Drogheda United react to funding snub as US-based executive holds talks with Sports Minister
Bohemians and Sligo Rovers were the big winners in the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund announcement on Monday
Drogheda United’s US-based Executive Director Wesley Hill has described the failure to secure new stadium funding in the latest round of Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund allocations as “a bump in the road.”
Hill was speaking in Drogheda after having a brief conversation with Minister for State for Sport Thomas Byrne on Tuesday morning.
The Boynesiders had submitted a detailed 179-page application, which outlined their plans to develop a UEFA-standard 4,500-seater stadium to the northeast of Drogheda town centre.
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READ MORE:Funding Q&A: Dalymount and Showgrounds bonanzas, reserve lists, Finn Harps, Glanmire and MOUs
On Monday morning, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, and Minister Byrne, confirmed a massive €43.75 million injection of funds to League of Ireland projects.
Dalymount Park will receive just shy of €25 million, while Sligo Rovers will get €16.4 million to help redevelop their Showgrounds stadium.
Wexford and Tallaght Stadium will also benefit from funding to the tune of €2 million and €650,000 respectively.
The decision to deny Drogheda funding was criticised as a “gut-punch” by Labour TD Ged Nash, while Byrne later explained that the club’s place on a new reserve list meant that funding would come their way at some point.
Hill, Vice President of Drogheda United’s owners Trivela Group, gave his reaction to the development, saying: “Obviously we are disappointed, but at the same time we have a valid application, like the Minister said before, and we are on the waiting list.
“So we will work with them in tandem and try to figure out what that actually means in regards to timing, what funding may become available. But for us, this is a long-term thing, so it’s just a bump in the road.”
Asked if he had spoken to the Minister, he replied: “Briefly, yes, this morning.
“I’m satisfied with the conversation, for sure. No further information other than what he said publicly on it at all. So just reiterating things he said in public and that’s it. We are going to work with their team and try to figure out what that means.”
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Chairperson Joanna Byrne struck an upbeat note, adding: “I think from the Minister’s perspective, it’s important to note it’s very early days for us in regards to the stadium project and we perhaps probably moved on it a bit quicker than we would have, considering the opening of the grant applications.
“So we have got some short-term goals that we can work on in the meantime, we have to close the land deal with Louth County Council, we can apply for planning, there are things we can be moving on in the meantime.
“But the Minister has reassured us that our application is fundable, it’s valid, which is a huge weight off our shoulders, because yesterday we didn’t know if there were issues with the application or where the downfall was.
“So, I suppose the short-term plan is to move on what we can move on, and what we can control at the moment, and that is securing the land, closing that deal.
“I have to say, Louth County Council have been exceptionally supportive in regards to the land and our stadium plans.
“So we will move on the land, seek to do what we need to do to get into planning, because both of those things are within our control, with the Minister for Sport, whether that continues to be Thomas Byrne or whoever that may be in the near future after the General Election.
“Together we will pave a viable pathway forward to achieve our goals.
“It is still a priority for us, it’s a necessity for us to improve our facilities and our infrastructure to enhance the first-team, the academy and our women’s football. So that is still the ambition and still a goal that we think is achievable.”
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