Casement Park investment continues to ruffle League feathers

Despite the Irish Government having committed to providing a 50 million Euro cash boost to the redevelopment of Casement Park, plenty are warning that real investment in League of Ireland facilities will not be happening 'overnight'.

There are also those who continue to fail to see the sense in directly upgrading and redeveloping the derelict west Belfast GAA ground, as they feel there are better alternative options, and not least better projects that such a financial investment could be spent on when it came to a proper return on the money invested.

There is also the small question of having Casement Park as a European Championship 2028 host venue given its current KickForm condition and the fact that it could potentially be the only Irish legacy that comes out of the tournament, and that is one of the big fears for many fans in the country. Especially when you factor in they would rather see the investment go elsewhere and leave them with more of a legacy impact, and Northern Ireland could see an upgraded Windsor Park presumably for far less investment.

As we know, League of Ireland attendances have been soaring in more recent times and there has been a big clamour for the domestic game to find ways to capitalise on that, and keep that improved fan engagement growing, but grounds up and down the country are crying out for some urgent repairs and upgrades of their own.

The FAI launched their very ambitious Facility Investment and Strategy Plan last summer with attendance growth in mind, and their overall 863 million Euro plan, did actually require 517 million Euros from the public purse, but to date, little to nothing, has been forthcoming from the Government, yet this week Taoiseach Leo Varadkar made the 50 million Euro announcement for Casement Park.

Mark Scanlon, League of Ireland director, said of the news.

"What's encouraging for us is to see investment in infrastructure development right across the country. All sports would say there’s a lack of facilities in the country but one thing we’ve done really well is laying that out in the facilities investment strategy last year."

Scanlon went on to say that he felt that it was an encouraging sign and that it would present them with 'opportunities...to capitalise on' the Casement investment that was proposed, but all he was willing to say on that point was that they would continue to have ongoing conversations about what those opportunities could look like.

For him, the real and true potential of Government funding and help for the plans had been laid out in the earlier strategy, and he knew that it could now be a key year for both clubs and grass roots football to truly unlock that long term potential.

100 capped Ireland international, and current Shelbourne manager Damien Duff's response was a little bit more to the point as he weighed up money for Casement Park or for development of the league in a much wider and general sense.

"Will Casement Park bring through footballers? Maybe in a roundabout way. Academies for me is where the future of Irish football is. Fifty million euro, how many games will it host? Four? Great. We’ll go to the toilet four times. I’d rather it be spent on academies. It’s not always black and white. Some people would prefer to spend it on stadiums. People get peed off because a lot of stuff comes down to common sense, and not a lot of people have that."

Duff's comments will be shared by many who feel the public purse could certainly be spent on plans that would bring a far bigger and wider benefit to communities and businesses across the country - but those benefits are not quite as starry eyed as a largely lads corporate night out and the publicity that the European Championships will bring, even if the benefit is actually short lived and mostly for the sponsors. Particularly if they get to monopolise supply chains in any fan parks, as often happens now, much to the detriment of local companies.

The debate will undoubtedly continue to rage on. Some fans will love the Euros yes, it will be a great experience, especially for younger fans seeing stars and talents that they otherwise would not in the flesh, but until others fully understand the benefits it may bring - it will continue to be an expensive folly for PR purposes.