Paul Rouse: Now 13 years since a match played at Casement Park. The raw, unacceptable truth
The Antrim team come out on to the pitch for the 2013 Ulster SFC quarter-Final with Monaghan at Casement Park, Belfast. Picture: Oliver McVeigh / SPORTSFILE
The sorry saga of Casement Park took another lurch in the past week.
John Fogarty’s report in this paper that the GAA has effectively recognised that the West Belfast redevelopment will not come close to the proposed 34,500 stadium capacity is logical acceptance of reality.
Instead of building a stadium that will be big enough to host Ulster GAA finals, Casement Park now looks set to be built instead as home fitted to the demands of Antrim GAA.
That is to say, it will primarily host Antrim’s home games in hurling and football, whether league or championship, as well as important Antrim club championship matches.
The precise nature of that refitting has yet to be decided, but there appears now to be at least an understanding that existing plans must be abandoned.
It is understandable why this has caused a certain consternation among those who conceive of the rebuilding of Casement Park primarily in terms of equity for Gaelic games, particularly when it is set against the money devoted respectively to Windsor Park for soccer and Ravenhill for rugby. The legacy of conflict places demands that are not easily overcome.
And yet, the soaring cost of the redevelopment on a scale of a capacity of 34,500 (possibly more than £300 million and climbing) made it entirely unrealistic. This was money that was to be provided by taxpayers (from north and south, as well as from Britain) and by GAA members.
The estimated costs had grown to an amount that threatened to leave the redevelopment mired in disrepute. It is not credible to seek to justify spending £300 million on any sports stadium given the challenges facing our society. Symbolism, identity and equity are vital things, but they cannot trump all reason.
Read More
What is also interesting is that it is unclear what precisely the overall cost of the 34,5000 project would end up being. That is not a sustainable way to operate.
And, at this point, it would be fascinating to know how much has already been spent, not least on consultancy and other professional fees, and who has received that money? The meter has been running for a while now, but we are still stuck in preparatory groundworks.
What is undoubted is the extraordinary rise in costs of redeveloping Casement Park – which had been the home of Antrim GAA following its opening in 1953 – since it was estimated at some £76 million more than a decade ago.
When the cost of a project trebles or quadruples in such a short space of time, it offers a fine insight into the wider pressures on price across society.
It is now 13 years since a match has been played at Casement Park. This is a raw truth that is unacceptable.
It has to be repeated: The legal rows, planning permission disputes, and political posturing that derailed a quick build are a stain on those whose motivations were malevolent; the prejudice of some people remains outrageous.
Things were complicated also by idea that Casement Park would host games in the Euro ’28 soccer championships.
Before that, Casement Park was included as one of twelve proposed venues for Ireland's ill-fated Rugby World Cup 2023 bid.
In respect of Euro ’28, that the delays have meant the need to abandon Belfast as a venue for games was tough to take, and it is wrong the tournament will not see even one game played in the city where soccer was first played on the island and which did so much to establish its roots in Ireland.
The demands to create a stadium of such scale and specification as to make it fit for international competition are now long gone, of course. It is an abject failure that things have not moved on already to create a stadium appropriate to the needs of Antrim GAA. Such a stadium holds the potential to be an everyday boon to life in Belfast rather than a monument to occasional big matches and concerts.
That, after all, is what the GAA is supposed primarily to be about – indeed, the fact that it need not now be a financial millstone imposed on future generations is to be welcomed. We are excellent on this island in loading the unnecessary debts of our present onto the shoulders of those who follow us for want of leadership. It would at least be a positive to avoid that in this instance.
As things stand, the GAA’s commitment to Casement Park sits at £15 million (€17.5m). This goes alongside the Stormont Executive’s commitment of £62.5 million (€72.9m) – something which might rise if linked to inflation. The Irish Government has pledged £43 million (€50m) and the British government promised £50 million (€58.5m). It is difficult to see that last sum being delivered, not least given the calamity that is the British public finances.
Even without the British government’s £50 million, a budget of over £120 million (€140.5m) is a serious amount to spend on a stadium. It is extremely difficult to see how a top-class facility cannot be constructed for that sum.
In John Fogarty’s report, it was set out that the GAA had set up a new sub-committee comprising GAA president-elect Derek Kent, Munster chairman Tim Murphy, trustee John Murphy and Britain GAA chairman Seán Hopkins to assess the project’s ongoing viability.
It is to be hoped that they can succeed where others have failed to date.
