Letter: The UK government should only provide finance to the IFA to host the three or four allocated Euros matches

Why does the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) expect the British government, in their commitment to finance the European football competition, to give a blank cheque to complete the new stadium?

The British government should only provide finance to the IFA to host the three or four allocated matches.

This would free up the IFA to choose to host the matches at any of the UK venues or at the new stadium by way of hiring individual grounds. If the GAA stadium is not complete in time – then it is bad news for the GAA.

This process would negate having to provide unknown finances to complete the present design proposals for the stadium. The promise of £42m from the Irish government plus the £15m commitment from GAA, together with the £62.5m (to be confirmed) from the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department for Communities will amount to £119.5 million including VAT on construction costs. This total, I suggest, may well mean that the present design proposals for the stadium as shown in the online ‘video flythrough’ will require to be reduced or the GAA can look elsewhere for additional funds.

A major problem for the GAA will arise in that no main construction contractor will commit to a ‘fixed price contract’ for any longer than twelve months as they cannot project for increased costs to materials and labour for a longer period – say two to three years to complete the West Belfast stadium.

For any British government to gift the GAA tens of millions of pounds towards the project, in return to stage three or four football matches, each less than two hours long, is beyond an absurdity!

Morrison W Woods, Bangor