GAA Infastructure

Casement Park stadium plans are formally approved! (can't post link to BBC article)

"Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon announced the successful completion of the planning process for the 34,500-capacity Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) stadium.

In October, Ms Mallon said she had recommended approval of the project but it still had to pass a number of further stages.

Those have now been completed."

Such a waste of money if that goes ahead. One game a year the ulster final will fill it and maybe a semi. 15k more than enoght

The residents said it was wrong on constitutional grounds in a country with no constitution.

11 million spent and it is probably still as far away as it was 13 years ago. The cost is spiraling and no sign of who is going to fund it.

Theres no need for this stadium really. The money would be much better spent developing clones and corrigan pk. Its just another example of a bright and shiney toy which will get little use. Will the RFU be allowed to use it as a base for Ireland games in the North? No. Will the IFA get to use it for matches thay require a biggeer capacity? No.

And at the same time the GAA stand by and look at the likes of Newbridge, Navan Mullingar thurles etc fall apart.

It would make your blood boil. The decision to carry on with all of this was political.

Corrigan Park looks pretty badly landlocked so not sure how much can be done. The Casement plans are a bit over the top but I would have no problem with Belfast getting a good stadium.

I wouldn't have Thurles on that list either. Plenty has been put into that place and it got way too many games over the years because of the "history"

could say that about pretty much every county ground

i think this will have to be the way with new stadia from now on, multi-use and if the various sporting organisations dont agree to it then tough luck, no public funding for you

Ya but Thurles the town is also falling apart. I'de much rather head to Cork.

Being the "home of hurling" or any of that BS should have no bearing on where a game is played.

Hilarious too that you are calling Cork and Belfast inaccessible. A small few of the places in Ireland actually have a train going to them.

Do those counties have trains to anywhere?

The fact Belfast has a train station makes it a lot less middle of nowhere than Clones.

I remember going to Casement for a game a few years ago and a simple checkpoint or accident on the motorhead delayed the start of the match for over half an hour, simply because all of the fans were coming in that way..all of them.

Awful place to get in and out of ordinarily and chaos if there is any hold up. And it is soul less.

Clones needs a proper traffic plan and it would improve dramatically and it has tradition and soul.

I don't think there was much wrong with Casement Park in the first place. I haven't read much about the issue but they could have redevelopment the stand and left the terraces. I am not a big fan of fancy modern grounds anyway but I know others have different views. When it shut the terraces were only 14 years old as they were built to replace the grass hills around 1998.

I haven't been up there much but it looked a bit dilapidated. Not that other grounds also don't but it stood out in my mind a a pretty bad one.

Ha you almost got me with that one.

Concerts and other events apart from GAA matches.

Hard to justify putting in another 50 million or so into the new stadium. I suppose the UK taxpayer will be expected to pick up the tab for it. They probably will too. The stadium is needed but id like to see things attached.

1. That it be made more 'municipal' . That other sports can and will be playing there.

2. That Ulster GAA makes a serious effort to start GAA clubs in Loyalist areas. The one in East Belfast was more or less started by a few individuals. Id like these Loyalist communities to be able to join without having to use Irish and without having to stand for Amhran na Bfhainn. Those little things would go along way. In my opinion Ulster GAA is too political and republican and needs to tone all the non sporting stuff out. I wish them every success.