Chief Executive Sean Barrett of DERRY City Football Club is currently working on a business case to complete the Mark Farren Stand at Brandywell Stadium. Barrett feels that the club will be given priority when it comes to the Sub-Regional Stadia fund allocation.
In order to upgrade regional football grounds in Northern Ireland, Stormont pledged a total of £36.2 million in 2011. However, with time and significant cost increases, calls have been made to increase funding to over £100 million.
Recently, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons gave some encouraging news to football clubs who were waiting on their fund allocation, stating that he intended to disburse the funds “as soon as possible.”
Mr. Lyons continued: “£36.2m doesn’t go as far in 2024 as it did in 2011, and so I will be speaking to executive colleagues about the next phase of the sub-regional funding.”
The Mark Farren Stand’s second phase, which entails building two more wings on either side of the existing building, has already received approval and will expand the venue’s capacity from 1,225 to 2,391 people.
In the upcoming weeks, the Brandywell club will submit a new business case that includes an updated costing for the refurbishment. Mr. Barrett is optimistic that this will secure approval for the work, ideally after the planned North Stand at the Brandywell Road end is finished.
“There’s a pot of £36 million which may well go up to over £100 million for the sub regional development funding which has been announced with Casement Park as well,” stated Barrett.
“We’ve attended meetings, received funding to prepare a business case, and are essentially in the running to see the Mark Farren Stand completed. They hope to have the funding available by the end of March, and the business case needs to be submitted by then.
“The business case will be fairly easy for us because the Council [Derry City and Strabane District Council] already completed the drawings for the remainder of the stand, and the costs were reduced last year.
“With a bit of luck, once we’ve finished the North Stand, we may well start and complete the Mark Farren Stand as well which would be brilliant.”
While Derry City is a member of the Football Association of Ireland and plays in the south, Mr. Barrett notes the club meets all the requirements to be eligible for the programme. Other clubs, such as Coleraine and Glentoran, are also anticipating their share of the funding to upgrade their respective stadiums.
“We used to argue that since we weren’t Irish League players, we shouldn’t have the right to it, but now that they’ve acknowledged it, we’re from Derry, we should have the right to it.
We are actually the A1 priority out of the six clubs in the first round. We are, quite simply, because every week we sell out every venue and there are a tonne of people who are unable to attend the games.
Thus, in that regard, we meet all the requirements. I detest turning away supporters of their hometown team, and hopefully the Mark Farren and North Stands will make it an amazing experience. Thus, it’s really favourable.
