at all and certainly not in Belfast.  Why should people from Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Derry, West Tyrone,  South Down and Armagh be expected to travel greater distances to Ulster Semis and Finals than they currently do. These area's are the heartlands of the GAA in Ulster and as such the location of their premium games should not be as far away for them. Add in the fact that Belfast is not the most welcoming of places for visiting GAA people particularly at the time of year these games are played. It just takesone bad year of marches before the Ulster Final is targeted for disruption.

The heartlands of the GAA in Ulster? Last time I checked barely two of these counties could field a competitive team at the Christy Ring hurling level.

In any case which country has the most GAA Clubs in Ulster? I'd wager Antrim would be nearer the top than some of these 'heartlands' that you list.

The fact remains that Belfast is much easier to get to with more methods of transport than any other venue. And I can't believe that anyone would be suggesting that Belfast isn't the most welcoming of places - how many times have there been riots during, before or after an intercounty GAA match at Casement? I can't recall one personally.

Which begs another question - why would you let loyalists determine how, where and when you play Gaelic games?

[qubdub]

Is it worth the bad PR to force it on the residents with out their consent ?
The GAA could spend as many millions as they like in Belfast it wouldn't make a difference at least Dublin had a football tradition to work on better spending in the glens.

St Gall's won the AI Club and got to the final another time. St Gall's hurlers reached a Club final too a few years ago. How is that not a good GAA tradition in Belfast? And that's just one club. It shouldn't be just Dublin that benefits from massive handouts, but other cities/counties too.

The Casement/residents thing is a different issue. It needs to be sorted though, but I still believe Casement will go ahead. It might just be later than expected.

Benny to be perfectly honest I hope it doesn't go ahead at all and certainly not in Belfast.  Why should people from Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Derry, West Tyrone,  South Down and Armagh be expected to travel greater distances to Ulster Semis and Finals than they currently do. These area's are the heartlands of the GAA in Ulster and as such the location of their premium games should not be as far away for them. Add in the fact that Belfast is not the most welcoming of places for visiting GAA people particularly at the time of year these games are played. It just takesone bad year of marches before the Ulster Final is targeted for disruption.

Jesus you'd think there was no GAA clubs in Belfast  It's not Beirut ffs.

You do realise, that if your county reaches a semi final or final that it IS NOT going to be played in your own county, so a bit of travel will be required to go and see your team!!!

[rodney trotter]

Think he means Geographically situated. More mid Ulster would have been suitable for all Counties. more so for Cavan. But if it goes ahead in Belfast so be it.

[qubdub]

Think he means Geographically situated. More mid Ulster would have been suitable for all Counties. more so for Cavan. But if it goes ahead in Belfast so be it.

I think the regional capital deserves a modern GAA stadium albeit I don't agree with the current plans.

That said I also don't agree the stadium should be moved to x, y or z on the grounds that it's close to a 'gaa heartland'. I'd say there's as many GAA clubs in West Belfast if not more as there are in most of these 'heartlands'

[Walter Cronc]

Are the Architects (on the advice of the GAA) being cute with their 2 tier design in order to accomodate corporate boxes?, which as we all know are the most important 'patrons' at any game 

[stibhan]

To say MidUlster would be suited for all counties may be true as the crow flies, but Belfast as the regional capital is the easiest place to get to from any given Ulster County. Not just in terms of cars but in terms of public and private transport.

I think, on top of this, that we will see a Croke Park style arrangement with concerts etc to be held there too because it won't make enough money to be sustainable on its GAA revenue alone. For example, had it been ready to go when that Cliftonville Celtic game was fixed it would almost certainly have been used in my opinion.

[armaghniac]

To say MidUlster would be suited for all counties may be true as the crow flies, but Belfast as the regional capital is the easiest place to get to from any given Ulster County. Not just in terms of cars but in terms of public and private transport.

Nonsense. By  definition any place west of Belfast is more central.

I think, on top of this, that we will see a Croke Park style arrangement with concerts etc to be held there too because it won't make enough money to be sustainable on its GAA revenue alone. For example, had it been ready to go when that Cliftonville Celtic game was fixed it would almost certainly have been used in my opinion.

Have the rules of the GAA been set up to allow foreign sports in Casement?

[snoopdog]

What's the situation about lowering the stadium? Can't it be done? Wouldn't it solve the residents issues with daylight? I was at Man City's stadium a few years ago, and the pitch is below ground level. Less wind that way too, so it'd be a warmer place to sit, especially in winter.

I was in Casement at the Ulster club final some years ago and the paths around the pitch were flooded. Lowering a pitch involves complex pumps etc.

Spare us the detail....

the first 20 rows of seats at Old Trafford are under ground level. I would assume Croke Park has something similar, i think it is the norm for most Stadiums

[Applesisapples]

I think we should just return the money and let them spend it on building a new stadium for The Belfast Giants, the true ambassadors of sport in Belfast. Why would the biggest sporting body in the Province (9 County) want a top class venue in the capital city of that Province (9 County)?

[stibhan]

Have the rules of the GAA been set up to allow foreign sports in Casement?

Give it time.

I don't understand the rest of Ulster being ambivalent towards a new stadium in Belfast. The second biggest city on this island should be given a proper stadium for the biggest sport on the island. Ulster GAA's primary aim should be to promote the GAA in urban areas and this would be a massive fillip.

[Dougal Maguire]

There's a tree along the ditch in the field behind my house. Over the 20 years I've been here it's been getting bigger and is now causing a shadow over the bottom of my back garden in the evening. Is it okay if I cut it down?

If the tree is evergreen, and is one of at least a pair, then yes, you can force them to cut it down.
On the grounds of unacceptable loss of daylight, and visual amenity.

The same reasons why the GAA haven't been able to propose putting a roof on the deepest stand in the proposed £75 Casement stadium. The roof would have been too close to the apartments on the other side of the Andytown Rd, giving them unacceptable loss of daylight, and visual amenity.

The residents alongside the shallower main stands at the sides of the pitch may or may not lose an unacceptable amount of daylight depending on how transparent the transparent roof material is, and how often it gets cleaned.

But they'll definately lose visual amenity, having to look directly into the side of a building whose height  dwarves their houses and gardens.

It's an ash tree

[Kidder81]

The only way you would fill the new Casement would be to get Celtic to play Man Utd in a friendly, that would get the locals out in their thousands.