National stadium must be in Belfast, says Council

Locating Northern Ireland’s national stadium outside Belfast would not be economically viable and would succeed in creating a white elephant.

That was the stark message delivered directly to the Secretary of State, Paul Murphy, at a special meeting of Belfast City Council earlier today, by Councillor Pat Convery, Chairman of the Council’s Client Services Committee, which centred on the location of a new National Stadium for the province.

Already, rumours are abound that the new stadium will either be at the old Maze prison site in Co Armagh or at Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.

Councillor Convery said: “Current good practice on the location of major sporting stadia indicates that they should be sited in major cities, to take advantage of the transport, hospitality and entertainment infrastructure that exists in cities.

“While the Secretary of State assured us that no decision has been made on the sitting of the stadium, it is obvious from newspaper reports that someone is briefing the press and telling them that the Maze is the favoured location.”

In May, plans for a new sports stadium in the province took a step closer after Sports Minister, Angela Smith said such a project was "operationally viable".

The Minister was responding to a viability study by the Strategic Investment Board (SIB) that was commissioned in January to look into the possibility of such a venture.

In response to the study, the Minister said if that such a plan was fully supported by soccer, rugby and the GAA, and if an acceptable site could be found, then Government backing would be forthcoming.

However, Councillor Convery was today in no doubt as to were a national stadium should be built.

“You only have to look at the success of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Croke Park in Dublin, and the planned new Wembley Stadium in London, to see all the advantages of being sited in the heart of capital cities,” he said.

“All around the world, stadia built outside cities have proved to be white elephants – often having to be demolished to be rebuilt in the city.”

Councillor Convery said the economic viability of a national stadium could only be guaranteed, and its full potential realised, by building in Belfast.

(MB/SP)