UK Pulls Plug on £400 Million Northern Ireland Stadium Planned for Euro 2028

(Bloomberg) -- The UK government decided it will not provide any money to rebuild Casement Park, a sports stadium in Northern Ireland, in time to host matches for Euro 2028, one of the world’s biggest soccer tournaments, citing spiraling costs.

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Costs are estimated to have soared to potentially over £400 million ($525 million), up from £180 million when the bid for the UK and Ireland to host the contest was awarded in October 2023, according to a letter written by Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and culture secretary Lisa Nandy, which added that any refurbishment would not be complete in time for the tournament anyway.

Its a long-awaited decision that will provoke controversy in Northern Ireland, a post-conflict region where even sport remains caught up in old divides. Derelict Casement Park, located in largely Irish nationalist west Belfast, has been promised a rebuild for over a decade.

Pressure on the UK government to get it redeveloped only increased when it was eyed for the Euros, after which the stadium would be reverted into a home for Irish sports popular with the Nationalist community. That prompted some objection from British unionists, who in part saw it as nationalists getting a more prestigious stadium, and wanted funding diverted elsewhere.

The fall-out will no doubt be a blow to Benn’s efforts to maintain stability in the region, which he pledged to do ever since he became secretary of state in July. Northern Ireland’s devolved assembly was only restored in February after two years of stasis. The decision, which is likely to concern some nationalist politicians in the region, likely came down to the Labour government’s wider fiscal crackdown as it grapples with stretched public finances ahead of its first budget in October.

“The decision by the British government to withhold the necessary share of funding for Casement Park in time for us to host UEFA Euro 2028 is a missed opportunity for sport and our economy,” Michelle O’Neill, the first Irish nationalist to hold Northern Ireland’s first minister role, said. “This was an enormous opportunity to create jobs, boost tourism, and showcase everything great about our island and people on the global stage.”

Ireland’s government already pledged €50 million to the project in February as part of its shared island initiative, while Northern Ireland’s administration promised £62.5 million for the rebuild back in 2011, reports from the time said, a commitment that still stands.

“This has been a very difficult decision to make, given our belief in the Euro 2028 partnership, but it is the only way forward in the circumstances,” Benn and Nandy said in the letter to Northern Ireland’s Department of Communities Friday. “We will continue to work together with partners and UEFA regarding Northern Ireland’s involvement in Euro 2028 moving forward, and remain fully committed to ensuring that the tournament positively impacts on the whole of the UK, providing a legacy for football and people across all four home nations.”

(Adds reaction from first minister, funding figures)

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