UK government funding of Casement Park would raise a lot of questions, Donaldson says

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has said there will be a “lot of questions” for the UK government if it funds the construction of the Casement Park stadium in west Belfast while Northern Ireland faces a budget crisis.

Mr Donaldson said he did not know if the GAA stadium would be built in time for the Euro 2028 football tournament, but insisted that there would be no extra money from Stormont for the project.

European football’s governing body, Uefa, confirmed on Tuesday that the UK and Ireland will jointly host the tournament.

As part of the successful bid, Casement Park has been listed as one of the stadiums where games will be played.

But the site is currently derelict and plans by the GAA to redevelop it with a 34,000 capacity have been mired in controversy and hit by delays.

The project has been delayed by a series of legal challenges and is further complicated by the lack of a functioning Executive at Stormont.

The redevelopment has also been hit by rising costs, with an original projected price tag from almost a decade ago of £77.5 million (£90 million) now believed to have spiralled well above £100 million.

The GAA is part-funding the project but has yet to reach an agreement with Stormont on how to cover a multimillion-pound shortfall.

Last week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Irish Government would be prepared to foot some of the bill.

The DUP leader said his party would not break the principle of equitable funding for sports stadiums in Northern Ireland.

Asked if he thought Casement Park would be completed in time for the Euros in 2028, he said: “That is a big question, I don’t know at this stage if the new stadium will be built in time, I think there are big questions around all of that.

“We have been very