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

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.