Casement Park bill set to top €20 million before building work begins

The proposed redevelopment of Casement Park has already clocked up huge costs

A general view of the derelict grounds of the Casement Park stadium.  Picture date: Saturday April 12, 2025.

The bill for the proposed redevelopment of Casement Park is set to exceed €20 million before a spade has been put into the ground.

In 2019, it was reported over €10m had already been spent on the project and that figure has close to doubled with site clearance and demolition work as well as administrative costs such as architectural and engineering commissions, legal advice and public relations.

According to Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher, there are estimated monthly costs of €178,000 associated with Casement Park. Monaghan man Gallagher has called for a county rather than a provincial stadium to be built in Belfast and more investment in Clones’s St Tiernach’s Park, the traditional home of the Ulster final.

In June, ITV reported that Ulster GAA requested the Department of Communities in The North pay for its public relations bill between October and February this year when the council claimed their and the department’s communications protocols were not aligned.

Believed to be several thousand pounds, the GAA claimed the monies spent were necessary and fell under the development costs as per the agreement with the department, but they were deemed ineligible by the government body.

As things stand, there is approximately €200m committed to Casement Park following the British government’s decision in June to provide €59m to the project to reopen the Andersonstown venue for the first time since 2013. The Stormont Executive’s €75m contribution remains as does the GAA’s €18m.

The Irish government have pledged up to €50m but is unlikely they will contribute anything further. Reacting to the British government’s contribution, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris said: “The Irish Government has long supported the redevelopment of Casement Park in Belfast as a landmark sports infrastructure project.

“In February 2024, we made an early commitment from the Shared Island initiative of up to €50 million for the redevelopment of Casement. We underlined our commitment at that time to support the GAA in progressing this project in partnership with the UK and NI authorities.

“I will now engage with all these partners to deliver a redeveloped stadium. The last match hosted in Casement was well over a decade ago and it is past time for the redevelopment of this historic venue to get underway.” 

The likelihood of a 34,500-capacity stadium being built have diminished significantly with a total price tag of around €300m. A venue catering for 20,000 providing a home for Antrim GAA, who have been playing their games in 4,000-capacity Corrigan Park, is now considered the more feasible option, although the Stormont investment may be contingent on it being a resource of provincial proportions.