DOWN County Board chairman Jack Devaney is confident the potential financial ramifications of the coronavirus crisis will not affect plans for a new multi-million pound centre of excellence.
Senior GAA figures have spoken publicly about the “very grave scenario” the Association could face if competitions were curtailed or cancelled, while the possibility of inter-county Championship games – normally a major money-spinner – being played behind closed doors would come at a considerable cost.
However, the fact the GAA last week indicated its intention to run club and inter-county Championships later in the year at least offers some hope where, for a time, there appeared to be very little.
What toll the pandemic ultimately takes on the GAA’s finances won’t be known until much further down the line, and Ulster Council secretary Brian McAvoy recently predicted projects like the proposed redevelopment of Casement Park will “help kick-start the economy again”.
The same could be said of Down’s centre of excellence, and Devaney feels there will be “plenty of possibilities on the other side of this”.
“We hadn’t immediately thought that a project like ours would be relying solely on GAA monies, and I would not be in any way pessimistic about the possibilities that may arise on the other side of this in terms of possible funding streams.
“It’s very easy to get into that frame of mind but, from where we stand at the moment in terms of what we’re hopeful about and less hopeful about, I wouldn’t see our Ballykinlar project being one that’s in the negative category in that regard.
“We are at an early stage and I still think there will be plenty of possibilities on the other side of this as well, even if some of the financial realities are different for the Association.”
Plans for the Ballykinlar project – which includes four full size pitches, spectator seating, a multi-use games area, car parking, changing rooms, fitness studio and offices – were unveiled to the public at the end of last year.
Subject to planning approval, the county board had hoped to see work commence as soon as possible. Devaney admits their time-frame has been “slowed down” by the current situation, but believes it is “not really a major impact”.
“We were at the very early stages of it,” he said.
“We submitted our planning documentation back in December, we understood at that time it would take most of 2020 going through the various processes that are involved.
“Of course some parts of that will have ground to a halt in terms of the planning process and the working within planning – that is outside our control, but it does mean it would have slowed down that particular time-frame.
“We’re at such an early stage in this that’s it’s not really a major impact. Once things start coming into view again, we had intended this year to put together a lot of the structures around how we would wish this project forward.
“We will still be doing that but we have to be mindful that some of the time-frames around the planning process and other things will change. Some of that will be hopefully in relation to something we haven’t even started as yet; the whole funding arrangement.
“When things eventually settle and we emerge from this, hopefully we’ll get a better view of what’s possible – what’s likely and what’s not likely in the short to medium term.”
