As part of the 2025 spending review, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has announced a £50 million contribution towards the rebuild of Casement Park in West Belfast.
The estimated cost to rebuild the stadium is £260m. The Northern Ireland Executive has pledged to contribute £62.5m, the Irish Government will offer £43m, and the GAA will contribute £15m.
This leaves a funding shortfall of £90m. The GAA has said it will look to contribute more money and to reduce the costs. There is also potential for the Irish Government to increase their contribution.
The 34,000-seater stadium was involved in plans to host Euro 2028 games, but those plans fell apart when the funding wasn’t committed in time for it to be built.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill has welcomed the announcement by the Chancellor, saying: “Today marks a significant step forward in the redevelopment of Casement Park, as the British government joins the Executive, the Irish government, and the GAA in committing funding.”
“In every meeting I’ve had with the British government, I’ve made the case for funding Casement Park, and today’s announcement is very welcome.”
“We will continue working with all partners involved in this project to secure the remaining funding and get diggers on site to build a new, world-class Casement Park,” she added.
GAA president Jarlath Burns has said that he will engage “directly with the NI Executive and the Department for Communities to ensure that all parties actively pursue, and secure, a full funding package that will deliver upon the GAA’s strategic stadium need.”
Irish Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris, said he welcomes the contribution of the British government.
“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,” he added.
The spending review also included an additional £113 million for the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Additional Security Fund and £24 million for the Executive Programme on Paramilitarism and Organised Crime.
