ULSTER GAA HAVE said they remain focused on work beginning on Casement Park early next year, despite one of the lead contractors on the 34,500 stadium filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators. 

Buckingham Group announced last week that the company was “unable to continue trading” due to “rapidly escalating contract losses and a sharp reduction in liquidity”. 

“We emphasise the company is currently not in administration. Our main aim at present is to seek to protect jobs, and to preserve as much of the business as possible,” the Buckingham Group said in a statement.

The Buckingham Group is also involved in the redevelopment of Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.

It said a “combination of unexpected impacts such as the extreme inflation linked to the Ukraine conflict and other challenges in the sports and leisure division” are behind the company’s difficulties.  

Ulster GAA have put out a statement which says they will “monitor the situation closely”. 

“It is important to clarify that the company is not in administration and Ulster GAA will continue to monitor the situation closely assessing what affect (if any) this may have on the future delivery of our project. We remain fully focused on work commencing on site early next year,” Ulster GAA said. 

Casement Park, in Belfast, has not been in use since 2013. Planning permission for the revamped ground was granted back in 2013, but those plans were later scrapped and a new proposal announced in 2017 also struggled to get up and running as costs soared.

The GAA announced in 2021 that construction for the redevelopment project was set to commence in the first half of 2022 and was expected to be a two-year build.

It has been included in a bid by the UK and Ireland to host the 2028 European Football Championship.