https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/northern-ireland/casement-park-gaa-unable-to-say-who-will-rebuild-stadium-after-construction-company-enters-administration/a486276380.html
The GAA’s Ulster Council has been unable to clarify which contractor will carry out the time-sensitive rebuild of west Belfast’s Casement Park in time for Euro 2028.
A joint venture between Mid-Ulster construction company Heron Bros and Buckingham in Great Britain was previously linked to the project and won a tender in 2013.
A joint venture between Mid-Ulster construction company Heron Bros and Buckingham in Great Britain was previously linked to the project and won a tender in 2013.
Architecture firm Populous, which specialises in stadiums and worked on designs for the rebuild, is still involved.
But with the costs of the project likely to reach £140m — up from an estimate of £77m a decade ago — and Buckingham entering administration last month, the joint venture’s continued involvement appears to be in doubt.
Heron Bros did not respond to requests for confirmation of its continued involvement, while the English arm of Grant Thornton — the administrators for Buckingham — also failed to return a request for comment.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has said Westminster will help foot the bill. The Irish government has also said it will contribute.
Casement Park as it currently looks (Picture: Peter Morrison)
The GAA, which owns the stadium and is leading the project, is to stump up £15m.
A number of clubs have announced that alternative contractors have been appointed to Buckingham jobs, with Mace to finish work at Birmingham City’s St Andrews stadium, and Rayner Rowen finishing the contract for works at Liverpool’s Anfield.
Sinn Fein West Belfast MP Paul Maskey said it was “time to move forward” with the build.
“The 2028 Euros will be an opportunity of a lifetime,” he added.
“The building of Casement Park is a flagship Executive and New Decade, New Approach commitment.
“It is time to move forward to build Casement Park to ensure we will have a first-class, state-of-the-art sporting facility for Ulster Gaels, and to host major games in the Euros and big events.”
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The GAA has said it wants to hold the 2027 Ulster Championship semi-finals and finals at the stadium, so that Gaelic football is the first sport played there.
One figure in the sporting world who wished to remain anonymous called the apparent predicament of Casement Park’s construction a “messy affair”.
They told the Belfast Telegraph: “The overall build would cost £140m, but there’s no detail on who will be doing the work and whether it will be done on time.
“The project was with the Department for Communities, but now ownership has passed to the UK and Irish governments.
“Unless they turn around and say, ‘We give Stormont the money and they look after it’…
“It’s a messy affair. It’s October and it needs to get off the ground by March 2024 at the latest if it’s to be finished by 2026.”
Uefa, the sporting body which holds the Euros, requires new stadiums selected for major tournaments to be finished two years in advance, giving the completion of Casement Park’s rebuild a 2026 deadline.
Asked for details of the construction contract, the Ulster Council referred the Belfast Telegraph to an announcement on October 20 that Casement would be one of 10 host stadiums across the UK and Ireland.
But that announcement contains no detail of the contractor.
Government departments previously linked with the Casement Park project are also referring queries elsewhere.
One department said the Regional Stadia Development Programme was the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Department for Communities (DfC).
But the DfC said: “We would refer you to the GAA on contractual and commercial matters.”
The Executive Office said it had “no further information”.
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