Case for newstadia work to be sentto DFP soon

That’s according to the Sports Minister Carál Ní Chuilín who said her Department is working on the case, which could have implications for the Riverside and Brandywell stadia - the homes of Institute and Derry City respectively - in Londonderry.

Over two years ago the Minister said Government funding would not be available to support stadium development at sub regional level until April 2015 at the earliest but that’s now just four months away.

Now she’s confirmed a SOC on the development of local football stadia is nearly ready.

Responding to an Assembly Question table by DUP MLA Alex Easton, the Sports Minister stated: “The Executive endorsed a proposal to provide an additional c. £36m for sub-regional stadium development for football as a priority area of spend in the next CSR period.

“Whilst funding is still to be secured, a SOC to demonstrate football’s strategic needs at sub-regional level, and how those needs can be accommodated, is currently under development by my Department and shall shortly be submitted to DFP for consideration.”

She said her Department is developing a strategy on how this programme might be delivered should money become available in the next CSR period and she has met with the Finance Minister Simon Hamilton to discuss how this might be resourced.