Sporting Events Bill [HL]

Lord Rogan Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Rogan (UUP)]

My Lords, I welcome the Bill and the opportunity to debate this important legislation, which will apply to all four nations of our kingdom. In an era when our country is so divided on so many fronts, sport retains an almost unique ability to bring people together. The most memorable recent example of this was in 2012, when London played host to both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. For several weeks, many people, often without even a passing interest in sport in normal times, cheered for those in red, white and blue who made us all so proud.

Sport has always played a huge part in bridging divides in Northern Ireland, as all people from all communities rallied around our sporting heroes. Rory McIlroy, only the sixth man to complete the Grand Slam of all four major golf tournaments, is the current man of the moment and a source of huge cross-community pride. For such a small nation, the list of sporting greats from Northern Ireland over the years is remarkable. They include George Best, Dame Mary Peters, Joey Dunlop, Willie John McBride, Pat Jennings and Alex Higgins. I could go on and on, and I say with confidence that there are lots more to come.

However, Northern Ireland is being held back by a lack of world-class sporting facilities. The Bill before the House today is a sensible measure. As we know, it will create a common legislative framework that can be applied to major sporting events across the United Kingdom. This will include Euro 2028, with games taking place in England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland, but not Northern Ireland. As your Lordships might be aware, Northern Ireland was due to host five games but will no longer do so after His Majesty’s Government announced that they would not be pumping many millions of pounds into the redevelopment of Casement Park, a derelict GAA stadium. I will not go into the details and repeat the arguments around that decision, but I must express my disappointment at the failure of Ministers to advance the case for Northern Ireland’s National Football Stadium at Windsor Park to host these games instead, despite its limited capacity.

A huge opportunity has been wasted. As far as I can tell, those with the power and influence to stand up for Northern Ireland on this issue have swept this under the carpet, as other venues in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland gladly accepted the gifts that they were offered. Windsor Park proudly hosted the 2021 UEFA Super Cup. The cup is contested by the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League and is a huge game in the global football calendar. Why therefore is Windsor Park supposedly not capable of hosting games in Euro 2028?

In recent years, Northern Ireland has successfully hosted the start of the Giro d’Italia, one of the three biggest cycle races in the world. The noble Baroness, Lady Nye, mentioned golf in Scotland. We in Northern Ireland have some of the best golf courses in the kingdom. We hosted two Open Championships, with record crowds on every single day. We have also recently seen the annual North West 200 motorcycle race take place on the Triangle circuit between the towns of Coleraine, Portrush and Portstewart. Public funding was made available for all these, which was warmly welcomed, given the boost to the local economy that each provided. However, what links these events is that they all took place outdoors and the primary infrastructure around them was temporary, meaning that no legacy sporting facilities are left behind for local communities.

The Bill before us today, if enacted, will provide His Majesty’s Government and the devolved Administrations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast with powers to offer financial assistance to support major sporting events and related legacy or social impact initiatives. On the face of it, this is welcome. However, can the Minister elaborate on how the new powers will differ from those that already exist? Further, if additional finance is to be made available by devolved Administrations, is this money expected to come from their existing coffers, or is there potential for extra funding to be allocated from central government?

Last month, His Majesty’s Government committed to introducing a so-called stadium regeneration accelerator, through which they will work with sporting bodies on priority sports infrastructure development projects in England, such as stadiums, that can help deliver local regeneration and commercial growth. Given that the Bill before us today is UK-wide, why can this welcome initiative not also apply to all four nations of the kingdom?

Under the last Government, I did everything I could to support the development of a north-west regional stadium at the Coleraine Showgrounds by backing a deeply impressive application to the levelling up fund. All the indications were that it would be successful, given the absence of a modern stadium in that part of Northern Ireland, the cross-community benefits that the scheme would bring to a major catchment area, and the boost it would deliver to one of the most economically deprived parts of the United Kingdom. Sadly, the application was rejected, with the money instead funnelled off to marginal seats in England. Perhaps that wrong could be righted if Northern Ireland benefits from this new UK-wide legislation.

Finally, as many contributors have already mentioned, I welcome the provision in the Bill relating to ticket touting, which will apply across the United Kingdom—and not before time. This is an area that previous Governments have shied away from, for reasons that I fail to understand. Ticket prices for major sporting events are already bordering on astronomical, which makes it increasingly difficult for individuals and families to afford to attend them. Making sports tickets touting a criminal offence, backed by criminal and civil financial penalties, is certainly the right move. Like the noble Lords, Lord Bassam and Lord Mann, I hope that this initiative is swiftly followed by similarly robust provisions to clamp down on ticket touting for music and other live events, as Ministers have promised and the music industry has long called for.