Play Away. No more concerts at Boucher Playing Fields…

I read that Belfast is set to lose its biggest outdoor concert venue, with Boucher Road playing fields in south Belfast set to revert to their original function as public sports and recreation fields.

The site began regularly hosting large outdoor music events early in the second decade of the twenty-first century, with larger concerts increasingly being held there over the last two decades and entertainment licences being granted for large crowds, sometimes up to around 40,000 people.

The reason that BPF became a concert venue was that Belfast historically lacked a suitably large outdoor venue capable of hosting global touring artists and major festivals. Other venues in the city, such as parks and arenas, either had much smaller capacities or were indoors. Boucher Road’s large, open land meant it could host tens of thousands of people comfortably with temporary staging and facilities, and because the land is owned by Belfast City Council, it could be licensed and hired out to promoters under Occasional Outdoor Entertainments Licences – permitting live music and paying crowds for limited periods each year. Councillors and licensing committees frequently renewed these licences to allow events to go ahead, despite complaints from some residents about noise and disruption.

Before becoming a major concert venue over the last decades, Boucher Road Playing Fields were traditionally community sports fields used for football, Gaelic games and other outdoor activities. The decision essentially restores that original purpose after a period in which the land was leased or licensed for occasional large events and Councillors supporting the change, including Sinn Féin representatives, emphasise that the land will be transformed into proper sports pitches, such as two full-size Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) pitches and an intermediate soccer pitch, benefiting hundreds of young players and local sports clubs which is framed as addressing a shortfall in outdoor sports facilities in the city.

The plan is to go before councillors next week for ratification with some councillors opposing the proposal. Former Belfast Mayor, the Alliance Party’s Micky Murray said the idea was ‘short sighted’:

It’s the biggest music venue which we have in the city. It’s important for attracting international artists

While there are concerns from some parties within the council about the move. A report by council officers stated:

Members are asked to note those types of large-scale events bring a range of benefits to the city including direct income to the council, circa £300k a year including a social levy

But why the worry about finding another appropriate capacity venue for open air large gigs? Boucher Playing Fields are a fifteen-minute walk away from Casement Park. Couldn’t a newly refurbished and rebuilt Casement accommodate the larger gigs that BPF previously did and wouldn’t such a venue mean that for once West Belfast will benefit from such high profile events?