On the 6th of June we received the official approval of the allocation of a Government grant, subject to a number of legal processes, we effectively could start work any day but we would not be able to draw down the Government funds until the legal requirements are completed. The application that was approved was for a build cost of €5.7m, €3.991m of that is from the Government, €0.5m from the Donegal County Council and €0.5m from the FAI, we then were required to raise €0.7m. The Government grant is a 70% funding facility which is payable after the monies have been spent so we need to have cash in the bank to start the project. We began that process with our draw last year and a golf event in London.
The legal process involves the Chief states solicitor’s Office getting a charge on the land in Stranorlar, because the lease now only has 15 years remaining we are required to get an extension on that lease in excess of 25 years, this will now be presented at this month’s Council meeting. In addition to that we have secured a bank facility from the Western Development Council last year for €1m to fund the cash flow of the monies from the County Council and the FAI who will be paying us over 10 years, this too will have to be reapplied for as it has been some time since it was granted. We have also secured a facility from a subcontractor for €0.5m allowing repayments on their final installed payment over 10 years. All of this work has been completed by the Stadium Committee and we are extremely grateful for their efforts, their voluntary efforts have saved us over €100,000 in professional fees which we would have otherwise had to pay, it cannot be understated the efforts the team have gone to and how grateful we are.