Ards have taken a major step towards building a new stadium after signing a long-term lease on six acres of the Floodgates land on the Portaferry Road in Newtownards.
The club, currently playing in the Lough 41 Championship, plans to build a new football ground that is capable of hosting Danske Bank Premiership fixtures.
The proposed 2,000-capacity stadium will include two seated stands, changing room facilities, floodlights and a car park.
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Ards Football Club chairman Warren Patton said: "We're delighted that we have reached an agreement on the Floodgates land.
"I would like to thank Council Chief Executive Stephen Reid for his diligence during this process and I'd also like to thank the councillors and our local MLAs for their support.
"This agreement is a massive boost for our football club and the entire Ards area, as at long last we have land to call our own in Newtownards. This is a big step forward on our journey home.
"We will now begin the process of securing the funding necessary to build a new stadium. To do this, we will work to identify new partners who can help us on the next stage of our journey.”
Karen Douglas, Mayor of Ards and North Down, hailed Ards’ “ambitious proposals” and said it would be of “benefit to the borough and encourage more people to get involved in sport”.
She said: “The Council has given a lease to Ards Football Club which represents another milestone in the club’s quest to develop a new football stadium.
“The Council welcomes this latest development and wishes the club well as it now endeavours to secure funding in order that the plans may be realised.”
Ards, who will celebrate their 125th anniversary in 2025, have been playing their home games at Bangor’s Clandeboye Road home for the past decade.
The new site is near the club’s old Castlereagh Park stadium which they left in 2011 after suffering major financial difficulties.
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