Sports Minister to decide on viability of NI stadium

Sports Minister Angela Smith has announced the commissioning of a business plan to finally decide whether a sports stadium for Northern Ireland would be commercially viable.

The Minister said: “For years there has been argument and debate about such a stadium and I believe it is now time to see whether the figures stack up. The three sports which would be most closely involved in any future project – soccer, rugby and Gaelic games – are currently looking at their future needs and that is why I want to explore the issue in greater detail.”

The Minister explained that the exercise would examine issues such as the commitment of the three sports to such a stadium, the level of capital investment required and long-term sustainability, including ownership, management and operation.

She added: “After discussing the issue with my Ministerial colleague, Ian Pearson, I have asked the Strategic Investment Board (SIB), which has been set up to advise on Northern Ireland’s infrastructure, to carry out this work immediately. I want to make it clear, however, that this does not commit the Government to building a stadium I just want to establish in principle whether the project is commercially viable and for that reason the consultants’ brief will not, at this stage, include the examination of possible sites where a stadium might be built.”

The exercise will be managed by SIB Strategic Adviser, Tony Whitehead, who was part of the financial team that put together the financial package that rescued Wembley Stadium.

SIB expects to report back to the Minister with a firm answer by the end of May.

(KMcA)