Cavan sports hub among 72 applications

A proposed state-of-the-art sports campus facility for Co Cavan is one of 72 projects being sifted through by the Department ahead of making a final determination on successful schemes before the end of this year. Cavan County Council, which is backing the project, is hopeful its application will be among those sharing in the €100 million fund.

The Cavan multi-sports facility is expected to cost in the region of €20 million, and what is envisaged is of similar scale to the hugely successful Erne East 'Peace Link' Sports Centre in Clones.
It will include a 4G pitch for Gaelic football, soccer and rugby, basketball and hockey, and facilities for badminton, tennis, and athletics. 
A feasibility study, concluded back in February, identified three suitable sites in and around Cavan Town and its environs. Senior council officials are actively engaging with landowners and relevant stakeholder groups prior to an application being submitted.
Under the local authority's own plans to spend €115 million over the next three years, funding of €450,000 has been ring-fenced to progress the sports campus plan through its initial phases, 2019-2020.
According to a response received by Cavan-Monaghan Fianna Fail TD Niamh Smyth on the matter, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport noted that 72 applications were received in total, including one application from Cavan County Council, for consideration for funding from the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF).
“Assessment of the applications received has commenced. In view of the detailed information contained in each application, I am advised that it will take a number of months to have all of them assessed. Accordingly, I expect that it will be towards the end of this year before any allocations are announced.”