Donor pledges €10,000 to Finn Harps stadium project at meeting

A donor tuning in online to an open meeting on Finn Harps' new stadium pledged €10,000 towards the project.

The person, who has remained anonymous, contacted club officials during the meeting to confirm the donation.

Harps are set to appoint a new paid project manager to oversee their proposed move to Stranorlar, with a a group of three guarantors to oversee the funds raised and a wider working group to coordinate the fundraising for the stadium project also to be selected.

A series of fundraising events are in the works as Harps look to close a massive €1.5million deficit in funding for the stadium.

An attendance of around 50 at the Villa Rose Hotel in Ballybofey gave a resounding applause to the donor after club chairman Ian Harkin announced the funds pledged.

“That is where we have to get to, lads,” Harkin said. “It is going to be us who does it.”

A project that has been beset by a series of long-winded and frustrating delays has, it seems, reached the 'now or never' stage.

With costs rising to €7.3 million and with funding of €5.8m in place, Harps have to plug the gap in their matched funding.

The club's current Finn Park home has been long since dilapidated and, essentially, beyond the point of rescue as a football stadium.

A recent floodlight failure at the Navenny Street ground was a further pointer to the pressing need for the move to a site in Stranorlar.

“There is only so much that you can do with the stadium how it is,” Harkin told the meeting, which also heard that the club has introduced several cost-cutting measures, including shelving overnight stays for the first team.

He said: “We have had to cut costs massively and it's not because we are spending excessively on the stadium - but it's to keep the team running.”