Northern Ireland Stadium News

Over the past week a report has been published by experts at the University of Ulster recommending that a new stadium for Northern Ireland be located in an urban centre (like Belfast city, perhaps?) and accommodate between 20,000 and 30,000 spectators and developers behind the Belfast proposals are claiming they are all set to start work. Despite this, the DUP leadership in the form of First Minister Ian Paisley and DCAL minister Edwin Poots have been trying to sabotage proposals for a stadium at Ormeau Park near the heart of the city.

As if the imposition of an unrealistically short 2-week deadline by Edwin Poots wasn’t bad enough, our illustrious First Minister then decided that we couldn’t have a stadium in Ormeau Park because it would position a greyhound track too near some local churches and prove inconvenient for church-goers.

During this ridiculous charade, it was implied that the Belfast proposals didn’t meet the government’s requirements. This was refuted by Belfast-based Paul Durnien, one of the developers vying for the contract to build the Belfast stadium, who had met with Mr Poots in the previous week. Mr Durnien also said his firm could meet the 30th June deadline if the council gave them the go-ahead.

“No matter what he’s saying, there wasn’t one question he asked that we couldn’t answer. It’s clear he’s had a Maze agenda the whole way on this. We are ready to go to planners with an application, we just need the council to commit to a developer and scheme.”
Paul Durnien,
Durnien.com / City Of Belfast Stadium

Poots has also tried to deflect attention from the report recommending a city-centre venue by announcing that he has received assurances from Lord Sebastian Coe, helping to organise the 2012 Olympics, that the Maze would host some qualifying matches for the Olympic football tournament (so that’s the under-23s of Iran vs Qatar maybe?). Of course 3 matches that nobody will care about more than justifies spending £100 million of tax-payers money on a white elephant, doesn’t it Mr Poots?

Question: Can we attract ‘finals’ matches to the Maze?
Answer: No, 50,000 capacity is required for finals matches. This means that Northern Ireland would only be able to attract ‘preliminary’ matches to any new stadium. A capacity of 20,000 is required for preliminary matches.

Question: Do many fans support events such as Olympic football matches?
Answer: Overall, only 39% of the available tickets were sold for football matches in the Athens 2004 games. In the proposed Maze Stadium, a similar turnout would result in only 16,500 fans.

Question: Could the football events be played in a Belfast stadium?
Answer: Yes, as long as it had a minimum capacity of 20,000.

Question: Is the possibility of hosting Olympic football games a strong reason for building a stadium at the Maze?
Answer: No, considering the above, it is irrelevant.

Quoted fom the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters Clubs report on the Maze plans.

That certain DUP and Lagan Valley representatives have an agenda on this is no secret. There have even been allegations that elements within unionism wish to promote Lisburn as the new jewel in their Protestant crown now that Belfast is relatively evenly split along religious lines. Whatever the reason, they cannot be allowed to foist this white elephant on the population. Northern Ireland deserves better. Sign our petition and get our stadium built in Belfast.

Ulster rugby star Trevor Ringland, previously a backer of the plans for a stadium at the old Maze site has urged the devolved executive not to rush the decision. The Sunday Life reported that the former Ireland and Lions winger has reconsidered his support for the Maze proposals.

“As someone who has previously backed it, I’m not saying that it shouldn’t be there but I am willing to concede that it is not clear cut. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff & Croke in Dublin are obvious examples of grounds near the centre of populations that have created fantastic atmospheres. I do not want a white elephant built and that is why I would like to see a major, open and honest debate on the location. It is what is right for the people of Northern Ireland that counts.”

Trevor Ringland

It’s not surprising that Ringland was originally in support of the Maze. There are a large number of people who were effectively caught up in fanciful talk about UEFA cup finals (which will not happen due to UEFA requirements) and Olympic football (before people realised that they’d never sell 40,000 tickets for Iran vs Qatar). The NIO press office has done a wonderful job of propaganda but the holes have begun to appear and are growing every day.

There is enormous opposition to the Maze stadium, but with the devolved executive dominated by the DUP and Sinn Fein (the one party to openly back the plans), and the DUP’s Lisburn-centric leadership backing the plans (and running DCAL, the ministry responsible for sports), there is a danger that our all-knowing politicians will decide that they know more about sport than players and fans.

Register your opposition now - sign the petition to build the stadium in Belfast.

The Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs has urged the Irish FA to set up a ‘working group’ that would study the plans for a new national stadium in detail. The call was made in a presentation, yesterday, to the executive committee of the Irish FA, when the Amalgamation communicated fans’ fears to football’s governing body and called for a group to be established that would look at all the issues “likely to have an impact on football in Northern Ireland.”

Their proposed working group would consist of members of the IFA’s executive council, the AONISC, Irish League supporters’ groups and an independent member.

Gary McAllister, Amalgamation spokesman said:

“Our representatives set out our position and articulated our concerns with regard to how the Government intends to invest in football and the sporting infrastructure in Northern Ireland, particularly in relation to the Maze proposals. The Amalgamation delegation also put forward a proposal that the IFA should establish a working group to look at the National Stadium issue and other related matters. We believe that such a focus group would allow the wider ‘football family’ to look, in a collective manner, at the key issues which are likely to effect Northern Ireland football in the short, medium and longer terms. We will continue to pursue this proposal with the Chief Executive and the Executive Committee of the Irish FA to consider how it can best be taken forward.”

The calls were made the day after DUP minister designate Ian Paisley Jr, who seems to have taken on the role of Chief Maze Cheerleader now that Edwin Poots has taken the DCAL ministry and has to portray an air of neutrality, hinted that his party would take a decision to proceed with the plans for a stadium at the Maze regardless of the wishes of sports fans in Northern Ireland.

Mr Paisley said that the decision which the direct rule ministers were going to take six months to make could be made in three months by the local ministers and assembly. What Mr Paisley seems to be forgetting is that it’s no use speeding up the decision making process if you still end up with the same bad decisions. At least when the NIO were making the decisions we knew they were making bad choices deliberately to force our local politicians back round the table. What’s Mr Paisley’s excuse?

The full Amalgamation press release is available for download.

An influential group of MPs today added their voices to the growing chorus calling for any new stadium to be built in Belfast.

The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee at Westminster published a lengthy and detailed report into tourism in Northern Ireland today which heralded the sporting, economic and tourism benefits of Belfast as a venue for the new stadium.

121. We believe that development of a National Stadium could provide the much needed exhibition space, as in Cardiff, which is required to attract major conferences to Belfast. Apart from the sporting and economic arguments in favour of locating the National Stadium in the city we believe that there would be considerable tourist advantages from such a decision.

It’s clear that the Maze has been uncovered as something between a sub-optimal use of resources and an expensive political vanity project. It’s time a stop was put to this insane idea.

Make your voice heard - sign our petition.

OK, it’s not really a range, but Northern Ireland football supporters are to produce T-shirts with a “Say no to the Maze” logo, featuring a white elephant, prior to the upcoming matches in Lichtenstein and at home to Sweden.

The proceeds are to go towards the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs “fighting fund” to highlight the level of opposition to the Maze plans within footballing circles and encourage the IFA to look at the alternatives.

If anyone wants one, more information is available from the OurWeeCountry web site. Note that the last date for orders is Thursday 15th March.

The Conservatives became the first party in Northern Ireland to come out and publicly question the wisdom of the Government’s plans for a national stadium at the Maze. Even Lagan Valley candidate Neil Johnston has expressed concern, meanwhile the other candidates in that constituency are still dreaming of photo-opportunities and self-interest.

In a press release issued today, Johnston said:

“When the government says they are going to spend multi millions on a project we should all be very concerned. When the government says it is really only prepared to spend money on one option to the exclusion of other options – then we should be very worried indeed.

The vast majority of our candidates are in favour of a Belfast stadium and even though I am from Moira I am extremely sceptical about the Maze site. I believe the Assembly needs to sit down and look at all the options – without the government holding a gun to their head.  My concern is that this stadium could be built by a multi national consortium using overseas workers and the only jobs that it might bring to local people might be to steward or run fast-food outlets on the dozen or so busy days each year that the stadium would actually be used. We could be left with a White Elephant of enormous proportions.

[Other parties] are trying to be all things to all men – but we believe it is time someone said ‘The Emperor has no clothes’ - this project simply does not stack up at present.

We are all basking in the glory of Ireland’s victory over England at Croke Park but we should reflect that there are never going to be ‘days like this’ at the Maze Stadium. There will never be Six Nation matches at the Maze and indeed all the proposed sporting partners have signed up in a very minimalist way.”

