Sligo Rovers today welcome the news of the awarding of a sport capital grant of €211,674 for redevelopment work in The Showgrounds.

The announcement was made by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sports and Media and the Bit O’ Red wish to thanks Minister Catherine Martin, Minister of State Jack Chambers and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath, for their support.

Today’s announcement is a crucial next step in the Sligo Rovers Masterplan that allows for Phase 1 of it to begin.

This includes new floodlights in the stadium which will see The Showgrounds achieve the minimum requirements set out in both UEFA Category 2 and UEFA Category 3 stadia as well and other ground improvements.

The Masterplan vision for Sligo Rovers is a new 6,000 stadium to achieve all the needed all the requirements of a UEFA Category 3 stadium.

This week Sligo Rovers invested €100,000 of the club’s funds in a planning process and will spend a further six-figure sum later in the year to bring the project forward with the support of the club’s fans and members through the club’s renowned fundraising mechanisms.

The club also acknowledges how all four of the constituency TDs are providing cross-party support of Sligo Rovers. We also thank all of the elected members of Sligo County Council and its management team who are backing the club’s development plan.

Sligo Rovers chairman Tommy Higgins said: “It’s very heartening for a community-owned club to have practical encouragement as we strive to create the facilities the region deserves.

“In our discussions with ministers and elected representatives on a local and national level, we feel they see the vision we have but also the results we are producing. That is through investing in footballers and giving a pathway, both male and female, and being a focal point within the region providing facilities and a place of inclusivity.

“I wish to thank Ministers Catherine Martin and Jack Chambers for this allocation which will bring great improvements to The Showgrounds. Through our application we have demonstrated the ambition of so many stakeholders to take Sligo Rovers to a new level. 

“We have the FAI being fully supportive, describing Sligo Rovers as the standard-bearer in community work. Sligo County Council are very much behind us and on a national level we believe there is an understanding that football, and in particular the League of Ireland, must grow in order for the game as a whole to thrive in years to come.

“There is no time to waste and we will bring forward the next phase of our plan as soon as possible. We want to develop more international footballers in our academy, male and female, and have our facilities utilise the incredible talent in a huge catchment north-west area while we generate increased revenue to invest more in trying to achieve our overall target.

“Our centenary is just six years away and we want to bring the plan forward with that in mind.

“Finally, I wish to thank the ministers again and my colleagues at Sligo Rovers for their fantastic work in reaching a new stage of this plan.”