Poots must address chaos over location of national stadium

Alliance Culture Arts and Leisure Spokesperson Kieran McCarthy MLA has called on Minister Edwin Poots to address the current chaos over the national stadium and set up a fair and transparent selection process to decide it’s location. His comments come on the day that news emerged that the IFA wrote to Linfield Football Club to request that Northern Ireland’s contract to play international matches at Windsor Park be terminated.

The Strangford MLA said: “The Executive has given no real clarification on the national stadium debacle. How long will we have to wait for them to deal with this matter? This saga has rumbled on since devolution was restored and still they are no clearer on the way forward.

“At the moment there is total confusion and chaos over the location of the new national stadium. There have been so many false starts on the site selection process that local people do not know how things currently stand.

“There is a special Culture, Arts and Leisure Committee meeting being held on 24 July in the Stormont Senate Chamber, where the Minister will be addressing the Committee. I am preparing to put questions to Edwin Poots regarding the stadium, because this current state of confusion is totally unacceptable.

“Irrespective of the location, local people deserve a stadium with world-class facilities. The arena must also be a shared space where everyone from every sport feels welcome. If the Minister does not act to give clarification on the way forward quickly, we might miss out on the chance of having a new national stadium altogether.

“We need to see the Minister conduct a fair and transparent process for selection a site for the new arena – That is the least that local people deserve.”

ENDS

Uncategorized
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *