Belfast Sports Ground, Northern Irish Architecture, Arena News, Picture, UGAA Design

Casement Park Stadium, Belfast

Andersonstown Road Sports Ground Project, Northern Ireland – design by Populous architects

25 Feb 2014

Casement Park Stadium News

Location: Andersonstown Road, west Belfast

Design: Populous architects

Populous’ design for the redevelopment of Casement Park stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, for the Ulster Gaelic Athletic Association (UGAA), has been granted planning approval.

Casement Park Stadium building design:

Located on a 12 acre site on the Andersonstown Road in the west of Belfast, Casement Park is one of the largest stadia in Ulster (at 32,500 seat capacity), hosting Gaelic football and hurling matches. The stadium will be redeveloped into a 38,000 all-seated venue, which will become the largest stadium in Ulster and a regional flagship for Ulster GAA.

Populous’ design will provide a more accessible stadium building and new and improved facilities to serve the needs of the GAA’s, players and the local community, with up to 2,000 sq m of dedicated community space. The redevelopment will introduce 2,000 premium/corporate level seats and aims to secure additional major fixtures. It incorporates facilities to support a range of sporting and non-sporting uses, maximising the economic and social sustainability of the stadium.

Mike Trice, Principal at Populous, said: “The redevelopment of Casement Park represents an unprecedented opportunity to redevelop a major facility at the centre of the Ulster GAA. Our contemporary stadium design is sympathetic to the local environment and surroundings, whilst reflecting the history, ethos and commitment of Ulster GAA to promoting traditional Irish sports. We look forward to seeing this provincial stadium draw greater numbers of visitors to Northern Ireland to watch games and participate in conferences and community events, increasing participation in Gaelic Games and bringing local communities together.”

Populous’ strong architectural concept is distilled into three elements: The plinth responds to the scale of the urban environment and in particular the adjacent residential and retail buildings.

The ‘cloud’, which is proposed to be constructed of translucent material, responds to the site restrictions by stepping the mass of the building away from adjacent buildings, whilst reflecting the stadium’s surroundings when it is not in use.

The elegant truss supports the roof of the stadium and will create an iconic visual landmark on the Belfast skyline. It will be a triumph of modern engineering, with unusually long spans of over 200m required over the GAA pitch, which is as wide as a football pitch is long.

Belfast is Ireland’s second city, with a population now heading towards 580,000. Along with Dublin, it now forms a corridor which is increasingly significant in Ireland’s social and economic life. The redevelopment of Casement Park stadium is one of three projects as part of the strategic stadium programme, sponsored by the Northern Ireland Executive, through the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, and will provide a significant number of local jobs and training opportunities.

The redeveloped Casement Park stadium is expected to open in late 2016. It is planned for the stadium to host the 2016 Ulster GAA Senior Championship Finals.

Casement Park stadium images / information from Populous

Address: 88-104 Andersonstown Rd, Belfast BT11 9AN

Phone: 028 9060 5868

Populous

Location: 88-104 Andersonstown Rd, Belfast BT11 9AN, Northern Ireland

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