THE chairman of Ards Football Club says that the dream to return senior football to the town has ‘never been so far down the line’ as the long-awaited project continues to make steady planning progress.
Issuing a fresh update on the club’s proposals for a new 2,000 capacity stadium at the Floodgates land on the Portaferry Road, Warren Patton confirmed that sign-off on three key surveys for the site, namely bats, drainage and transport, is in the hands of the releveant authorities and should receive the green light in the coming weeks. If all proceeds without delay on those fronts, Mr Patton said that the club’s full planning application could be before Ards and North Down Council before Christmas.
Mr Patton has also told the Chronicle that he’s ‘very confident’ Ards will be included in the second tranche of funding for football facilities from the Department of Communities, though a timeline for the release of that money, as well as the pot to be allocated to the 10 clubs in the first tranche, remains unclear.
The new ground project has a total estimated budget of £4m, with that money likely to come from a combination of government and private investment. “We can just ensure that our name is in the hat for anything available,” said Mr Patton. “At last month’s annual general meeting of the club, it was emphasised that five or six directors will not get this ground built. So we’re looking for help,” he added. “The first milestone will be the flattening of the site, and once that happens I’m confident that private investment will come. We have never been so far down the line as this.”
While many will associate the potential new home with being a base for Ards’ first team, Mr Patton reiterated the wider benefit it can bring to the local community and the club’s academy set-up. “The work behind the scenes at the academy has been incredible,” he said. “We have over 330 boys and girls there at the minute and we must pay tribute to that work. This is not just about the first team, it’s the whole future of our club.” Continuing, Mr Patton placed on record his appreciation to all those who have donated to the club’s new ground fundrasier, which has brought in close to £16,000 and remains live. “The generosity from people has been nothing short of phenomenal. Only the other day we had an anonymous donation of £500.”
