The UK and Ireland are set to host the next edition of the European Football Championships, with UEFA officially confirming their successful bid in October last year.
10 stadiums across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will be used for the matches, including two that are not yet built.
Namely, the Everton Stadium in Liverpool which is near completion andCasement Park in Belfast which has been closed since 2013.
Plans had been made to rebuild it into a 31,500 capacity ground which would have partly been funded by the UK government, and would have had to have been finished by the summer of 2027 at the latest.
But on Friday night it was announced that they were pulling the plug due to skyrocketing costs and the project’s lack of progress. A joint letter from Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and Sports Minister Lisa Nandy to Stormont Minister Gordon Lyons read:
‘Having sought expert advice and analysis, we have concluded that there is a significant risk that the stadium would not be built in time (including to host essential test events well in advance of the tournament).
‘This is in part because in the period between the awarding of Euro 2028 and the election of the new government, almost no progress was made to deliver the stadium build.
‘The estimated build costs have risen dramatically – from £180m when the Euro 2028 bid was awarded in October 2023 to potentially over £400m – and there is a significant risk that it would not be built in time for the tournament.
‘We have therefore, regrettably, decided that it is not appropriate for the UK government to provide funding to seek to build Casement Park in time to host matches at Euro 2028.
UK and Ireland Euro 2028 stadiums
Wembley Stadium, London (capacity 90,652)
Principality Stadium, Cardiff (73,952)
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (62,322)
Etihad Stadium, Manchester (61,000)
Everton Stadium, Liverpool (52,679)*
St James’ Park, Newcastle (52,305)
Villa Park, Birmingham (52,190)
Hampden Park, Glasgow (52,032)
Aviva Stadium, Dublin (51,711)
Casement Park, Belfast (34,500)*
*Under construction
‘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.’
While the rebuild may still take place, it seems almost certain it will not be ready in three years, meaning Northern Ireland are very likely to miss out on hosting the Euros.
The national team’s current home Windsor Park cannot be used as its 18,500 capacity falls well short of the UEFA’s minimum requirement of 30,000.
It remains to be seen how this will affect the rest of the host nations plans for the tournament and if Casement Park does officially drop out as expected a new stadium will have to be selected to replace it.
The London Stadium, Old Trafford, the Stadium of Light, Stadium MK and Croke Park all featured on the UK and Ireland’s initial shortlist during the bidding process.
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