Originally Posted by
Nesta99
Fair enough, keeping a club going is obviously more important than breaking a club in favour of a new stadium. But we havent been in a 15-20 year spell of austerity, grant money has been allocated and drawn down, the new ground/stand started, stopped (there hasnt been a clear answer as to why), capital grants were subsequently withheld or an application rejected, why? Additional money was then allocated to redo plans on a project that was already started. There are now another set of plans again and looking to change the method of construction which could have been a cheaper and quicker option originally. The reasons given for the delays have been govt ignoring the North West, Brexit, Inflation, recession, Im sure the Ukrainian War could be added now. Finn Park was to be sold but that was taken off the table as it is needed for underage and womens teams. Funding was said to have been in place from early on. It was to be a completed facility before moving in when the main stand could have been completed and accommodated the sort of crowds that Harps get. With all that has been said, you'd have to wonder what isnt being said and one aspect is that it looks like a construction stopped playing ball when Finn Park's value dipped. Which is far more understandable for delays than say Brexit.
This stuff about travel costs, yes it is more than being based in Dublin where there are a number of clubs but Ireland is a small country and the vast majority of Harps games are within 3 hours travel especially with Cork, Limerick and Waterford in the 1st Division, not all clubs have a wealthy benefactor either, and not all clubs are as lucky as Shamrock Rovers by having a stadium built for them - the excetion rather than the rule. If Harps were already stretched by greater overheads than other league clubs then maybe taking on a major ground development was a folly. The Dept of Sport had obvious concerns about the project and it'd be interesting to hear their take!!
Bookmarks