World class team to design stadium for Maze site

Proposals for a multi-sports stadium at the Maze/Long Kesh site have been given a significant boost with the announcement of the winning stadium design team.



David Hanson MP, Minister with responsibility for the development of the former prison complex, has revealed that Mott MacDonald HOK Sport Team is the winning consortium in an international design competition.



Congratulating the consortium, the Minister said: “Mott MacDonald and HOK Sport have an established international reputation for stadium design. Their successes include the new Emirates Stadium, Croke Park, Lansdowne Road and the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. They are also currently working on the London Olympic Stadium and the Mbombela Stadium in South Africa, one of the venues for the 2010 football World Cup.

Today’s announcement was attended by key sporting and political stakeholders.

Paying tribute to the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Irish Football Association and Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union for their continued support for the project, Mr Hanson said:

 “This project will bring together the consortium’s expertise and the local knowledge from the three sports. All three have representatives on the design group and I have no doubt the result of that collaboration will be an exciting and world class stadium design.”



Mr Hanson said the Government recently announced it had begun the search for a private sector partner to develop the whole Maze/Long Kesh site.



He continued: “I get asked, a lot, if the stadium and all the other key developments are ever going to happen. The key issues of viability, value for money and affordability are currently being addressed and subject to Government successfully delivering a private development partner, then Northern Ireland can look forward to having a stadium it can be proud of.”

The Minister also announced that in the near future the Government would launch a naming rights competition for the proposed stadium that would potentially lever in additional private sector investment and give further momentum. 



Mr Hanson paid tribute to the five main political parties and said they should be congratulated for their vision in taking forward the concept of this iconic development.

 Nicky Brennan, President of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) said: “This stadium will give us a wonderful opportunity, not just in terms of its facilities, but also because everyone in society will have a shared space they can be proud of and which embodies a bright new future.”



Jim Boyce, President of the Irish Football Association (IFA) added: “The prospect of a world class stadium for Northern Ireland is an exciting one and we are looking forward to working closely with the design team to get the facilities we need to attract bigger attendances, generate additional revenues and to help deliver our forward business and marketing plans for the greater benefit of Northern Ireland football in general.”



Michael Reid, Chief Executive of Ulster Rugby said: "Rugby in Ulster is increasing in popularity and the huge increase in demand for seated Season Tickets this year has meant we simply need more seats for larger games. This announcement today is extremely positive and moves us forward in the process of the business and technical assessment."



Chairman of the Maze/Long Kesh Monitoring Panel, DUP MLA Edwin Poots said the announcement was important further momentum for the overall proposal.



He added: “We now have world class stadium designers on board and with demolition work going on alongside transport, infrastructure and environmental assessments, there is real momentum here.”



Panel Vice Chairman, Sinn Fein Councillor Paul Butler, said: “We are looking at a genuinely shared vision here – the whole site can be iconic and we are making good progress on developing plans for the International Centre for Conflict Transformation which will be a major project within the overall development.”



(EF)