Casement Park: Lyons rejects sectarianism claims over redevelopment

The Communities Minister was speaking with UK Sports Minister Stuart Andrew at Stormont on Monday

Suggestions that opposition to the redevelopment of Casement Park is motivated by sectarianism are "unfair", Gordon Lyons has said.

The communities minister said the only issue at play was a "significant funding shortfall".

He was reacting to comments by Alliance leader Naomi Long who said she was concerned by delays to the project.

Mr Lyons refused to confirm figures that emerged on Friday which said it could now cost up to £308m to complete.

The new stadium to be built at Casement Park in west Belfast will have a smaller initial capacity than originally planned.

There will be room for 30,000 spectators when it first opens, rather than 34,500.

The plan is to increase the capacity after the Euro 2028 soccer tournament.

'UK gov won't fund gap'

An official estimate puts the cost of the redevelopment project at about £308m and the funding currently is not available

However, questions remain about whether the stadium will be built in time for the event, as the funding is currently not available.

Stormont's executive has committed £62.5m but that was agreed back in 2011. The Irish government is putting forward more than £40m and the GAA has committed £15m.

On Friday, a leaked letter from Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to Mr Lyons said the government "will not accept a position where it is expected to cover the scale of funding gap there appears to exist".

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On Monday, Mr Lyons held talks with UK Sports Minister Stuart Andrew at Stormont, but he said they did not discuss the financial situation in relation to Casement Park.

He said their focus was on funding for sub-regional football stadia in Northern Ireland, as part of commitments made by the UK government on the union.

Work began at Casement Park in February

Asked about the latest developments regarding Casement Park, Mr Lyons said his focus was on getting clarity on where the funding was going to come from.

He also rejected comments made by Alliance leader Naomi Long on BBC One NI's Sunday Politics that opposition to the project was in part motivated by sectarianism.

"It is unfair for people to say that sectarianism is at play here, what is at play is a significant funding issue - the issue here is not about sectarianism," he added.

"We need clarity from funding partners and that is something we continue to discuss."

The minister also refused to comment on how quickly those discussions would reach a conclusion.

Casement Park is one of 10 venues in the UK and Ireland chosen to host matches in the Euro tournament.

The redevelopment project is being overseen by the Department for Communities.