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

[armaghniac]

Antrim players should line out in corrigan . Let the ulster council sell.the tickets and then have to refund everyone that showed up in Newry.
Corrigan or nowhere.

I would then suggest fining Antrim the sum of the revenue lost.

Yes exactly, because when you're at the top, crush everything below you, that's the modern world

Don't be ridiculous,nobody is trying to "crush" Antrim, they are simply trying to allow people see the game.

[Hectic]

Antrim players should line out in corrigan . Let the ulster council sell.the tickets and then have to refund everyone that showed up in Newry.
Corrigan or nowhere.

I would then suggest fining Antrim the sum of the revenue lost.

Yes exactly, because when you're at the top, crush everything below you, that's the modern world

Don't be ridiculous,nobody is trying to "crush" Antrim, they are simply trying to allow people see the game.

Never heard of a television in Armagh?

Or just being ridiculous?

[Hectic]

Who is "Ulster GAA"

That be the Ulster Council made up of delegates from across the province.

Wonder did they all vote or did some find excuses.

And also be interesting to know if many of them bothered to read the room as far as the leanings of the membership within their own counties, including Armagh, are concerned.

[thewobbler]

Who is "Ulster GAA"

That be the Ulster Council made up of delegates from across the province.

Wonder did they all vote or did some find excuses.

And also be interesting to know if many of them bothered to read the room as far as the leanings of the membership within their own counties, including Armagh, are concerned.

The old six counties psyche. Why have leadership, when you have representation instead?

[bannside]

https://www.balls.ie/gaa/corrigan-park-armagh-625018

Paddy Cunningham making some very relevant points. Hard to argue with any of it.

[pbat]

The attitude of some Armagh supporters on this issue is appalling, as Armagh fan of 40+ years I would love to see the match but somethings are bigger than attending a game. Antrim grassroots GAA and players have been screwed over by the Ulster council and Croke Park for over 10 years on Casement. Nationalists have been screwed over by various British Governments and Stormont on this, so Casement been built is more than somewhere to play matches. It is a principled point that the countries second city with a majority nationalist population must have a stadium of Stature, and every Gael regardless of where you call home should be on board with this.

I would be convinced these "Armagh" supporters who want to finically burst Antrim GAA or have the players publicly hung, drawn and quartered in Titanic Square were probably never at a match before the Galway penalty shoot out game of 2022. There definitely wasn't 3500 in Mulligar when we robbed Westmeath to get a draw in the division 3 league game of 2019. These people are the same kind of GAA fans who wouldn't know where the gates of there local club is.

My advice to the new breed of Armagh supporters, go read up on the history of our association, learn about the Ethos of the GAA and spend the 12th of April at Kodak corner in Kilbroney to get that must have Insta snap.

[bannside]

Excellent post pbat.

It's as if Ulster Council are attempting to punish Antrim because they dont have a fit for purpose stadium, when....you know the rest!

Shame on the faceless men of UC, stop hiding behind a statement and come on out and face the public on this.

Antrim won't be browbeaten on this by anyone, so UC, read the mood music all round you and accept Antrims nomination of Corrigan Park for the venue.

[gallsman]

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a terrible decision and fully support a boycott of the Newry venue, but "faceless men"? First and foremost, there's nothing faceless about them. Secondly, they're all, presumably, honest Gaels like the rest of us, with a lifetime of service to the games. The GAA is as susceptible to incompetence, politics and pettiness as any other organisation, but suggesting there's a deliberate, calculated, malign influence out to punish Antrim is a bit much.

They're wrong, and have made a bad decision for the wrong reasons. No need for demonisation and conspiracy theories.

[Sportacus]

Could you tell me this, why did the Ulster Council (presumably the same Committee), put Antrim in the hat in the first place?

[RedHand88]

I don't think the baying mob have thought about those who want to go see the game, both Armagh and Antrim supporters. If the game is in Corrigan Park what do you say to them? Tough sh1t? Because there is not a hope in hell of Antrim youngsters getting to the game in Belfast once the already sold Armagh season tickets are sorted. They could, however, see it 45mins away in Newry which has a bigger capacity.

[David McKeown]

The attitude of some Armagh supporters on this issue is appalling, as Armagh fan of 40+ years I would love to see the match but somethings are bigger than attending a game. Antrim grassroots GAA and players have been screwed over by the Ulster council and Croke Park for over 10 years on Casement. Nationalists have been screwed over by various British Governments and Stormont on this, so Casement been built is more than somewhere to play matches. It is a principled point that the countries second city with a majority nationalist population must have a stadium of Stature, and every Gael regardless of where you call home should be on board with this.

