Donegal chairman PJ McGowan says the All-Ireland champions will resist any attempt to move next year’s Ulster SFC clash with Tyrone from Ballybofey to Clones.
Thursday night’s draw threw up the mouth-watering prospect of the champions putting their Anglo Celt Cup title on the line against Tyrone.
The game is sure to attract a huge attendance and there is speculation that Ulster chiefs could take home advantage away from Jim McGuinness and his All-Ireland winners.
The Slattery Report reduced the capacity of Ballybofey to around 12,500 this year but McGowan is confident that they will get it back up to around 18,000 in time for the visit of the Red Hand County.
He told The Irish Examiner: “It is a massive game. Tyrone will be absolutely huge opponents in the first round, but it’s difficult to estimate the attendance. Would the attendance be much more than 18,000 for a first round game? I wonder.
“No doubt we will have to sit down and discuss it with the Ulster Council, but obviously we want to retain our home advantage and run out at MacCumhaill Park as defending All-Ireland champions.”
He added: “The capacity of a lot of grounds was reduced because of the Slattery Report – including Clones. We spent a lot of money and complied with the findings of a previous report only to find that the Slattery Report had changed things again.
“We won’t make any short-cuts when it comes to the safety of spectators and teams but we believe only minor changes will be needed to get Ballybofey back to its proper capacity of around 18,000. We’re confident that will be adequate.”
