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

[Armagh18]

Gordon Lyons is sitting on this for one reason.  He doesn't want the Euros, or any other sizeable event to be held in west Belfast regardless of the benefits it brings to the rest of the city.  Call it what it is.  Bigotry.

Absolutely. Wouldn't it be great if Dublin paid for a proper top class stadium though. 

[Saffrongael]

Had Sinn Fein the option of that Dept before DUP?

Yes

[Ronnie]

To state the blindingly obvious but it shouldn't matter which party the minister belongs to.   I don't think you can criticise SF for choosing a more important department.

[Hereiam]

What is happening at casement these days in terms of work being done, anyone any photos.

[Saffrongael]

Jarlath reckons Euros won't happen now as stadium needs to be open and operational by June 2027 to meet UEFAs requirements

[Milltown Row2]

Jarlath reckons Euros won't happen now as stadium needs to be open and operational by June 2027 to meet UEFAs requirements

So that's that, now get the pitch back for Antrim and have a modest stadium, I was all for it, but the life's been drained out of this project that I'd take back old Casement to just have the Country ground back.

That's no reflection on Corrigan BTW

[illdecide]

GAA president Jarlath Burns believes it is unlikely that the redevelopment of Casement Park will be completed in time to stage Euro 2028 games.

The project has been plagued by delays and Northern Ireland secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris said in April that the UK government is still "working to figure out" the cost of building the stadium in west Belfast.

A month later prime minister Rishi Sunak insisted the government will make a "significant contribution" to the scheme.

The original cost a decade ago was estimated to be £77.5m but Heaton-Harris suggested in March it could now be about £308m.

"It's not looking as if we're going to get the Euros," Burns told the Belfast Telegraph.

He expects the redevelopment of Casement Park will go ahead but not to the required specification to meet Uefa standards for staging Euro 2028 fixtures.

He added: "Having attended the final of the Europa League in the Aviva, I can see what Uefa brings to a stadium and to an event. West Belfast deserves that and we're not getting it. It's just a great pity because the carrot was dangled in front of us and then it was taken away.

Soccer 'the loser'
"And actually the big loser here is going to be the game of soccer in Northern Ireland society and the economy. The Department for the Economy was waiting to weigh in with all sorts of other things that were going to come from there. It's just a pity. But we're still very hopeful and expectant that we're going to get the funds to make a provincial stadium where we can play our Ulster finals."

Five games have been earmarked for Casement Park but Burns anticipates that meeting Uefa timelines is going to be difficult.

"The whole project is being run by the Strategic Investment Board and they have been telling us that in order to get the tenders in and to find out what it's going to cost, it's going to take six weeks - and then there's going to have to be another four weeks for appeals to that.

"We're working away, we're clearing the site and that. But at the end of the day, it's UEFA and their timelines are important. It has to be up and running for almost a year before you can actually say that it's properly functional, so I'm now pessimistic that the Euros will be played in Casement Park."

BBC Sport NI has contacted the Irish Football Association for comment.

[Saffrongael]

Jarlath reckons Euros won't happen now as stadium needs to be open and operational by June 2027 to meet UEFAs requirements

So that's that, now get the pitch back for Antrim and have a modest stadium, I was all for it, but the life's been drained out of this project that I'd take back old Casement to just have the Country ground back.

That's no reflection on Corrigan BTW

100%

[Sportacus]

Jarlath reckons Euros won't happen now as stadium needs to be open and operational by June 2027 to meet UEFAs requirements

So that's that, now get the pitch back for Antrim and have a modest stadium, I was all for it, but the life's been drained out of this project that I'd take back old Casement to just have the Country ground back.

That's no reflection on Corrigan BTW

100%

Yes from me.

[illdecide]

I wouldn't say for 100% that the nail has been driven home but it's certainly looking that way...Please, please get something built that we have the funding for and let Antrim and Ulster GAA move forward with. The soccer hoors go to f**k, we can still get a great stadium with a slightly reduced capacity and a lesser specification that UEFA would require but is grand for GAA.

[giveherlong]

The Ulster Council seemed sure of the money a few weeks ago?! What has happened?

https://x.com/mcgeehanstephen/status/1794269504782110948?s=46&t=CPMqYDyBX5OxJavXiPzZVQ

[Caitlin]

Very disappointing but probably inevitable and Jarlath is right to call it out.
Perfidious Albion, a pandemic and some petty unionists but we have to look at ourselves too.
Ironic that the Uachtarain has the opportunity today at Queens to ask someone who was there at the start ; how did this go wrong ?

[AustinPowers]

Could jarlath  not  just be putting the pressure on the  Brits here?

As in, they  promised the money would be found , and it's clearly not coming.  And at  the same time , taking the focus away from the GAA having to find  more money .

[Armagh18]

Could jarlath  not  just be putting the pressure on the  Brits here?

As in, they  promised the money would be found , and it's clearly not coming.  And at  the same time , taking the focus away from the GAA having to find  more money .

yeah that is definitely what he's at.

[twohands!!!]

The Ulster Council seemed sure of the money a few weeks ago?! What has happened?

https://x.com/mcgeehanstephen/status/1794269504782110948?s=46&t=CPMqYDyBX5OxJavXiPzZVQ

I'd be shocked if the Tories heading for the hills wasn't a big part of it. I'd imagine that the civil servants legally needed the politicans sign-off for the actual funds/blank cheque and the Tories didn't do that before exiting stage left. The timelines on the project were so tight already in terms of the UEFA rules that by the time Labour get someone in place that it will more than likely be too late.

The issue now is what sort of capacity stadium can be built with whatever funds Ulster GAA can get their hands on when Labour take over. Not having to comply with the UEFA requirements and deadlines should save a bit on the costs front but I would guess that capacity will have to be scaled back a good bit as I can't see Labour supplying a blank cheque promise to cover all the cost when the Euros are no longer on the table.

If I had to guess I would say that something around the 25k/28k size is the likeliest outcome at the moment.
Even something of that size is going to cost many millions - getting rid of the Euro requirements the current capacity would probably still probably cost somewhere around the £250 million mark based on £308 million figure being anyway realistic [the Euro requirements being dumped probably won't knock £58 million off the cost - but I would have say the the £308 estimate was at the higher end of the scale) so I can see Ulster GAA looking at carrying serious debt and paying serious interest for a good few decades to come.