Derry City 'pretty confident' of securing share of £36.2 million stadia funding

​Irish League clubs Glentoran and Cliftonville are considered to be among the prime candidates for the finance which will be released in April 2025 and go towards reconstruction work to their respective stadiums while Coleraine are also vying for their share of the pot.

However, Derry City CEO Sean Barrett believes the Brandywell club ticks all the boxes in terms of the 'new criteria' involved in the application process.

And Sports Minister Gordon Lyons, who approved sign-off on the funding this week, insists the money will be shared with clubs with 'really good, high quality projects'.

The Candy Stripes attract upwards of 3,000 spectators to every home match with demand for tickets increasing year-on-year.

Chairman Mr Philip O'Doherty has funded the development of the new North Terrace Stand - private investment in the ground which will also serve to strengthen its case.

The Council-owned stadium serves the local community while Derry's participation in European football will be regarded favourably when it comes to deciding eligibility for the funding.

"We've been funded to get a business case together and got a group of people together to do it for us," explained Mr Barrett. "They have that more or less done. We had a meeting with the sub regional development on Tuesday and they were pretty favourable of our proposals and our business plan and we're pretty hopeful they will give us this funding.

"There will be three different brackets in how the funding is going to be released and they think our case is very strong. We have a situation here where we're putting some of our private funding into this which will bode well for us going forward with the North Stand being built.

"We're at full capacity at every match and we need more capacity to get more people into the ground from the local area.

"Our biggest headache at the minute is turning people away who want to come and watch their local team.

"So the sooner we get this all done the better because the people want it and it's a great facility which will get better and better.

“The facilities have to be right and we will do everything in our power to do that.

"We think finishing off the Mark Farren Stand on both sides will obviously help the community as well. There will be function rooms which will be used by the local community and for other aspects as well.

"So we're pretty confident. I know NIFL are talking about their end of things but at the end of the day we're based in the north, we pay our taxes in the north.

"So from that perspective we're pretty confident and the business case we've put together, we've been told it's probably the strongest case of all the clubs who have put in for it.

"We're certainly hopeful of getting funding and getting the Mark Farren Stand started sooner rather than later."

The Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium's North Terrace is unlikely to be completed by the time Derry's European fixtures come around. The club are seeded going into European competition this season, increasing its chances of progressing to the third round.

Last season the club were forced to play its third round home leg against Tobol in Tallaght and Mr Barrett hopes the completion of the Mark Farren Stand and the North Stand will ensure future latter round qualifying stages will be hosted on Foyleside.

"Nobody wants to go back to Dublin in the third round if we hopefully get through to it. We got more good news this week that we are seeded in Europe this year as well which gives us better opportunity.

"I think everybody has been very proactive. In the Council as well who have been involved and helping us along the way.

“It's all very positive and I'm pretty confident. I know we've been saying this for years but the noises I've been hearing over the last couple of months have been all pretty favourable.”

Will the potential share of the funding be sufficient to complete the works in the Mark Farren stand which include the construction of its wings either side of the current structure?

"We don't know. It all depends. They have announced what the funding is. They won't tell us who's getting what because we haven't' even finished the business case yet.

“What we're trying to achieve is to get whatever we can get from the strategic development fund and then there's other funding out there and obviously private funding as well.

"So whatever we get, we'll need more. We need to get a lot of different backers along the way."

Asked about the current status of the North Terrace stand, Mr Barrett said he was hopeful it could be finished by the end of the year.

"The North Stand is going alright,” he said. “The timeframe? Well everything is awarded now. We're still hoping for September or October. Will it be this season? I don't know but hopefully it will.

"It will definitely be there for the start of next season. Everything is good to go. Everything has been signed off. It's all getting built. “You don't see anything physical happening here because all the precast is done, the steelworks are done elsewhere.

“Yes it has to be tiled and will be done in the coming weeks and then it's a case of bolting it all together. It will look like nothing for a month or two and then all of a sudden it will just fall together. “The sooner we can get that done the better. The proof will be in the pudding to see what happens with the Northern Ireland Football Fund) but I'm pretty confident and we've done everything we can anyway.”