New 3G pitch on the horizon for Kingscourt Harps

Kingscourt Harps Soccer Club has been granted funding of over €174k for a new 3G pitch.

Under the Sports Capital Equipment Programme, the sum of €174,411 was awarded to the club earlier this month.

The club now hopes to proceed with the next steps, including signing contracts, with the aim of commencing works at the end of May. They hope that the project will be completed by July of this year.

Secretary of the club, Dominic Sheenan, said they are “thrilled” to receive the funding.

“We have a very hard-working committee and everyone has a job to do on the committee, it was just brilliant news for the club.”

In putting together the application for the funding, the committee went “all over the county” viewing other pitches to see which providers would be the best, pitching for tenders from each company.

They are “particularly pleased” that the Sports Capital Department has agreed to their choice of tender, JNC Premier Pitches, which will be responsible for removing the existing carpet and replacing it with a FIFA Approved Quality Standard and FIFA Quality Tested System.

With over five hundred players in the club and 45 coaches and two local schools that also use the facility, Dominic said there is an “awful lot” of people who depend on the pitch.

“We need to get it across the line,” he said, adding that it should take around six weeks to do the work.

The installation will feature a 10mm shock pad and a 50mm DOMO Duraforce XSL Synthetic Carpet, provided by DOMO Sports Grass, which is a leading manufacturer based in Belgium.

The total cost of the project is approximately €275,000, which also includes the necessary work to widen the footpath at both ends of the pitch for a perfect fit with the surrounding fence and existing path.

Dominic strongly believes that clubs should not have to pay VAT on works done, adding that there will be 13.5% VAT on the €275,000 total cost to upgrade the pitch.

“There should be some mechanism for clubs to be able to claim that back,” he suggested.

Kingscourt Harps are in the process of setting up a patron’s club. With over 40 members already, when the number of patrons reaches 100, they will establish the club. Each member will pay €20 per month to be entered into a monthly draw with one €500 prize and five €100 prizes up for grabs.

Meanwhile, fundraising efforts are underway. A sponsored hike is planned for Carrauntoohil on Sunday, May 4, with 26 people already signed up. The club is also inviting local businesses to get involved in its ‘Pitch in for the Pitch’ initiative, where 48 squares are available on the new pitch for businesses to display their name or logo.

Their U13 and U14 girls are launching a fundraiser called ‘Jail & Bail’ where they will be locked up in the community event room for 24 hours. To avoid a 48-hour stay, they need to raise their own bail money.

“There’s plenty of opportunities for everybody to get involved,” encouraged Dominic.

To make a donation or get involved, people can ring any of the committee members or contact them via their social media pages.

“I just want to thank everyone for their support to date,” he said, adding that over €1 million has been spent upgrading the facilities.

“We got great support form a lot of businesses, club members and parents in our community. Our motto is we’re in the community for the community.”