Plans to build a state of the art facility that will benefit children in Laois have been lodged with Offaly County Council.
The Midlands League, of which the majority of Laois clubs are members of, has unveiled a proposal to build a €5 million complex.
Boys and girls from Abbeyleix Athletic, Clonaslee United, Emo Celtic, Mountmellick United, Portlaoise AFC, Rosenallis, St Aengus (Mountrath) and T&S United (Timahoe and Stradbally), will benefit from this according to the MSL committee.
The proposed development is set be located on a 27 acre site in the townland of Curraghboy or Woodfield, Clara
This land was purchased by the Midlands League in 2022 and would benefit a league that also encompasses clubs from Offaly, Westmeath, Roscommon and East Galway.
The proposed development is to consist of four playing pitches, two of which will be all-weather surfaces with floodlighting, while the other two will be grass pitches.
A grass training and warm-up pitch is also included, along with a single-storey facilities building designed to support a wide range of activities for visiting clubs from Laois and beyond.
Plans include a building of approximately 865 square metres with a rooftop photovoltaic solar panel array.
Inside, it will contain an entrance lobby, a function room with servery and reception area, an office and meeting room, a weights and training room, a multipurpose community room, a medical and first-aid room with toilet, an equipment store, five spectator toilets, a universal access changing room with shower and toilet, a plant room and a storage and kit room.
Externally, the plans submitted to Offaly County Council include the proposed construction of 123 vehicle parking spaces in two on-site areas complete with a “dedicated coach/bus set down area”.
Proposed access to the development would be via a new vehicular entrance from the L6045 “with associated road upgrade works to accommodate development related traffic movements”.
To date, the league has received sports capital grant funding of €470,000 towards the project.
Chris Nestor, a member of Portlaoise AFC, is the chairman of the Midlands League.
Speaking to LaoisToday, Chris explained how big the league has become and how badly this facility is needed.
He said: “We have approximately 7,000 playing in the league across all of our clubs – with numbers continuing to grow.
“This project is going to be a significant advantage to players and coaches from the Midlands region.
“It will be a state-of-the-art centre of excellence that will help our players reach their full potential.
“Our league runs an Emerging Talent Programme from U-10 right up to U-16. This is the first step for many boys and girls on their football journey.
“As we don’t have a facility of our own, we currently are spending in the region of €60,000 each year in rent in order to run this.
“Each group also only receives roughly two hours of contact each week – this is something that would dramatically increase when we have our own facility.”
A planning decision on the project is due on January 29, 2026.
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