Westport United’s new facilities a welcome boost for ‘community club’
The new facilities will add to the two existing grass pitches, left, that Westport United have. The car park is set to be completed shortly while an extension to the clubhouse will be added in time. Pictures courtesy of Westport United FC
It was only two years ago that Westport Town Hall was packed for an announcement that would change Westport United forever. Outside a select few inside the club, nobody knew what that announcement would be.
Described at the time as ‘the biggest news in 100 years at Westport United’, the announcement certainly lived up to its billing as funding of €2.8 million was confirmed for phase two development of current home United Park.
The new phase included an international sized astro pitch, a third grass pitch, two astro MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) cages, extensions to the clubhouse with a gymnasium as well as other facilities. The total cost has come to €3.36 million, with the remainder of the money to be paid back via a bank loan that will be paid by patron of the club over time.
After the announcement, my colleague Paul O’Malley said the facilities would make Westport United the envy of community soccer clubs all across Ireland and when this reporter got a close-up look at these facilities last month, that statement would be no exaggeration.
Club stalwart Padraig Burns, and a member of the development committee who made this dream a reality for the club, showed the astro and full pitch, which will both be floodlit, and the MUGA cages. Clubs across various sporting codes, not just soccer clubs, will look at Westport United in admiration of the new facilities, as well as some understandable envy.
There is still a bit of work to be done before it is fully completed, such as finishing off the curbing and completing the extended car park but it is coming along at a fast pace and much of it will be completed before the official opening this Sunday, August 25, at 2pm.
“I suppose it's well over 10 years ago now since the talks (started),” club chairman Richard Grady told the . “The biggest barrier is always going to be money. Every club has an idea, trying to get the money is the problem.
“There's a great team, a development committee here, an absolutely fantastic bunch of people and they've done an amount of work. They had a dream, they followed it through and they're nearly there now.”
Funding arrived from a scheme operated by the Department of Justice called the immigration investor programme (IIP) which allows individuals outside Europe to make philanthropic donations to a project that will benefit the public at large.
“The development committee, in particular Padraig Burns in this instance, can take a lot of credit for it. I think in a meeting with some other organisation in Dublin, he heard wind of it and Padraig being Padraig, decided ‘let's investigate this’ with the development committee we have.” Grady feels being a ‘community club’ made getting the funding possible.
“The part of being able to get the grant was that we were a community club. We weren't just a football club so we do help out and get involved with the triathlon club and the cycling club, they use us for the events and stuff like that and you know we had the Football for All.
“The amount of money that came through that scheme, we never get that fundraising. We'd still be thinking about it at this stage. Luck has a lot to do it, but you make your own luck, and the lads in Development Committee, the likes of Mike Howe, Brian Cusack, Brendan McNally, Padraig Burns, as I said, people like that, Peter Conway. They did an amazing amount of work. The time they spent filling forms, I think, alone, was just phenomenal.”
The clubhouse extension has yet to be completed but Grady says it will be done in a realistic timeframe, and one that will not put considerable strain on the club’s finances.
“It’s a long-term dream and it's going to take a long time to finish it off. So we have to be realistic about it at the end of the day. Like we can't cripple the club or the town with finances. The club can't do this on their own. The town has to do it and the businesses in the town, people from outside town, that's where we're relying on. People's generosity and goodwill here.
“We're a big club with over 600 players, so we have a wide handprint over the community. We're a community club and the community are helping us get this for the community.”
Like many other clubs, United struggled for facilities for many years, being forced to rely on the Sports Park and The Point for games and training, as well as favourable weather. But the new additional pitches will mean everyone from the Super League team to the underage academies will have a place to call home.
“We've had an explosion of numbers in the last couple of years. When you think about it, 10 years ago, we barely even had a pitch. With the explosion of numbers, I suppose we're a victim of our own success, really.
“I came back to the club again around 11 years ago and we were doing the Academy in Rice College and in McConville Park. We were like up on 100 kids….we had nowhere to go, we had no home. So at least now we have a home, which is great for everybody.
“We're 10 years at this project, like kids who aren't even born now are 10, and they're using this. It's for everybody and it's for a long time to come, and that's what it's all about.”
