GAA set to scale back Casement Park redevelopment plans

The GAA looks set to scale back its plans to redevelop Casement Park, BBC News NI understands.

It is expected the ground capacity will now be much lower than the 34,000 previously planned.

As a result it will not be able to stage Ulster senior final matches but will instead be used for other provincial fixtures.

The move comes amid a long running dispute over funding for the project.

The development was also delayed over prolonged planning disputes.

Rebuilding the west Belfast stadium was estimated to cost about £260m of which £120m was jointly in place from the Stormont Executive, the Irish government and the GAA.

The UK government had pledged a further £50m as part of the spending review which left a shortfall of £90m.

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 £50m of capital funding over four years to the executive to support the redevelopment.

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".

While there has been no official confirmation from the GAA, sources close to the association have said it has been left with no option but to scale back the 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.

"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," the source said.

"It is a disappointment but the priority now will be to get the stadium built as soon as possible."

The ground has been lying derelict for more than a decade.

The redevelopment has faced many years of setbacks and delays, and questions have continued over funding for the project amid increasing construction costs.

In 2011 the Northern Ireland Executive originally set aside £62.5m for the stadium.

Earlier this year, a draft multi-year budget published by Finance Minister John O'Dowd proposed an inflationary increase to more than £100m.

But the Sinn Féin minister's budget proposals had not been agreed by other ministers in the Executive.

The GAA has previously said a reported estimate of around £270m was closer to the assumptions it was working on.

Among other bumps in the road was the matter of Euro 2028.

The UK government announced in 2024 that the estimated cost of rebuilding Casement Park had risen to more than £400m, confirming that it would not be providing funding to redevelop the stadium in time for the tournament.

In order to be ready for the tournament, Casement Park needed to be rebuilt by the summer of 2027.

Trying to cater for soccer, as well as GAA, has increased costs further, as UEFA requires a higher specification of stadium to be used in its tournaments.

However, the GAA will be hoping that even though the government has said it will not be funding a Euro 2028-compliant stadium, it may still contribute to the redevelopment whenever it happens.

The Irish government has already pledged more than £40m.

This was to be the flagship stadium for the GAA in Ulster, a venue even capable of staging international soccer matches.

But now after years of being dogged by planning and more recently political delays it is to be scaled right back.

Far from staging the blue ribbon Ulster senior finals it will now only be able to host lower ranking fixtures.

It is a blow for Ulster GAA and its supporters and the finger of blame will likely be pointed at politicians.

First Minister Michelle O'Neill had insisted Casement Park would be completed on her watch but not the stadium as originally planned.