Estimated costs of Casement Park rebuild hit over £300m

The figure emerged in a letter, first reported by UTV, from the Secretary of State to the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons.

However, the price of the project has not been finalised. The BBC has reported the £308m total may be a worst-case scenario

The original cost of rebuilding the stadium a decade ago was estimated to be £77.5m.

In the letter, Chris Heaton-Harris says the figure was confirmed by officials from the Department for Communities in a letter to the Northern Ireland Office in December.

Mr Heaton-Harris's letter is in response to correspondence from Minister Lyons last month asking the government what its contribution to the project will be.

UTV has reported that the Secretary of State replied: "I need to be clear, the UK Government will not accept a position where it is expected to cover the scale of funding gap there appears to exist for a project in which costs have increased considerably with no guarantee that costs will not rise further."

In his letter, Mr Heaton-Harris also writes: "The government has demonstrated through decisive action on HS2 that if a project becomes unreasonably expensive and does not represent value for money, then a different approach needs to be taken.”

The GAA stadium is one of the venues selected to host matches in the Euro 2028 football tournament, which is being jointly hosted by the UK and Ireland.

Uefa officials visited the derelict site of the old Casement Park this week.

The stadium would need to be finished by the summer of 2027 to be formally approved as a host venue for the Euros.

The Stormont executive has pledged £62.5m. The Irish government has pledged 50 million euro (£42.7 million) for the stadium.

The GAA has been under pressure to increase its original £15 million commitment, given the initial project cost has soared in the last decade. Newly elected GAA president Jarlath Burns recently voiced his opposition to increasing the association’s contribution.

The UK government has faced calls to stump up the necessary shortfall - which, according to this latest figure, would be around £190m.

Earlier this week, the senior Stormont official in charge of delivering the Casement Park redevelopment has insisted the project is in “good shape” and has expressed optimism the stadium will host games at Euro 2028.

Colum Boyle, the permanent secretary at the Department for Communities (DfC), acknowledged that the funding shortfall for the build remained the key issue but said “conversations are happening” with the UK government on that matter.

A Department for Communities spokesperson told UTV: “Engagement is ongoing with all funding partners in relation to the redevelopment of Casement Park.

“This a complex project which has evolved over time. Changes in configuration will now mean it will be a venue for both Gaelic games and for the third largest sporting event in the world.

“A prudent approach is being taken in relation to the estimation of costs, however, it must be remembered that the final costs will only be reached at the conclusion of a competitive tender process.”