Too soon to say on public money, says Lyons

It is too early to say whether any public money will be committed to the new football National Training Centre in County Antrim, the communities minister has said.

The Irish Football Association’s (IFA’s) “state-of-the-art” centre will be located next to the Galgorm Resort, just outside Ballymena.

The IFA said the facility – which is expected to open in 2028 – will “feature world-class pitches and cutting edge training facilities”.

Speaking to BBC News NI at the site, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the project was in the “very early stages”.

Lyons said a business case would have to go through the “proper processes” before a decision is made.

“There’ll be a lot of work to do on that first, but overall we have the Northern Ireland football fund, it is part of that, but it is far too early to talk about sums of money at this stage.”

He added that after the business case is considered, the IFA will submit further plans that will need consideration.

Analysis by Mark Simpson, BBC News NI

Questions about how the cost of the new football centre will be met were politely kicked away by all involved in the project.

And when the Communities Minister Gordon Lyons was put on the spot, he swerved the issue of whether public money would be available.

The involvement of a private enterprise, Galgorm Resort, complicates the issue but the IFA believe it is still entitled to Stormont cash.

In terms of the overall cost of the new 50-acre football centre, figures between £8m and £10m have been floated in sporting circles.

However, ultimately, it depends on how ambitious the IFA wants to be regarding the facilities it builds.

In spite of the unanswered questions, there is an air of quiet confidence around the project and that the first ball will be kicked at the new centre before the summer of 2028.

Lyons was also asked about funding for the stalled Casement Park GAA stadium.

Last September, the British government said it would not be providing funding to redevelop the stadium in time for the Euro 2028 football tournament, adding that there was a “significant risk” it would not be built in time.

The government estimates the potential cost will be more than £400m, although there are suggestions it could be closer to £450m in order to meet the specification required by UEFA.

To date, only a fraction of that money is available, a long-standing commitment of £62.5m from the Stormont executive, £15m from the GAA, and approximately £43m from the Irish government.

“We are in the position on Casement where the funding that I have committed that the executive agreed back in 2011 is still there,” Mr Lyons said.

“I’ll be meeting with the secretary of state soon and I want to see more funding for sport right across Northern Ireland.

“There are loads of sporting needs and I understand why the GAA are frustrated.”

He said there was a “massive gap between the proposal that is currently on the table in terms of what was there for the Euros and what has planning approval and the sum of money that has been approved”.