As well as applauding Mr Johnston for his honest stance on the issue and for seeing past parochial interests, Stadium For Belfast calls on all the local parties and candidates to follow suit and state publicly that they support a Belfast stadium and end this Maze nonsense once and for all.

In an unlikely turn of events Secretary of State Peter Hain has stated his belief that showpiece sporting events should be held in city centres, because “there’s a wonderful atmosphere of people milling around the streets, which become pedestrianised, coming in and out of pubs and restaurants and cafes and flooding into the ground.” He went on to say that there’s a much greater sense of occasion when events take place in a City Centre than they will, for example, at the new Wembley, because the new London stadium is being built in a suburb.

If Peter Hain’s colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office would care to check, they’d find that that’s exactly what we’ve been arguing from the start! Our Secretary of State believes that the benefits of a city-centre location have made the Millennium Stadium “probably one of the best in the world” and there is no reason why what applies to Wales shouldn’t apply to Northern Ireland.

Therefore, StadiumForBelfast urges Peter Hain, as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in the strongest possible terms, to make his view clear to the muppets in the NIO who are insisting on building Northern Ireland’s new stadium not in a suburb, but in a field miles away from the nearest suburb!

Peter Hain: Sign Our Petition - support a stadium in Belfast!

A story has emerged today that confirms what football fans have been saying for a long time. The government is happily bribing and blackmailing the IFA into supporting the white elephant at the Maze. 

It’s been reported that the IFA will be offered £2million to cover the costs of repairing Windsor Park so it is fit to stage internationals in the short-term future, and maybe even a payoff to help cover the costs of breaking the 80 year lease with Linfield for home internationals, but only on the condition that they commit finally and publicly to the Maze project, regardless of what their fans actually want.

The government are running scared. They know the Belfast proposals are viable and they’ve siezed on the storm damage to Windsor Park as ammunition for the gun they are now holding to football’s head.  Democracy in action.

Don’t give in to blackmail. Sign our petition to save local sport.

An online poll of Ulster Rugby fans has shown that a whopping 82% of Rugby fans reject the Maze stadium. According to a poll on the “Ulternative Alster” fansite, 2% supported a move to the Maze, 16% supported playing only larger games at the Maze and 67% in favour of a new stadium in Belfast.

At the same time, a leading a senior individual in the tourism industry has said that the government plans for a stadium at the Maze amount to a “Grave Mistake” and that economically it would make more sense to find a site in Belfast where it could make use of existing infrastructure. His comments follow those of Alan Clarke, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board who last year said “Large numbers of the tourism industry support the view that the infrastructure in central Belfast is capable of supporting the likely footfall of a new stadium and will therefore realise the project’s full economic and tourism potential.”

Football fans don’t want it, rugby fans don’t want it and the tourist industry don’t want it. Stop the white elephant and build the stadium in Belfast. Sign our petition today!

The Irish FA have been accused of ignoring the fans after they failed to send any representatives to a public debate on Northern Ireland’s new stadium. 4 members of the Irish FA were invited to speak to the representatives present to explain their support for the Maze despite the overwhelming opposition of the fans. One of those sent apologies that they couldn’t make it while the other three, including Howard Wells (Chief Executive) and James Boyce (the President, who claims to want a stadium in Belfast but yet won’t translate this want into any form of action) simply didn’t turn up. S4B understands they were in Germany for a meeting however reliable sources indicate that both the internet and telephones have indeed reached Germany and yet no apologies were received. Edwin Poots, contrary to our earlier report, found time to attend the debate and reports indicate that those present were impressed with his speaking but remained unconvinced by his defence of the Maze plans.

Gary McAllister from the Amalgamation of Northern Ireland Supporters’ Clubs was baffled that the IFA are still refusing to explain their support for the white elephant to their disgruntled customers - the fans. “We have yet to get an honest answer from the IFA as to whether they are supporting the Maze site, no matter how many times we have asked.”

Mr McAllister went on to explain that the government were guilty abusing sport for political ends. “The Government has shrouded this in secrecy and won’t tell us how much the project will cost or why they chose it over the Belfast proposals… It’s not a sporting decision - the Maze is not in the interests of football as it is too big and doesn’t have good enough transport links.”

Gary has outlined just some of the reasons to stop the white elephant. Act now and sign our petition.