North's national sports stadium proposal rejected

The North’s national sports stadium row took a new twist last night when Belfast Councillors rejected two private sector proposals to build it in the city.

Their decision shocked and angered the developer behind one of the plans after he was informed by telephone.

Paul Durnien, who headed a consortium seeking to build a 25,000-seater complex in Belfast’s Ormeau Park, said: “I have been working with the Council for nearly four years on this.

“To get a phone call tonight saying we are stopping this whole process is a strange way to do business.”

Mr Durnien, who is to seek legal advice on the decision taken by the Council’s Parks and Leisure Committee, vowed to press ahead with his project.

He stressed that the £67m (€97.47m) building costs would have been privately financed.

“The best people to provide a stadium for Belfast is the private sector. It won’t cost anything, and that way more money can be spent on health and education.”

Mr Durnien hit out following the announcement by the City Council, which is fighting a rival move by the Government to build a national sports stadium built on the old Maze Prison site near Lisburn, Co Antrim.

Even though the Committee decided to stop its assessment of the two remaining private sector proposals, it agreed to develop the business case for a stadium development in the city.

Both decisions need to be ratified by the full council at its next meeting in October.

The decision not to pursue to private sector proposals was made because the committee felt it would be unreasonable to expect the companies to spend the time and money required to take their proposals to the next stage at a time of political uncertainty around the Maze proposals, the Council said in a statement.

The business case will consider issues such as who and what the stadium would be for; the size and nature of the stadium needed to meet demand; resources required and the funding options for the construction and operation of the stadium; the business mix that would be needed to make it work operationally; and site specific considerations.

The case also will look at the benefits accruing to Belfast from the Maze development if it were to proceed, and also identify any necessary infrastructure improvements that would be needed to maximise those benefits.