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

[armaghniac]

If Louth can build can 6k stand, floodlights, dressing rooms, ancillaries for €24m, surely to God Casement with about 9 times that amount can build a decent stadium that will more than suffice.
Stop fkn blathering and moaning, get it out to tender, appoint a contractor and BUILD!!

This.

[smelmoth]

Don't know enough about insurance, but I'd say public liability insurance runs for the whole year, not on an individual basis.

Plus, open to correction but maybe you get an extra 10k into a stadium, especially if the main pitch is being used. That's a lot of £.

Given what can wrong at concerts I don't believe that part time venues (whether that be Boucher playing fields or Casement) are going to pay the premia to have that cover all year round.

The issue is that Boucher is a big, flat area with a secure fence around it and as isolated from residential areas as you are going to get in the city. In terms of damage to existing uses of Boucher there isn't much to insure.

Casement potentially offers seats and cover for part of the crowd. But does the crowd really want that? Extra insurance and security costs will be passed on. The number of concerts would surely be limited by balancing planning with the needs/demands of residents but most crucially of all is there any evidence whatsoever that there is a concert demand to be met here? What is the gig what will come to Casement and won't currently come to Belfast? I'm not sure there is one never mind a pipeline that could be relied upon.


The thing Belfast has in common with Cork is that neither is Dublin. Stadium concerts that come to Ireland are coming to Dublin. Appetite of acts/promoters to multiple venues on an island with 6m population? To the nearest round number I'd say it's zero. But the thing we are relying on here is that someone within the Project Team is checking this out. And the GAA have relationships with all these promoters. They will also be working out the knock on implications (if any and I suspect there aren't) on Croke Park should a new venue pop up in Belfast.

[smelmoth]

An NFL game

Maybe he meant IPL?

[Armagh18]

Ulster finals, surely any all ireland quarter final between 2 Ulster teams or an Ulster team and Dublin should be in Casement also. Get her built.

[p3427977]

An NFL game

Maybe he meant IPL?

Belfast Trojans could play.

[gallsman]

I'm sure Donegal and Armagh people will be clamouring for any QF between them in future to be played in Belfast alright.

Why should any potential QF between an Ulster team and Dublin be in Belfast?

[Armagh18]

I'm sure Donegal and Armagh people will be clamouring for any QF between them in future to be played in Belfast alright.

Why should any potential QF between an Ulster team and Dublin be in Belfast?

Letterkenny to Clones 2 hours, Letterkenny to Belfast 1 hour 53. Same travel time, only a new Casement wouldnt be a dump like Clones. Belfast is only up the road for Armagh people. I'm sure they wouldnt mind.

Dublin should be playing quarter finals in a neutral venue, but thats another argument. Casement would be what an hour 45 from Dublin? Why not?

[Rossfan]

Quarter Finals will be in Croke Park while Rounds 1,2 and 3 will be home venues so unless Antrim improve massively there won't be any AI SFC games there.

[AustinPowers]

Ulster finals, surely any all ireland quarter final between 2 Ulster teams or an Ulster team and Dublin should be in Casement also. Get her built.

Unlikely two  Ulster teams meeting in an All Ireland QF would play  it in Casement, if the other 3  QFs are in Croke Park

An  Ulster team v Dublin/Meath etc in Casement , I  doubt  the Leinster team would be  happy , just as Armagh  didn't seem happy about  potentially playing Galway in a  Connacht venue 3 years in a row

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

If Louth can build can 6k stand, floodlights, dressing rooms, ancillaries for €24m, surely to God Casement with about 9 times that amount can build a decent stadium that will more than suffice.
Stop fkn blathering and moaning, get it out to tender, appoint a contractor and BUILD!!

This.

I fully agree. I can't come on board with the idea that the £170 million stadium is sop in áit na scuaibe or that the GAA are being short changed. £170 million does not build you a throw together pile of shite. It should build you a damn good stadium that you can be bloody proud of........ and indeed allow you to hold concerts and whatever other ballix.
Why have we decided that £260 million is what the GAA (and west Belfast) deserves? Because that's what the GAA asked for? For those who want the GAA to hold out until they get that money handed to them, did you have an upper limit figure in your head? I mean, if the GAA were looking £500 million, would that be what they deserved?

[Armagh18]

If Louth can build can 6k stand, floodlights, dressing rooms, ancillaries for €24m, surely to God Casement with about 9 times that amount can build a decent stadium that will more than suffice.
Stop fkn blathering and moaning, get it out to tender, appoint a contractor and BUILD!!

This.

I fully agree. I can't come on board with the idea that the £170 million stadium is sop in áit na scuaibe or that the GAA are being short changed. £170 million does not build you a throw together pile of shite. It should build you a damn good stadium that you can be bloody proud of........ and indeed allow you to hold concerts and whatever other ballix.
Why have we decided that £260 million is what the GAA (and west Belfast) deserves? Because that's what the GAA asked for? For those who want the GAA to hold out until they get that money handed to them, did you have an upper limit figure in your head? I mean, if the GAA were looking £500 million, would that be what they deserved?

