Euro 2028: Ulster GAA says successful bid a 'shot in the arm' for Casement project
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Casement Park: Euro 2028 will be 'transformational' say Ulster GAA
Ulster GAA says the UK and Ireland's successful bid for Euro 2028 will prove a key moment on the road to getting the new Casement Park built.
Stephen McGeehan, Ulster GAA's head of operations, described Tuesday's Uefa's ratification of the UK and Ireland bid as "momentous" and "transformational".
"There has been a long standing government commitment to build this," said the Ulster GAA official.
"The arrival of the Euro bid has been a shot in the arm for our ambitions."
McGeehan added: "This will be a Gaelic games facility first and foremost but because of its size and location here in Belfast it is going to play a role now and in future to hold major international events. We are delighted about that.
"This is momentous - in terms of the island of Ireland and these islands - for Northern Ireland, for Casement Park, for the GAA on the island of Ireland this is going to be transformational.
"The GAA has a long track record of making our facilities available to other sports - for example Croke Park - so we look forward to Casement Park being transformed and being ready in good time for Euro 2028."
With the 34,500-capacity new Casement Park set to have 26,000 seats, some 4,000 temporary seats will be put into the South Terrace to enable Uefa's 30,000 seater requirement to be met.
Watch: NI football manager Michael O'Neill calls for acceptance of Casement Park project
'Conversations continuing' over GAA contribution
The redevelopment of Casement Park, which has fallen into disrepair since it was last used in 2013, has been controversial, with numerous legal challenges by a local residents group and financial setbacks delaying the project.
However, Casement Park was nominated to be one of 10 stadiums in the UK and Ireland's bid to host Euro 2028, which was formally ratified by Uefa in Nyon on Tuesday.
Initially, the estimated £77m necessary for the Casement Park project to be funded was made up of £15m from the GAA and £62m from the Stormont executive, but costs have spiralled as the years have passed.
However, Ulster GAA's head of operations is confident that the new Casement Park will be built in time to host Euro 2028 games and hinted the GAA might be persuaded to come up with additional money for the project, with the contributions of the various stakeholders, who now include the Irish Government, set to be finalised in December.
"At the moment our contribution remains £15m but the conversations are continuing," added the Ulster GAA head of operations.
"We're talking to the executive departments. We're talking to the British Government and we're talking to the Irish Government and over the course of the next couple of months, the final contributions from all stakeholders will be finalised.
"We're hopeful that some time in April or May of next year we will get started on site," he added.
"After that the build programme is going to be two years, possibly two years and six months depending on some variations on plans that have to be finalised and put in place.
Casement Park was historically one of Ireland's main GAA venues but the last matches took place there back in 2013 when work was supposed to begin on the redevelopment of an upgraded stadium
"From a GAA perspective, it's clearly a gaelic games stadium. We plan to play the Ulster Championships of 2027 in the new Casement Park and then we will welcome our colleagues and our friends from Uefa.
"The bid was submitted on 25th anniversary of the [1998] Good Friday Agreement and the tournament will be played on the 30th anniversary. That's an absolute message across the islands and across the world about peace and reconciliation in a post-conflict environment.
"In Belfast in the early 1970s the GAA decided to stop playing Gaelic games here because of difficulties that existed in this place at that time.
"What a wonderful testament it will be when Gaelic games return here in 2027 and then the Euros in 2028. It will be the island of Ireland's opportunity to show to the world what has been achieved here and it will be a wonderful time for sport and wonderful time for community relations."
In August, one of the Casement project's lead contractors, the Stowe-based Buckingham Group filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators but McGeehan said he was optimistic that this would not prove an "impediment" to work getting underway next year.
"With the potential of £2.6b economic benefit [of Euro 2028] across the UK and Ireland, we believe we now have the momentum behind us - the government will hopefully support us in terms of funding and we can finally get started on Casement Park.
"I've been involved in this project for more than a decade and I'm never been more confident personally or professionally that Casement Park is going to happen. There's a deadline. Work must start next year. We must finish in 2027."