Grounds for optimism as the Glens reveal new £10m Oval
■ Owner Pour and Stormont to collaborate on funding 6,000 capacity rebuild
GLENTORAN owner Ali Pour and the NI Executive are expected to join forces to fund the long-awaited redevelopment of the club’s Oval stadium in a plan that could cost up to £10m.
Pictures have emerged of how the new 6,000 capacity Oval would look and, if the designs come to fruition, it promises to be a spectacular setting to play football in east Belfast. A planning application has been submitted by the Glens to Belfast
City Council outlining the vision for the future. It states that the club plan to demolish the “existing spectator stand to be replaced with two new all-seater stands totalling 4,000 capacity.”
It adds there will be a “reconfiguration of existing standing terracing at goal ends providing 2,000 person capacity.”
There will also be additional car parking, improved circulation routes within the site and new turnstiles, with the Oval pitch set to become an artificial 3G surface.
In the 21st century, Glentoran supporters have suffered more than enough false dawns in relation to their ground being redeveloped or moving stadium, but it is understood owner Pour and his consortium that took over the club, and included manager Mick Mcdermott and coach Paul Millar, are determined to make it happen this time.
British-iranian businessman Pour took control of the Oval outfit in the middle of 2019, and by early 2020 Glentoran were debt free having years before been almost £2m in the red, with fears that the club could go out of business. There has also been substantial investment on the pitch with high-profile players brought to the club, helping them to Irish Cup glory and Europa League qualification last season and a title challenge this campaign.
While the Glentoran hierarchy have their eyes on winning the Irish Premiership, another huge goal is to modernise The Oval in the next couple of years.
To ensure their ambitious plans are passed by the Council, Glentoran will have to undergo a consultation process where they will be expected to speak with householders, businesses and churches in the neighbouring area, the George Best City Airport which is close by, Translink due to the railway track being nearby, the Department for Infrastructure, other relevant government departments and bodies as well as supporters.
Consultation processes can take nine months to a year, though that can depend on how well they go. On that score, sources suggest no issues which could halt the project are expected.
The biggest factor, of course, will be who pays for it, and that’s where public money will come in. Previously, a government consultation had recommended Glentoran receive an investment of £10m to upgrade The Oval as part of the sub regional stadia programme. That was several years ago. Much water has flowed under the bridge since.
The £10m for The Oval was part of a £36.2m government package dating back to 2015. In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph last year, Sports Minister Deirdre Hargey said there was no guarantee the finance would go to the original designated areas, insisting that she wanted to make sure “it is going to the right places”.
Just last month, DUP MP for Belfast East Gavin Robinson called on the Sinn Fein Minister to engage with Glentoran about the issue and to treat the matter with “urgency”.
Regardless of when it is discussed, there will be an expectancy at Stormont that Glentoran pump money into the redevelopment themselves to aid any government funding that may come.
Back in 2016, this newspaper reported how plans at that time for a ‘new’ Oval included turning the pitch 90 degrees. Today, Glentoran fans are dreaming of a successful side playing on their field of dreams in a high-class modern stadium.