Would the planning etc not need redone for a small stadium?

[RadioGAAGAA]

Unreal.....can you not see past the nose on your face, future generations should have this stadium.
The great days of going to Clones on Ulster final day are a thing of the past, and live only in our heads.
Why can we not have a stadium where you can get the same feeling of pride walking into it as you do when going into Croke Park and its only up the road.

Future generations won't play the game because there were no Ulster Council development officers going into schools to get them engaged in the game - because the money to fund them had to be diverted to pay for Casement - both in terms of debt accrued and ongoing maintenance costs.

So the white elephant on the Andytown Road won't even register with them.

Pride doesn't pay the bills.


Stop being stupid and start to think of how the finances of this balance out over the next 20 years.



Do you think the Cork county board would have done PuC if they'd their time again?

[RadioGAAGAA]

Would the planning etc not need redone for a small stadium?

Yes, but a smaller simpler stadium means less complications all round.

Like if the exit routes have been demonstrated as safe for ~34k then justification reduces to "The evacuation capacity of route A has already been established in ref[X] to be capable of Y hundred people per minute. The stand serviced by this route have been reduced to a total capacity of Z, therefore at maximum capacity, it can comfortably be evacuated within the required timeframe of Regulation AAAA."

Loads of items like that everywhere for the overall footprint.


Not chasing concerts means no local opposition. Don't blame the residents for not wanting drunken eejits pissing in, or worse, leaving needles in, their garden, after Belsonic@Casement or similar.

[barelegs]

If Louth can build can 6k stand, floodlights, dressing rooms, ancillaries for €24m, surely to God Casement with about 9 times that amount can build a decent stadium that will more than suffice.
Stop fkn blathering and moaning, get it out to tender, appoint a contractor and BUILD!!

This.

I fully agree. I can't come on board with the idea that the £170 million stadium is sop in áit na scuaibe or that the GAA are being short changed. £170 million does not build you a throw together pile of shite. It should build you a damn good stadium that you can be bloody proud of........ and indeed allow you to hold concerts and whatever other ballix.
Why have we decided that £260 million is what the GAA (and west Belfast) deserves? Because that's what the GAA asked for? For those who want the GAA to hold out until they get that money handed to them, did you have an upper limit figure in your head? I mean, if the GAA were looking £500 million, would that be what they deserved?

Would the planning etc not need redone for a small stadium?

It would. The current design went through extensive pre-consultation given previous experience with the residents so if a design was ready to go tomorrow (which it isn't) the consultation period could take anything up to 18 months. Then the current application took 5 years to get approved by planners and the courts. Taking that into account as a guide for a new design. A smaller stadium might be ready to commence construction in 2031/2. 18-24 month construction period. So opened in 2033/4?

Worth noting that a significant chunk of the rise in costs is due to having to dig the bowl for the stadium out. This was necessary due to resident concerns around the height of stands etc. That's not going away. The original costs were based on the first design that wasn't in that bowl.

With the best will in the world it's this design or the project will be scrapped altogether. And if work hasn't significantly commenced by summer 2026 the planning will have timed out. Probably suits the Minister and the Department and plenty within the GAA

[Duine Inteacht Eile]

If Louth can build can 6k stand, floodlights, dressing rooms, ancillaries for €24m, surely to God Casement with about 9 times that amount can build a decent stadium that will more than suffice.
Stop fkn blathering and moaning, get it out to tender, appoint a contractor and BUILD!!

This.

I fully agree. I can't come on board with the idea that the £170 million stadium is sop in áit na scuaibe or that the GAA are being short changed. £170 million does not build you a throw together pile of shite. It should build you a damn good stadium that you can be bloody proud of........ and indeed allow you to hold concerts and whatever other ballix.
Why have we decided that £260 million is what the GAA (and west Belfast) deserves? Because that's what the GAA asked for? For those who want the GAA to hold out until they get that money handed to them, did you have an upper limit figure in your head? I mean, if the GAA were looking £500 million, would that be what they deserved?

Would the planning etc not need redone for a small stadium?

It would. The current design went through extensive pre-consultation given previous experience with the residents so if a design was ready to go tomorrow (which it isn't) the consultation period could take anything up to 18 months. Then the current application took 5 years to get approved by planners and the courts. Taking that into account as a guide for a new design. A smaller stadium might be ready to commence construction in 2031/2. 18-24 month construction period. So opened in 2033/4?

Worth noting that a significant chunk of the rise in costs is due to having to dig the bowl for the stadium out. This was necessary due to resident concerns around the height of stands etc. That's not going away. The original costs were based on the first design that wasn't in that bowl.

With the best will in the world it's this design or the project will be scrapped altogether. And if work hasn't significantly commenced by summer 2026 the planning will have timed out. Probably suits the Minister and the Department and plenty within the GAA

Sorry, hold up.....what happens the £170 million in this case??