Louth GAA has been granted approval to seek Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) funding through Ireland’s Department of Justice, paving the way for the club to proceed with plans to build a new stadium.
Following the approval, the new stadium on Inner Relief Road in Dundalk will be eligible to receive €14.8m (£13m/$14.4m) in endowment funding towards the development costs of the project.
Louth GAA was granted planning permission for a new 14,000-seat stadium back in September 2020. Plans were first proposed in December 2018 and Louth GAA welcomed the planning permission following “many false dawns”.
Since planning permission was granted, the club has been fundraising for the stadium, which will feature a 4,080-seat stand containing two kiosks, four dressing rooms and a physio room. Louth GAA currently plays its home matches at the 3,500-seat Drogheda Park.
The latest funding news comes as a major boost to the project, with the Irish Independent newspaper reporting that 37 foreign investors have each pledged €400,000 in exchange for Irish residency. The cost of the stadium has reportedly risen from an initial €12m to between €18m and €19m, with Louth GAA having raised €1.2m prior to the IIP funding.
Following a management meeting yesterday (Monday), Louth GAA chairperson Peter Fitzpatrick said: “Our dream has come true. We have been waiting for the last 60 years since we lost our stadium and now the GAA people of County Louth will have a stadium to be proud of. Over the last two to three years our management team have put in trojan work to see this dream become a reality.”
It is hoped that construction work on the new stadium can begin early in the new year.
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