Casement Park to get £50m from government Spending Review

The government is to make a financial contribution of £50m towards the redevelopment of Casement Park

The move comes as part of the chancellor’s Spending Review, which allocates money to day-to-day public services for the next three years.

Rebuilding the west Belfast stadium is estimated to cost about £260m – of which £120m is jointly in place from the Stormont Executive, the Irish government and the GAA.

The government’s decision will be welcomed by the GAA and some political parties, but it still leaves a shortfall of about £90m.

The Spending Review directly affects what Stormont ministers have to spend on public services in Northern Ireland.

Ministers are also expected to find out if they have succeeded in persuading the Treasury that Stormont’s finances require a more generous “needs-based” top-up.

Last week, Finance Minister John O’Dowd said he believed the Treasury was in “solution-finding mode” when it came to reaching agreement on funding for Casement Park.

The Stormont executive is contributing £62.5m towards the project, the GAA will pay £15m, while the Irish government has pledged about £43m.

The GAA has acknowledged it will need to increase its commitment.

Casement Park, with a proposed 34,500 capacity, had been earmarked to host football games at the Euro 2028 football tournament but, with the project on hold, the plan was shelved.

Stormont’s Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has defended his handling of the planned Casement redevelopment and insisted the hold-up is not his fault.

He has said the GAA will need to make its plans for the stadium more affordable if the government fails to cover the gap for the current proposed rebuild.

“What we do need to make sure is that any additional public funding that comes forward for sport is done on a fair and equitable basis,” he said.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill welcomed the government funding and said it should act as a “springboard” to give momentum to ensure the stadium is developed.

She said it was a good news story and all the partners should now work together because “Casement Park will be built”.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly said it was now “over to the GAA” to deal with the funding shortfall.

She added that the executive funding commitment remains and she wants to “ensure fairness across all our sports”.

When devolution was restored in 2024, Stormont ministers persuaded the Treasury that Northern Ireland’s public services were being funded below an objective level of need.

As a result any additional funding Stormont gets from Westminster now comes with a top-up – an additional 24p for every pound.

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told the House of Commons that Wednesday’s spending review provided the “largest settlement in real terms since devolution was introduced”.

She said there would be “£52bn for Scotland, £20bn for Northern Ireland by the end of the Spending Review and £23bn for Wales”.

Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance said it would take time to consider the announcement and give its assessment later on Wednesday.