A pioneering multi sports complex in Irvinestown took a step closer to reality at a recent meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council with the Council agreeing to carry out a feasibility study of the Bawnacre Centre which will take into consideration the multi sports development that has been discussed at the adjacent Necarne Estate.

The feasibility study is being sought after a meeting was held between Council officials and members of a multi sports group who are lobbying for the development of a multi sports complex at Necarne.

“We are delighted with the progress and delighted that the Council are supporting the plan, although there is a long way to go” Sean Donnelly, a spokesperson for the multi sports group told the Impartial Reporter this week.

Mr. Donnelly, who was representing Fermanagh GAA, along with Neil Jardine, Chairman of the Fermanagh and Western Football League attended a meeting with Council officials last week.

“There are still significant hurdles to jump but we have made excellent progress and are hopeful that more progress can me made in the coming months,” Donnelly stated.

The multi sports complex would be the first of its kind in Northern Ireland and would see several different sporting bodies working together to both secure funding and plan the project. Sports to benefit include GAA, soccer, rugby, athletics and hockey.

At last weeks full council meeting Director of Corporate Services and Governance at Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Celine McCartan asked for a number of items not on the agenda to be considered by the Council.

One was to seek approval from councillors to “undertake a feasibility study and to incur the associated costs to examine options for the development of facilities at the Bawnacre and that is to include consideration of multi sports facility development”.

Councillor Rosemaire Shields on a point of clarification asked had there been “consultation with the group who were interested in developing a multi sports site at Necarne?”

Ms. McCartan in her reply stated:

“Yes indeed, this is one of the actions stemming from the most recent meeting which took place yesterday, I agreed to take this to Council tonight so we would be able to proceed along agreed lines.”

Discussions, facilitated by the Council, have already taken place between the multi sports group and Gardrum Holdings Ltd. At a meeting in March the Council agreed the Heads of Terms for the lease of Necarne to Gardrum Holdings Ltd with the Heads of Terms allowing for “further consideration of a potential multi sport complex on part of the Necarne site.”

It is understood the multi sports complex will cost in the region of £10 million with much of the investment being sought from PEACE II funding, which opens for fresh applications in the coming months.

The complex will be looked upon as a major driver of sports tourism. Part of the proposal will be to make the complex an elite destination for sporting teams to visit and use while of course offering significant additional resources for local sport.

At present there is no hockey pitch in the county while there is only one floodlit soccer pitch in Fermanagh. The GAA, rugby and athletics would also all benefit from the new proposal.