Finn Harps are set to seek tenders from developers interested in acquiring their current home, Finn Park, in Ballybofey, and build their new 6,500-all-seater stadium a short distance away in Stranorlar. Emmet Malone reports.
The club hopes to strike a deal whereby the company acquiring Finn Park for redevelopment will pay for it by building the new ground, for which a site and planning permission have been acquired.
"We've agreed the location with Donegal County Council and got planning permission so we're hoping that an agreement can be reached by midsummer with the contracts taking a couple of months more after that," said Patsy Lafferty, who is overseeing the project on behalf of the club.
"The new location is only about a 10-minute walk from Finn Park, which has effectively become too valuable to play football on," he said. "It's adjacent to Finn Valley Athletic Club's home and the council is intending to put in a swimming pool and leisure centre there too. In the longer term we intend putting in an all-weather complex, but for the moment the priority is to get the stadium up and running."
John Delaney, John Byrne and Bob Breen of the FAI expressed their support for the development after visiting the site on Monday, and the club hopes to receive significant support from the Department of Sport once tendering has been completed and it is clear how much cash must be raised to complete the work.
The project marks a massive step forward for a club that five years ago was struggling to stay afloat financially. Harps officials said yesterday the club had effectively cleared debts of around €500,000 in recent years and, after some difficult times, was now in a position to make progress.
Steve Staunton will take his Irish senior squad abroad for the first time in May when he and the players travel to either Spain or Portugal for a four-day training camp during the build-up to the friendly international against Chile at Lansdowne Road.
The game is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25th, and it is likely the squad will depart on Friday 19th before returning to Dublin on Tuesday 24th to complete match preparations.
The venue for the camp has yet to be confirmed, several locations still being considered, but talks are taking place with a number of potential hosts and it seems likely the base will be in the Algarve.
Staunton's preference for allowing the squad break up for the summer immediately after the Chile match means the FAI have had to scrub plans for a friendly in Finland in early June.
And so Staunton is unlikely to add to the Chile and Holland (in August) friendlies in preparation for the start of the European Championship qualification campaign in September.
