Stadium 4 Belfast - The Petition (sign it)
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We, the undersigned, as followers of sport in Northern Ireland, feel it impossible to stand by silently, while the government chooses an inappropriate site for our new national stadium in the name of political expediency.
We agree that the new stadium is a great opportunity for Northern Ireland that could bring a lot of investment into the economy. We are totally behind the stadium as a concept and the idea of including as many sports as possible under one roof is an admirable one.
However we cannot help but take issue with a number of problems with the current proposals.
Firstly, the site at the Maze seems totally inappropriate. In most major cities, the day of a major sporting event brings with it a carnival-like atmosphere. The situation of the stadium 10 miles from Belfast, can only serve to dampen this feeling. The difference between the Maze site and a City Centre could be the difference between an hour or two long sporting event and an entire day-long celebration. Isolated from the city, the stadium would also do much less to benefit the economy than it would in a city centre location, such as the Titanic Quarter, where it would be within walking distance from numerous bars, restaurants and other amenities. If limited facilities like these were to be provided at the maze to counter this, these businesses would still have a captive audience, with the result that supporters travelling to the ground would be overcharged and limited in choice. If the number of supporters who will attend matches means anything to the organisers of this project, they have to consider a development in Belfast city centre to be preferable.
Secondly, we ask you to ensure that the practical issues of the different sports using the grounds will be dealt with. Hurling, for example will require a pitch length of 140m, while Rugby pitches must be no longer than 100m and football 110m. We seek assurances that sufficient resources will be allocated to allow for investigation and implementation of suitable solutions to this issue. This will ensure that followers of all sports enjoy the same proximity to the pitch and the atmosphere is not negatively impacted by the different playing areas.
We reiterate our support for the multi-sport national stadium for Northern Ireland, which is long overdue, and hopefully something that all the people in Northern Ireland will, in the future, be very proud of.
Sign the Petition
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