Inver Park

Inver Park
Map
LocationLarne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Coordinates54°51′0″N 5°49′37″W / 54.85000°N 5.82694°W / 54.85000; -5.82694
Capacity3,000[1]
Record attendance15,000 vs Linfield 1972
SurfaceArtificial
Construction
Opened1918
Renovated2018-22
Tenants
Larne F.C.
Larne FC Women
Newington 2023-[2]

Inver Park is a football stadium in Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is the home ground of Larne F.C. The land was acquired by Larne in 1918 and has been in continuous use as a stadium ever since. In 2010 the official capacity was set for safety reasons at 1,100 with seating for 656 in the main stand.

In 2010 the club struck an agreement with property developers GML who agreed to build a new stadium on the site that would meet the Irish League's domestic licence criteria to enable Larne to play senior football should they win the Championship One in the future in return for Larne's agreement to give up an acre of land adjacent to a development site next to the ground. The deal, however, has been delayed due to the falling value of the property market, which has led GML to halve their initial bid of £6 million for the land.

Under the ownership of Kenny Bruce, the stadium has received significant upgrades; in 2018, the Main Stand was lightly renovated, a new artificial pitch and floodlights were installed, while a new 600-seat stand at the Bleach Green end of the ground was built in advance of the 2019–20 NIFL Premiership season. In December 2020 construction began on another 600-seat stand at the Church end of the ground, expected to conclude by Spring 2021.[3] The final stage of stadium development will come with the construction of an all-new Main Stand and community hub, the timeframe of which is as-yet unscheduled.

References

  1. ^ "NIFL Premiership Football Grounds In Northern Ireland". footballgroundmap.com. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  2. ^ "Club licensing decisions announced". Irish FA. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  3. ^ Construction work on Church End gets underway larnefc.com. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.