Casement Park: Redevelopment could cost more than £300m

The cost of redeveloping Casement Park in west Belfast for the Euro 2028 soccer tournament could be more than £300m.

An official estimate puts the total at around £308m.

The figure was quoted in a recent letter by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

However, the price of the project has not been finalised.

The original cost of rebuilding the stadium a decade ago was estimated to be £77.5m.

Casement Park is one of 10 venues due to host matches at the Euro 2028 tournament, but rebuilding work must begin soon or Belfast will miss out.

At present, there is not a funding package in place to pay for the redevelopment, particularly as costs have risen to meet the standards required for the Euros.

The letter, which contained the estimated cost of around £308m, was first reported by UTV.

They also reported that Mr Heaton-Harris had told the department that the government "will not accept a position where it is expected to cover the scale of funding gap there appears to exist".

As things stand, there is a huge shortfall in funding.

The Stormont executive has pledged £62.5m, the Irish government has promised £42.8m while the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has said it will pay £15m.

In total, that amounts to less than half of the estimated cost.

Although the £308m total may be a worst-case scenario, there is race against time to build the stadium for the Euros and those involved need to prepare for all eventualities.

The cost of building the stadium itself may be much less than £300m but contingency plans mean the overall budget needs to be higher.

The planned stadium has a capacity of more than 30,000 and will be primarily for gaelic games, with the option of playing other sports too, including soccer and rugby.

The UK government has indicated it is prepared to contribute to the redevelopment project but has never given an exact figure.

In a statement on Friday evening, a Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said: "The UK Government will need to receive confirmation of the updated cost of the Casement Park project from the Department for Communities before detailed consideration can be given to allocating taxpayers' money, particularly given wider public sector funding challenges".

The Department for Communities (DfC) is overseeing the project.

In the letter from the secretary of state to Minister Gordon Lyons in recent days, Mr Heaton-Harris said the £308m estimate had come from the permanent secretary in the department, Colum Boyle.

On Friday evening, the department issued a statement.

A DfC spokesperson said: "Engagement is ongoing with all funding partners in relation to the redevelopment of Casement Park.

"This a complex project which has evolved over time. Changes in configuration will now mean it will be a venue for both Gaelic games and for the third largest sporting event in the world.

"A prudent approach is being taken in relation to the estimation of costs, however, it must be remembered that the final costs will only be reached at the conclusion of a competitive tender process."

There has as yet been no comment from the GAA on the £308m figure.

The redevelopment must be completed by mid-2027 to meet a deadline set by the European football governing body Uefa.

Officials from Uefa were in Belfast earlier this week for an update on the project.

Although construction of the new stadium has yet to begin, work began recently to clear the site in the hope that the funds to rebuild Casement Park could be found.