The government “cannot commit” to funding Casement without more information on costs

The UK government cannot confirm whether it will provide funding to redevelop Casement Park until it knows the cost and sees revised proposals for the stadium, Hilary Benn said.

The Northern Ireland minister made the comments after the GAA expressed hope that the lower-spec redevelopment project could be completed without unduly draining the public purse.

GAA president Jarlath Burns said the organization was still aiming for a 30,000-plus capacity venue, but he said the decor would be more “modest and plain” than what was envisaged when the stadium was earmarked as a venue. Euro 2028 football tournament.

It is understood the GAA has now reverted to the plan it had for Casement before it was chosen as the venue for the Euros.

Mr Burns led a GAA delegation to a meeting with Stormont Communities Minister Gordon Lyons in Belfast to discuss the stalled project on Thursday.

In September, the UK government dashed hopes that the now derelict arena in west Belfast would host the Euro 2028 games when it announced it would not overcome a funding shortfall to complete the renovation in time.

It said that the risk of missing the tournament deadline for the state budget was too high.

The government has also expressed concern that the cost of the project has potentially risen to more than £400m.

The Stormont Executive committed to the redevelopment of Casement Park in 2011 as part of its stadium strategy, which included the redevelopment of Windsor Park football and the Ravenhill rugby pitch.

While two other projects in Belfast went ahead, the Casement redevelopment was then delayed by legal challenges from local residents.

The Stormont administration then allocated £62.5 million to the Casement project.

The GAA has pledged £15 million.

The Irish government has offered around £42m for the project and said the funding would remain in place even without the stadium being built for the Euros.

After the UK government dropped Casement as a Euros venue, Mr Lyons insisted the executive remained committed to redeveloping the ground for the GAA’s needs.

Mr Benn was asked on Thursday whether the Government was prepared to top up Casement Park’s funding bank even if it was no longer a Euro venue.

During a visit to Wrightbus in Ballymena, the Northern Ireland minister told reporters he was unable to confirm whether there would be additional funding from the Treasury.

“I welcome the fact that Jarlath Burns is reported to have said there will be a review of the Casement Park proposal,” he said.

“The Prime Minister said some time ago that we need to see an alternative proposal and I look forward to hearing from the Executive after these discussions a little bit more about that proposal, including the cost, because I am not in a position to give a commitment today .

“We don’t know what the price is. We don’t know what the gap is.

“But it was a long-standing commitment of the executive to ensure the construction of Casement Park.

“But we need to take it one step at a time and I look forward to hearing more about what this renovated stadium looks like.”

Mr Benn added: “I would like to know what the cost of this revised proposal is and I look forward to hearing from the executive and from the GAA about exactly what that is.

“But at this point, it seems to be a very, very big gap.”

After Thursday’s meeting, Mr Burns said he was confident the project was a “priority” for Mr Lyons.

However, the GAA president said a timetable for the new stadium’s handover has yet to be set.

He said Mr Lyons would have to take the GAA’s plan to the wider Stormont executive.

“We’ve looked at the type of stadium that’s going to be built based on the fact that we’re not getting the Euros any more,” Mr Burns said.

“He (Mr Lyons) took it all on board.

“It’s a much lower cost because we’ve taken a lot of equipment out of it to try to make it as small as possible for the public budget, because we’re aware that there are a lot of demands on the public at the moment purse and we’re responsible people and we want to be confident that when Casement Park is built, it will be built to a proper safety standard, but not to an extravagant standard that is going to take money away from other important projects.”

He added: “We are still looking at a capacity of more than 30,000, we can still do it with simpler and more modest equipment, because we think that is very important, although we are getting our stadium, which is obviously part of the stadium strategy and the infrastructure strategy and the Program of Government Priorities that we are doing it responsibly.

“We’ve managed to keep the number of people that will fit in it, but have lower specs.”

Mr Burns said he did not want to release the final cost figure for the refurbishment as it was commercially sensitive ahead of the tender process.

He also said he wanted to discuss the plan in person with the Northern Ireland Secretary to determine the government’s position on funding.

“I remain confident in Hilary Benney and what he can do for us,” added Mr Burns.

The GAA president also indicated that his organization would not commit any additional funds on top of the £15m it had already pledged.

Asked when he believed Casement could eventually be delivered, Mr Burns said: “To be honest we don’t have a time frame, it depends on others because we are waiting for the funding gap to be closed.

“We hope it will happen soon.

“Now it’s really in the hands of the executive, and obviously in the hands of the British government and the Treasury, to see what they’re going to come up with to address this funding shortfall.”