Finn Park
Páirc na Finne | |
Finn Park | |
 View across the pitch | |
 | |
| Full name | Finn Harps |
|---|---|
| Address | Finn Park, Navenny St, Ballybofey, Co. Donegal Ballybofey Ireland |
| Location | Finn Park, Ballybofey, County Donegal |
| Elevation | 17 metres |
| Public transit | Ballybofey Main Street bus stop (McElhineys) |
| Owner | Finn Park Trust |
| Operator | Finn Harps F.C. |
| Capacity | 4,458 (351 seated) |
| Record attendance | 6,500 v Derry City in 2003 |
| Field size | 110 x 80 yd |
| Scoreboard | Yes |
| Tenants | |
| Finn Harps F.C. | |
| Website | |
| www.finnharps.ie | |
Finn Park (Irish: Páirc na Finne) is a football stadium in Ballybofey, Ireland. The home ground of League of Ireland team Finn Harps, it has a 'safe capacity' of 4,200 with 351 seats. The first recorded Finn Harps game in Finn Park was in May 1954.
Facilities
The ground is in a relatively dilapidated condition, although upgraded to modern safety standards. Only three sides are officially open, the covered "Shed" with mixed seating/terracing on the Navenny Road side with a capacity of 1,505, the large "Town End" terrace on the Chestnut Road side with capacity 1,748, and the "Gantry" viewing slope capacity 1,195, which is rarely used by home fans and houses the television/radio gantry. The "River End" embankment is officially closed and is generally used for ambulance parking. Fan segregation is rarely officially in existence and effectively unenforced.[citation needed]
Finn Park hosted the amateur Republic of Ireland national football team against Yugoslavia in a qualifier for the 1972 Summer Olympics in April 1971.[citation needed]
In 2020, with Covid-19 restrictions effectively restricting the use of the usual dressing room and clubhouse layout, Finn Harps embarked upon a project to upgrade the dressing room facilities in Finn Park with the installation of a new home dressing room, medical area, shower room, kit room and wash room, and a kitchen on the Gantry Side of the ground. The previous home team dressing room did become the away dressing room area with two teams entering the pitch from different gates as a result, but this was reverted in 2024 with the home side now entering via the clubhouse way.[1][2]
Upgrade
Finn Harps have plans at an advanced stage to move to a new 6,800 seater stadium across the River Finn in Stranorlar, within sight of their current home. Construction began in October 2008.[3] This will lead to the demolition of Finn Park once the new Finn Harps Stadium is completed.
Construction work began in October 2008 with the official 'turning of the sod' by then Minister for the State Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher. Land filling and top soil work began in late 2011 with concrete foundations going in early 2012. Steel structures are due to be put in place over June/July 2012 with building work to begin soon after. The club originally hoped to be in the new 6,800 all seater stadium by summer 2013, but with recession hitting the building industry hard in Ireland, work stalled on the ground in November 2014.
A fresh plan was drawn for the ground, in an attempt to help the club move forward in August 2019, with work hoped to start again in summer 2020, but a mix of issue with the government sports departments, and COVID-19, work had again stalled on the project.[4][5]
References
- ^ "Dressing Room Taking Shape As Finn Park Work Continues". Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ Park, Chris McNulty at Finn (15 January 2024). "Murphy's laws already evident as new era dawns for Finn Harps". www.donegallive.ie. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
- ^ Construction starts on Harps Stadium, retrieved 8 May 2009[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Finn Harps Stadium Plans Update, August 2019". Retrieved 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Funding crisis for Finn Harps' long-planned new stadium". Retrieved 3 November 2020.
54°47′53″N 7°46′43″W / 54.798°N 7.7785°W