Keen interest in Harps Stadium.

April 20, 2006

Finn Harps FC have received a large number of expressions of interest from parties wishing to be involved in the construction of the clubs new stadium in Stranorlar.

'At least 15 companies have been in contact with the club and all have been given information on the proposals. We are now waiting on the formal proposals which are to be submitted next month. After that, we hope to be in a position to enter into more detailed discussions with the developers who submit the most advantageous proposals" said Patsy Lafferty, Finn Harps Ground Development Officer speaking to finnharps dot com.

A number of developers are known to have been watching the development of the project with interest and several had already come forward, while others responded to the advertisement placed by the club in local and national press.

Major companies from Dublin, Belfast, Derry and at least one from the England have been in touch as well as several local developers and the club hope move the process forward on an ongoing basis in the coming months.

Mr. Lafferty continued by saying that ''I would re-assure all fans that this issue is at the top of the Boards agenda. The new stadium is critical to the Clubs long term strategy, and is the key to our long term viability and success. We need to provide such facilities if we are to progress to the level we want to be at, as not only will it provide proper facilities for fans and players, but it will be very important also for the Club to expand the commercial side of things.”

Commenting on the desire of supporters to be kept abreast of developments he added, “I appreciate that fans often wonder what is happening, and the process has been slow. We all want things to improve quickly, but sometimes it takes time to achieve things that are sustainable in the longer term, and this is what we are trying to do. I hope all fans appreciate this, but I do understand the frustrations at times due to the lack of information. In this regard, I would say that a lot of our discussions and negotiations with 3rd parties over the last few years in relation to land, legal issues and so forth have been sensitive and delicate, and we have been dealing with these issues in the confidential manner in which they have to be dealt with. Unfortunately, this means that there can be an information gap at times. This will probably continue for a few months while we are hopefully in further discussions with the successful developer as contract issues will need to be discussed and agreed. Hopefully matters will be clearer in this regard later in the summer.'