It's been a long-time coming but Dundalk's Jimmy Bellew Park opened its new astro-turf facilities on Tuesday.
The pitch, which is home to the Dundalk Schoolboys League's representative teams, has undergone massive changes in the past, none bigger than its current transformation.
FAI Chief Executive John Delaney along with Dundalk Town Council Chairman, Martin Bellew, son of the late Jimmy Bellew, officially opened the facilities.
The project took e205,000 to install the new 60m x 38m, something that Dundalk Schoolboys League Chairman, Gerry Gover is extremely proud of.
The opening of the pitch was followed by a match at Rock Celtic's ground, where The Republic of Ireland U-16 team faced the Czech Republic.
To hear an interview with FAI Chief Executive John Delaney from the conference at the Crowne Plaza, just click here. Gerry said: "It is a big week for us in the Dundalk Schoolboys League. The development at Bellew Park has been a long time coming. Ourselves in the schoolboys league have injected e105,000 into it.
"We got some funding from one of the European PEACE programmes and through a Lotto grant of e30k. The rest we had to put to it ourselves.
"The project itself has been in the pipeline for 12 months. Our representative teams could not train anywhere in the wet months and it was a problem as we had to be dependent on Oriel Park being free."
The impressive new facilities are a sight to behold, according to Gerry, one that will help the representative teams in the future.
"I was looking at it on Monday and it covers a fair bit of ground. We had a trial run last week, when we put the lights on and it looked very well."
Another important issue surrounding pitches for the league is the current situation at Rockview Farm.
As part of an ambitious plan for a new housing development, five football pitches would be built adjacent to the project. The pitches would be drained, fitted with sprinkler systems and enclosed with a security fence. A communal clubhouse will be provided with meeting rooms, showers, toilet facilities and changing rooms. The keys were then to be handed to the representatives from the Dundalk Schoolboys League and Dundalk Summer League.
However, these plans have stalled and Gerry is anxious to get the ball rolling again.
"It is a great idea but it has come to a standstill. If we had that facility and Bellew Park, we would be the envy of other clubs in the country.
"Whether it will ever happen, I do not know."