I would be convinced these "Armagh" supporters who want to finically burst Antrim GAA or have the players publicly hung, drawn and quartered in Titanic Square were probably never at a match before the Galway penalty shoot out game of 2022. There definitely wasn't 3500 in Mulligar when we robbed Westmeath to get a draw in the division 3 league game of 2019. These people are the same kind of GAA fans who wouldn't know where the gates of there local club is.

My advice to the new breed of Armagh supporters, go read up on the history of our association, learn about the Ethos of the GAA and spend the 12th of April at Kodak corner in Kilbroney to get that must have Insta snap.

I've been an Armagh fan since I can remember which is about 40 years and been at matches for more than 30 years, I have sat on club committees and national committees but I have no more or no less right to attend any Armagh match or call myself a fan than any other fan.  There's no criteria to being a fan nor is their a check list you must meet to make you any more of a fan.

I fully support Antrim in the Corrigan or Nowhere approach but I also recognise the reality that the potential financial costs to the association also unfortunately always made it likely that the match would be set for somewhere other than Corrigan. In my opinion that should not have been allowed happen but it has.

Im also on board with Casement being built but not as some kind of political football as this post implies. The association promotes debate and inclusion.  The idea every one must have the same view on all issues and that other views aren't worth considering really annoys me 

[RadioGAAGAA]

I don't think the baying mob have thought about those who want to go see the game, both Armagh and Antrim supporters. If the game is in Corrigan Park what do you say to them? Tough sh1t?

I'd say something along the lines of "pick up the TV remote, turn it on and watch it from your living room".


The Ulster Council have stumbled from amateur to shambles after which they've lurched from idiotic into embarrassing as far as their handling of Casement goes.


Chesterfield FC in England built a 10,500 seat stadium for ~£13 million in 2009.
Even quadrupling for price since that's ~£72 million - aka within budget.
With larger pitch and no need to place seating on either end or cover the ends, you'd get 15k+ by following the same main stand cross sections.

Absolutely no reason why Casement cannot be an Athletic Grounds mk.2 - only obstacle is the Ulster Council's vanity.

The Athletic Grounds cost £4.6m in 2011.
Now, the Ulster Council are saying they cannot deliver anything for less than 50 times that.

f**k
Right
Off

[RedHand88]

Its mental when you put it into that context.

[barelegs]

I don't think the baying mob have thought about those who want to go see the game, both Armagh and Antrim supporters. If the game is in Corrigan Park what do you say to them? Tough sh1t?

I'd say something along the lines of "pick up the TV remote, turn it on and watch it from your living room".


The Ulster Council have stumbled from amateur to shambles after which they've lurched from idiotic into embarrassing as far as their handling of Casement goes.


Chesterfield FC in England built a 10,500 seat stadium for ~£13 million in 2009.
Even quadrupling for price since that's ~£72 million - aka within budget.
With larger pitch and no need to place seating on either end or cover the ends, you'd get 15k+ by following the same main stand cross sections.

Absolutely no reason why Casement cannot be an Athletic Grounds mk.2 - only obstacle is the Ulster Council's vanity.

The Athletic Grounds cost £4.6m in 2011.
Now, the Ulster Council are saying they cannot deliver anything for less than 50 times that.

f**k
Right
Off

The issue now is that any down sizing of the stadium will require a new planning application and another 3-4 years in planning. There would be more legal challenges. If the funding is found construction costs will have risen again.

The other issue is that what was agreed to be built as part of the regional stadium programme was a provincial/ 'national' stadium. With the best will in the world the Athletic Grounds mark II wouldn't host Ulster finals because it wouldn't have the capacity.

[Armamike]

I don't think the baying mob have thought about those who want to go see the game, both Armagh and Antrim supporters. If the game is in Corrigan Park what do you say to them? Tough sh1t?

I'd say something along the lines of "pick up the TV remote, turn it on and watch it from your living room".


The Ulster Council have stumbled from amateur to shambles after which they've lurched from idiotic into embarrassing as far as their handling of Casement goes.


Chesterfield FC in England built a 10,500 seat stadium for ~£13 million in 2009.
Even quadrupling for price since that's ~£72 million - aka within budget.
With larger pitch and no need to place seating on either end or cover the ends, you'd get 15k+ by following the same main stand cross sections.

Absolutely no reason why Casement cannot be an Athletic Grounds mk.2 - only obstacle is the Ulster Council's vanity.

The Athletic Grounds cost £4.6m in 2011.
Now, the Ulster Council are saying they cannot deliver anything for less than 50 times that.

f**k
Right
Off

Which would mean the GAA doesn't have to rely on the British Government to cough up. That strategy hasn't worked. It's time the GAA took ownership of this and start looking at alternative funding.