Northern Ireland

Timeline: Casement Park GAA stadium project

Plans for the new Casement Park GAA stadium in west Belfast
Plans for the new Casement Park GAA stadium in west Belfast Plans for the new Casement Park GAA stadium in west Belfast

2006: Plans unveiled to build a new 42,500-seater stadium for soccer, rugby, and Gaelic games at the site of the former Maze prison, with the provisional backing of the GAA.

January 2009: DUP sports minister Gregory Campbell scraps Maze stadium plan in favour of the three main sports' ruling bodies developing their own stadium proposals.

March/April 2009: Ulster GAA proposes Casement Park is upgraded, accommodating 40,000 fans.

March 2011: Stormont agrees funding for major upgrades to three Belfast sports grounds – Casement, Ravenhill and Windsor.

December 2013: SDLP environment minister Mark H Durkan grants planning approval for a 38,000-capacity Casement stadium, with an estimated cost of around £77 million.

December 2014: High Court quashes Casement planning approval after residents' legal challenge.

April 2015: A safety expert tells a Stormont committee he faced "undue pressure" to approve the plans and accuses departmental officials of bullying.

August 2015: A report describes "broken" relationships behind the scenes of the Casement plans, and makes a series of recommendations on reviving the project.

January 2017: Before Stormont's power-sharing executive collapsed in the wake of the RHI scandal, Sinn Féin infrastructure minister Chris Hazzard instructs officials to 'call in' any new Casement planning application so a decision is made by his department rather than Belfast City Council.

February 2017: Ulster GAA submits its revised Casement planning application with a reduced capacity of around 34,000. It hopes to finish construction in 2019.

December 2018: Ulster GAA submits its new business case to the Department for Communities on the Casement project, with a new estimated cost of around £110m.

January 2020: Devolved government at Stormont is restored following the 'New Decade, New Approach' deal.

October 2020: SDLP infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon recommends approval of the Casement stadium plan.