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

[Rossfan]

Why "all seater" ?
Nothing like a bit of an oul terrace

[snoopdog]

i would redevelope casement with 2 brilliant stands either side of the pitch with covered terraces behind each goals.
use for all Ulster finals and any AI qf that involves 2 ulster teams, could be used for national league finals the odd time also. also compromise rules
The money wont be used for anything else.
Yes it could be given out to all the 6 northern counties to develope all their county grounds but then we would have a load of average stadiums in ulster and no great ones.
This would become the GAA's 2nd best ground.
get it built and fcuk the begrudgers

[RadioGAAGAA]

i would redevelope casement with 2 brilliant stands either side of the pitch with covered terraces behind each goals.

f**k that.

The prawn sandwich munchers can sit behind the goals.

Why should the people that want to stand get packed into the worst viewing sections?

[ardmhachaabu]

i would redevelope casement with 2 brilliant stands either side of the pitch with covered terraces behind each goals.

f**k that.

The prawn sandwich munchers can sit behind the goals.

Why should the people that want to stand get packed into the worst viewing sections?

It could equally be asked why they should get the best, could it not?  Also, seats cost more to sit on than standing in a terrace so people in seats should get better value for their money

[Rufus T Firefly]

Has there ever been 35,000 people at a game in Casement?

Up until the Ulster Finals were recently taken to Croke Park, Casement held the record attendance for an Ulster Final, when a crowd of over 41,000 attended the Down v Armagh Ulster Final of 1961. In more recent years, the biggest attendance that i can recall was the 1992 Ulster semi-final between Down and Derry, and the attendance that day (from memory) was somewhere in the region of 35,000.

[Maguire01]

Has there ever been 35,000 people at a game in Casement?

Up until the Ulster Finals were recently taken to Croke Park, Casement held the record attendance for an Ulster Final, when a crowd of over 41,000 attended the Down v Armagh Ulster Final of 1961. In more recent years, the biggest attendance that i can recall was the 1992 Ulster semi-final between Down and Derry, and the attendance that day (from memory) was somewhere in the region of 35,000.

1961 is irrelevant - how many of the 41,000 came by car? When was the last time there was a crowd anywhere close to 30,000 in Casement?

Whatever about the 1992 attendance, the finals in Clones have been pretty consistent at around 30,000+ - I think it has been around the 33,000 mark for the past 3-4 years anyway.

[Beir Bua]

Ulster Finals in Clones in  2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were all sell outs at 35,000 full capacity and there was demand for more tickets, the Ulster Final in 2006 in Croke Park had 50,000 attending, 2005 was 60,000 and 2004 had 68,000 attending.

[bcarrier]

bring it on .

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Ulster Finals in Clones in  2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 were all sell outs at 35,000 full capacity and there was demand for more tickets, the Ulster Final in 2006 in Croke Park had 50,000 attending, 2005 was 60,000 and 2004 had 68,000 attending.

I'm fairly sure the 2004 final had over 70,000 at it. Could be wrong though.

[ziggysego]

Yes it could be given out to all the 6 northern counties to develope all their county grounds but then we would have a load of average stadiums in ulster and no great ones.

That's the thing, the money can't be split for various stadia. It's for one or none.

[armaghniac]

When was the last time there was a crowd anywhere close to 30,000 in Casement?

Armagh v Derry had 28000 or so, when was that 2006?

The problem with Casement is a total lack of atmosphere in the surrounding area. You can go to Clones with the flag on the car and stop en route for an ice cream, I don't fancy doing that in Hillsborough. 

There is a broader issue about location in that Belfast is not well located in Ireland generally. It is fine for a Antrim/Down game or even a Derry/Down game, but it isn't really useful for league finals and the like except for a very limited set of teams.

If the GAA were really insightful, and I suspect that they aren't, they should  build a 30,000 seater with roof and have concerts and open it to the rugger and soccer folks from time to time. The latter especially might not come,  but that would show them up too.

[RadioGAAGAA]

It could equally be asked why they should get the best, could it not?  Also, seats cost more to sit on than standing in a terrace so people in seats should get better value for their money

They already have the seated stand down one side of the pitch. Why is it fair to remove the terracing from the other side?

Yes, per ticket, seating pricing is higher.


However, spectator density is much higher on terracing than in seats, I cannot find figures comparing the two but I would imagine it is of the order of 2:1 ratio. Therefore it is not "costing" the GAA to have terracing - so the argument of providing better facilities is somewhat spurious* - and looks at it only from the perspective of the person in the seat, not the two people that would be standing in their place.

*It is simply countered with "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few". 

[Applesisapples]

Take the money and build it on the new for far less at the Maze.

Better still build a new school or two for the same money.

Why do we need new schools with many of them not having enough pupils and some even having staff ....but no pupils. Belfast is the Capital City of Ulster ( 9 County Not The Wee Province) and all the traffic does not have to desend on casement, think rail service with bus links and the Sprucefield park and ride....no brainer.

[Maguire01]

Take the money and build it on the new for far less at the Maze.

Better still build a new school or two for the same money.

Why do we need new schools with many of them not having enough pupils and some even having staff ....but no pupils. Belfast is the Capital City of Ulster ( County Not The Wee Province) and all the traffic does not have to desend on casement, think rail service with bus links and the Sprucefield park and ride....no brainer.

Ulster County? Where?

[Applesisapples]

Take the money and build it on the new for far less at the Maze.

Better still build a new school or two for the same money.

Why do we need new schools with many of them not having enough pupils and some even having staff ....but no pupils. Belfast is the Capital City of Ulster ( County Not The Wee Province) and all the traffic does not have to desend on casement, think rail service with bus links and the Sprucefield park and ride....no brainer.

Ulster County? Where?

See the edited version above