DONEGAL County Council has this morning passed a motion supporting a new stadium for Finn Harps.
A motion was brought forward after the stadium development was excluded from a round of Government funding it was expected to be added to recently.
There was some shock when Minister Shane Ross made his announcement regarding Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Funding and the Harps project was not on it.
But this morning, Donegal County Council has vowed to put as much pressure as possible on to see the stadium development through.
Welcoming the news that the motion was supported, a Harps spokesperson said, “Following the exclusion of the Finn Harps stadium project from the allocations announced under the Large Scale Infrastructure Fund on January 10, the club has been inundated with messages of support. We wish to thank the football family throughout the country for their letters, emails and text messages backing our stadium project.
“The complex when completed, including the additional pitches, will be for the people of Donegal and especially our youth who deserve playing facilities comparable to anywhere else in the country. The club is humbled by the swell of support within the county.
“In recent days we have received letters from both the FAI and Donegal County Council confirming their support and we are very encouraged by the motions passed at the council’s January meeting stating their intention to assist in the delivery and completion of the stadium project.
“We have also received a further communication from the Department of Sport who stated that our application, along with cost benefit material has been sent to their Strategic Research and Analysis Division for further assessment, however they confirmed that to date they had not recommended Finn Harps for a grant.
“It is also encouraging that candidates and political parties standing in the Donegal constituency for the General Election have written to the club outlining their stated intention of ensuring that funding is allocated following the formation of the next Government. There is no doubt that if the political will is there and these commitments are followed through it would be possible to recommence work in late spring or early summer and have Harps playing in the new stadium during the 2023 season.
“The club is hopeful that with cooperation and goodwill we can get this stadium built. If the adjoining pitches are developed in tandem with construction work we would have a superb facility for the young people of Donegal which would allow all our men’s, ladies and underage teams to compete at the highest level in their respective national league.”
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