British government will make £50m contribution to Casement Park

June 11, 2025

The British government has announced it will make a £50 million contribution towards the redevelopment of Casement Park.

The principal Gaelic games stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has been closed since June 2013 and previously served as the home ground of the Antrim hurling and Gaelic football teams.

The Stormont Executive has already pledged £62.5 million, Irish government promised another £43 million on top of that and the GAA will add £15 million.

To reach its goal of approximately £260 million for a full renovation, Casement Park needs just under £90 million to be rebuilt.

It previously had a capacity of around 31,500 and once the project is complete it will hold an extra 3,000 spectators.

On June 5, Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill called for British government funding to help get plans in motion.

Where is Casement Park?

Casement Park is located in west Belfast, County Antrim on the Andersonstown Road. It opened in June 1953 and has hosted eight Ulster football finals.

It was built in the years following World War II, reportedly incorporating steel reclaimed from spare military aircraft hangers in County Fermanagh.

The stadium hasn’t hosted a match since June 10, 2013, the Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final between Antrim and Monaghan.

Why hasn’t Casement Park been built?

In early 2012 it was announced that redevelopment work at Casement would begin in 2013, with a view of reopening in September 2015.

However, some local residents objected to the proposal and issued a formal petition and letter of objection to the country’s Department of Environment – arguing it would block out light from homes and cause traffic disruption.

In December 2014 the High Court overturned planning permission for the project, and it emerged that a Safety Technical Group (STG) had not approved design plans due to concerns over how long it would take to evacuate the stadium in an emergency,

The original plan was scrapped and the GAA started fresh. A new application was submitted in 2017 and granted in 2021, with local residents losing a legal challenge against the project and now tall that was required was adequate funding.

What Casement Park could look like after being redeveloped

Why isn’t Casement Park hosting Euro 2028?

In October 2023, Casement was included as a host venue as part of the UK and Ireland’s successful bid to host the 2028 European Championships.

However, to make the stadium suitable to UEFA tournament specifications – it required increasingly more funding and ultimately the new Labour government wouldn’t commit the required cash.

No requirement to meet those specifications means estimated costs have fallen and now it seems Casement Park is finally going to be redeveloped.