Ireland’s Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) looks set to scale back its plans for the Casement Park redevelopment project and it’s now expected the ground capacity will be much lower than the 34,000 previously planned.
The BBC said that as a result the stadium will not be able to stage Ulster senior final matches but will instead be used for other provincial fixtures.
Ulster GAA said in a statement that they remain “fully committed” and that their “project team is currently reviewing options” in delivering the new stadium.
The association added: “We will continue to work closely with all funding partners to honour the long-standing commitments made to see major GAA games returning to our redeveloped provincial stadium in Belfast.”
Casement Park is the principal Gaelic games stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. It is located in Andersonstown Road in the West of the City and is named after the Irish revolutionary Roger Casement. The stadium, which has been closed since June 2013, previously had a capacity of approximately 31,500.
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organization focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, Gaelic handball, and GAA rounders.
The association also promotes Irish music and dance as well as the Irish language and it also promotes environmental stewardship through its Green Clubs initiative.
The UK government had pledged a further £50m as part of the spending review which left a shortfall of £90m.
The delays in rolling out the Casement Park redevelopment project, have been many and varied.
The initial planning permission for a 38,000-capacity stadium was subsequently overturned by a judicial review in 2014.
In 2021, permission was then granted for an arena catering for 34,500 people but subsequent inflation increases have driven the project from its initial cost of £78.5m to an estimated £260m last year.
Along the way, Casement Park missed out on the prospect of being a host venue for EURO 2028.
Confirmed funding thus far includes £62.5 million from Stormont (the seat of Northern Ireland’s devolved Government housing the Northern Ireland Assembly), Croke Park (£15 million) and the Irish Government (£42 million).
It is understood some in the GAA felt there was question mark over the government’s financial commitment, which has prompted a rethink.
A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said the UK government remains committed to providing £50 million of capital funding over four years to the executive to support the Casement Park redevelopment project.
The Department for Communities said minister Gordon Lyons has “consistently said the GAA must develop a project that is sustainable, affordable, reasonable and value for money”.
The BBC further stated that sources close to the association have said it has been left with no option but to scale back the Casement Park redevelopment project.
They also confirmed that a new “statement of need” will be drawn up to reflect what can be built with the available financial resources.
A source said, “This is not what GAA had planned but it has been clear for some time that financial resources needed were not going to be met. It is a disappointment but the priority now will be to get the stadium built as soon as possible.”
First Minister Michelle O’Neill said, “Despite obstruction and delay, real progress has been made in recent months, with diggers and workers now on site as the redevelopment moves forward. We must continue to build on that momentum.”
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