Long Kesh Park takes another step forward

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Looks like the DUP no camp will get their own way on this one.

[Donagh]

Looks like the DUP no camp will get their own way on this one.

And OWC will have to get used to taking the boat to England 

[snatter]

Another rat leaves the sinking ship

Aye, ....you lot will know a lot a fair bit about ships before you ever have the money to build a wee stadium of your own..

All a bit ironic that you'll be soon travelling a lot further than the 11 miles to the Maze.

[his holiness nb]

 

[SammyG]

Another rat leaves the sinking ship

Aye, ....you lot will know a lot a fair bit about ships before you ever have the money to build a wee stadium of your own..

We'll see. I'd have thought a slice of £240 million would go a long way

All a bit ironic that you'll be soon travelling a lot further than the 11 miles to the Maze.

Given that we travel all over the world, travelling 11 miles is not and never has been the issue (as you well know). Although it's good to see you've at least reconciled yourself to the fact that the white elephant is dead.

[T Fearon]

It seems that this project has been scuttled primarily by North East of Ire;and monocultural soccer supporters whose number is greatly less than local GAA and Rugby fans.

I and many others will now expect Sinn Fein to honour their promise and veto a stadium in any other location thus leaving local soccer in the lurch and at death's door.

[AZOffaly]

Another rat leaves the sinking ship

Aye, ....you lot will know a lot a fair bit about ships before you ever have the money to build a wee stadium of your own..

We'll see. I'd have thought a slice of £240 million would go a long way

All a bit ironic that you'll be soon travelling a lot further than the 11 miles to the Maze.

Given that we travel all over the world, travelling 11 miles is not and never has been the issue (as you well know). Although it's good to see you've at least reconciled yourself to the fact that the white elephant is dead.

I call you on sabatoge. Sure don't you live in England anyway? You're just being selfish here

[Donagh]

We'll see. I'd have thought a slice of £240 million would go a long way

What makes you think you'll get a slice of £240 million? The stadium land was part of a pet project by Tony Blair and the NIO, you seriously think Gordon Brown is going to hand money over t the IFA if the stadium is scuttled – no chance. He's making everyone else pay to buy back the empty Brit barracks and he'll do the same here which means that any money going to the IFA will have to come out of the Assembly's budget – which means you'll get next to feck all.

[T Fearon]

This whole stadium episode gives everyone an opportunity to display in no uncertain terms that the days of playing the Orange card are well and truly over.

Sinn Fein says it will veto a stadium in any other location. It had better be true to its word

[Donagh]

This whole stadium episode gives everyone an opportunity to display in no uncertain terms that the days of playing the Orange card are well and truly over.

Sinn Fein says it will veto a stadium in any other location. It had better be true to its word

Tony if you or anyone else is interested in putting this issue to Gerry Adams and the SF leadership at Stormont, they'll be having a number of public meetings including one in the Ashburn Hotel in Lurgan tonight at 8pm.

    * Tues 8th April - Belfast (The Europa Hotel) - 7.30pm
    * Sun 13th April - Strabane (Fountain St Community Centre) - 8pm
    * Tues 15th April - Upper Bann (Asbourne Hotel, Lurgan) - 8pm
    * Wed 16th April - Derry (The Guildhall) - 8pm
    * Thurs 17th April - Toomebridge (The Elk) - 8pm
    * Fri 18th April - Fermanagh (The Slieve Russell) - 8pm
    * Sun 20th April - Down (The Downshire Arms Hotel, Hilltown) - 8pm
    * Tues 22nd April - Newry Armagh (Silverbridge Resource Centre) - 8pm
    * Wed 23rd April - Galbally (Galbally Community Centre) - 8pm

[T Fearon]

Donagh, ffs Portydown wans in the Ashburn is the perfect recipe for a full scale riot

[Donagh]

Aye, I know – was at the last one. I thought McGuinness was going to have to phone for Gerry Kelly at one stage. 

[SammyG]

What makes you think you'll get a slice of £240 million?

You're right, with the money from selling off the land, for housing, it'll probably be more than £240 million in the pot but I was trying not to be too greedy.

[Donagh]

What makes you think you'll get a slice of £240 million?

You're right, with the money from selling off the land, for housing, it'll probably be more than £240 million in the pot but I was trying not to be too greedy.

If the land is sold off, the money will be given back to the British exchequer who own the land. It will then be given to the Assembly as part of their yearly budget i.e. it will not given as extra money on top of the annual NI allocation. So there will be no extra money available to give to anybody any more than there was this year or last. The only reason that the thing was viable in the first place was that the previous Labour regime ring-fenced the land for the stadium. No stadium, no money from sale of the land, no money for the IFA and plenty of boat trips for the GAWA.

[snatter]

What makes you think you'll get a slice of £240 million?

You're right, with the money from selling off the land, for housing, it'll probably be more than £240 million in the pot but I was trying not to be too greedy.

Hypothetically, if they ever did sell the land, the money would be controlled by the NI assembly - it was gifted to NI by the exchequer, so presumably they could do what they like with it.

BUT....as you already know, all major spend has to be approved by both Unionist and Nationalist blocks.
Not a snowball's chance of any Nationalist support for any stadium unless
1. it caters for NI's most attended sport, namely gaelic football
2. it is located on a site acceptable to both communities.

You only have to look at the recent sectarian savagery perptrated by / inflicted on sports fans in Belfast to see the reluctance of the Nationalist community to locate a shared space stadium there.
Bang goes your myth of a better match day atmosphere.

Nope, I think that NI's best ever chance of decent stadium provision will sink if Robinson attempts to override the three sprts bodies (and UK Govt's ) wishes.
The revenue strapped UK Govt will gladly take the money back (just look at how they're risking a politically damaging strike by English police over a measly 50 million).

Hypothetically, if the assembly did flog the Maze site, the NI assembly would see stadium development as a much lower priority faced with other more important demands on budgets it controls.

Additionally, I detect no appetite from Nationalist / Alliance parties for the wasteful duplication of resources that would result from separate stadia developments by the three main sports bodies.
My guess is that you lot would get very little.

I also doubt that your probable plan B, ie  the granting of a free site by Belfast City Councilo will get off the ground, well not without a simultaneous gifting of a stadium site to the GAA.
Remember that the pro-Maze Alliance now control the balance of power there.