Casement Park clearance work to begin next week

A start date has been announced for the beginning of preparation work for the redevelopment of Casement Park stadium in west Belfast.

The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ground has been derelict for more than a decade, but clearance and maintenance work will start next week.

Funding to rebuild the stadium has yet to be secured.

It needs to be found soon for Casement Park to be ready to host soccer matches in the Euro 2028 tournament.

The redevelopment must begin by this summer and be completed by mid-2027 to meet a deadline set by the football governing body UEFA.

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

Nonetheless, preparation work is about to begin on the site on the Andersonstown Road in west Belfast.

This will involve site clearance, including the removal of the old terracing.  

Tom Daly, Ulster GAA stadium board chairman, said it is "looking forward to this exciting new phase of the project with a targeted timeline for the delivery of Ulster GAA's provincial stadium and Antrim's new home".  

"It has been a long and frustrating journey to get to this point, however, this is an important step forward as we prepare for the delivery phase of the project," he added. 

"Casement Park will host some of the largest and most significant GAA games on the island and it will also be a seven-day-a-week hub that the whole community can access and enjoy.   

"With Casement Park being the only regional venue that can host unique global events such as Euro 2028, we are also delighted to support our friends and colleagues at the Irish FA by providing the stadium as a tournament venue for the bid and we are excited by the opportunities that this will create for all of society."

Public money was promised to the project in 2011 as part of a scheme to improve sporting facilities for GAA, rugby and soccer in Northern Ireland.

The GAA has said it is willing to pay at least £15m, with other funding coming from Stormont, plus the British and Irish governments.

There is no agreement yet on exactly how much each of the stakeholders is prepared to pay.