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

[screenexile]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

[DaleCooper]

Dont worry. They will be punished by the next election when people solemnly assess performance, read carefully the policies of all parties, then vote accordingly.



L
O
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[Milltown Row2]

Dont worry. They will be punished by the next election when people solemnly assess performance, read carefully the policies of all parties, then vote accordingly.



L
O
L

As long as you have green or orange parties you'll get a United front on the nationality side

People are strange in every country. Some countries vote the same people in every election and expect different better improvements lol

[Baile Brigín 2]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

SF should have taken a ministry to bail the GAA out?

[Baile Brigín 2]

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0703/1581709-casement-park/

"There is £170 million of funding committed to the redevelopment of Casement Park, including £50 million from the British Government"

Did they not reject this?

[snoopdog]

Can they not build 2 15k capacity stands along both sides and 2 open terraces for 150M. My god what an embarrasment these muppets are. Looks like we will forever be going to that kip of a ground in clones.
No need for all that corporate nonsence. A big room with a bar for the 2 times a year it would be needed. Laughing stock.

[twohands!!!]

Capacity of the various Ulster Council Grounds

Clones 29,000
Breffni 25,000
Newry 20,000
Athletic Grounds 18,500
Celtic Park 18,500
Ballybofey 18,000
Brester Park 18,000
Healy Park 17,500

Corrigan 3,700

They should not build a very small stadium, but should show some modest ambition for Antrim, which has twice the population of other Ulster counties. Build a comfortable stadium of the same size as other Ulster counties and try and get people to fill it. Then use the Irish government money to make Clones comfortable.

I think a small stadium (sub 10,000) might make the most sense for both Ulster GAA and Antrim GAA, especially when you remember that a new Casement stadium is probably not going to lead to much in the way of increased overall ticket sales.

The starting point is surely to look at the number of matches to be held in Casement and the likely gate for all those matches.

How much benefit would having a stadium with a similar capacity to the Athletic Grounds for games be to the Ulster Council ? If an identical Athletic Grounds were to magically pop up on the Casement site tomorrow, what's that going to do for the Ulster Council in terms of the number of extra tickets sold for games in the next 2 decades? I'd argue that there would likely be very little in percentage terms in the way of extra tickets sold overall. 

From an Antrim GAA point of view how many times has Corrigan been filled in the almost 15 years since Casement closed? For the Armagh sold-out game last year what sort of demand was there over capacity? Realistically what sort of crowds are the Antrim county teams likely to attract for any home league and championship games over the next 10/20 years?

Rather than go down the ass-end approach of we have £150 million pounds to spend, what's the biggest stadium we can get with this money, take as a starting point the actual business case for building a new stadium.
Look at what is best for the GAA overall. Build the best stadium that will suit the people who will be using it the most. Sure allow for growth but realistic growth not the pie-in-the-sky nonsense of pretending that building a new stadium is going to magically sell bucket loads of extra tickets. The last thing Ulster GAA needs for this project is a repeat of the situation like the Pairc Ui Chaoimh/Pairc ui Rinn shambles where the footballers end up playing in the smaller stadium because their support is so small.

Use the money left over for more "boring/sensible" spending in terms of hiring coaches, improving county and club grounds accross the province.

[marty34]

I'd like a 10,000 all-seater with seats completely all the way around.

Plus seats that are not making you squash up like sardines. I'm not that big but I finf the seats in the AG Armagh tight enought.

A nice tidy compact stadium that when 3/4 full would create a great atmosphere. 

[Rossfan]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

SF should have taken a ministry to bail the GAA out?

People in glasshouses....
Your favourite sport and its incompetent Association got bailed out in the 26.
Labour Party at the last GE wanted to make soccer compulsory in schools.

[Sportacus]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

Bunch of amateurs, and throw in an ample amount of 'big talk' as well along the way, with nothing to back it up only farcical photoshoots.
Please use every last penny available to build the best atmospheric stadium for whatever number of seats money will buy these days, and hand it back to Antrim GAA.

[tiempo]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

Bunch of amateurs, and throw in an ample amount of 'big talk' as well along the way, with nothing to back it up only farcical photoshoots.
Please use every last penny available to build the best atmospheric stadium for whatever number of seats money will buy these days, and hand it back to Antrim GAA.

A slight Vicky Pollard yeh but no but view of my own

Yes the number of seats is important but given the shambles it has been, and that its not going above 15,000 then perhaps settle for 12,000 and reserve some of the spend for player related infrastructure, like top quality changing rooms/warm up area/medical side, so above all the player experience is A1, any talk of corporate experience should be fucked off entirely, the venue should be put together with players in mind

1/ A1 playing surface
2/ A1 atmosphere when pushing on for full
3/ A1 player facilities/trimmings

[DaleCooper]

I'd like a 10,000 all-seater with seats completely all the way around.

Plus seats that are not making you squash up like sardines. I'm not that big but I finf the seats in the AG Armagh tight enought.

A nice tidy compact stadium that when 3/4 full would create a great atmosphere. 

Agree on emphasising atmosphere but seats need to be covered. Building a wrap around stand is megabucks.

Better to have natural ampitheatre a la Clones.

Unfortunately an example of "think big" thinking not suited for its environment. Quarter of a BILLION pounds for a GAA stadium in West Belfast.

Like this...

https://www.irishnews.com/news/business/game-of-thrones-studio-tour-racks-up-33m-losses-in-two-years-X3U6M355FJBCDN2DCRGGQNFYTY/

[armaghniac]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

Bunch of amateurs, and throw in an ample amount of 'big talk' as well along the way, with nothing to back it up only farcical photoshoots.
Please use every last penny available to build the best atmospheric stadium for whatever number of seats money will buy these days, and hand it back to Antrim GAA.

That's fine, but why should money from Stormont only go to Antrim? Are each of the 6 counties not entitled to a shake, although not necessarily an equal one.

[Baile Brigín 2]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

SF should have taken a ministry to bail the GAA out?

People in glasshouses....
Your favourite sport and its incompetent Association got bailed out in the 26.
Labour Party at the last GE wanted to make soccer compulsory in schools.

The GAA in the 26 are pushing on for 2bn in grants since Bertie's time.

Tbe point being it's mental to think SF would take a ministry specifically to get the GAA out of it's self created mess.

[Delgany 2nds]

Very few come out this saga looking well including but not limited to successive GAA presidents, Ulster Council, the Casement residents and Sinn Fein.

Why Sinn Fein didn't take Communities when Stormont was restored is beyond me. The GAA and Irish language are getting an absolute kicking and there's nothing SF can do about it.

A farce for all concerned!!

SF should have taken a ministry to bail the GAA out?

People in glasshouses....
Your favourite sport and its incompetent Association got bailed out in the 26.
Labour Party at the last GE wanted to make soccer compulsory in schools.

The GAA in the 26 are pushing on for 2bn in grants since Bertie's time.

Tbe point being it's mental to think SF would take a ministry specifically to get the GAA out of it's self created mess.

Who votes for SF in North?  Would it not have given the Nationalist community a massive lift and reflect positively for the upcoming 2027 Stormont elections?