€50m grant means Casement Park will be ready for Euro 2028

Casement Park stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, will be redeveloped in time to host games at the UEFA Euro 2028 tournament, following a ¤50m funding boost from the Irish government.

The stadium – the former home ground of the Antrim hurling and Gaelic football teams – was closed in June 2013.

After numerous plans to redevelop and upgrade the stadium ran into trouble, the stadium slowly fell into a state of dereliction, adding to the cost of bringing the historic venue back to life.

After planning permission for the works was finally secured in 2022, Casement Park was included in a joint UK & Ireland bid to host the UEFA Euro 2028 Championship.

Larry McCarthy, The president of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), welcomed the funding from the south of the border – stating that the funding would ensure that work on the 34,578-capacity venue would be completed by 2027.

“It’s very good news that the Irish Government are coming in behind it,” said McCarthy. “As everyone knows, we’ve been very patient. We’ll take that now into consideration but ultimately we still don’t know what the total cost is going to be so that’s an important consideration, but it’s very good news in terms of Casement for the Ulster Council, for Antrim GAA, and the GAA in general.

“It’ll be huge, it’ll be a magnificent step forward once it gets done.”