Eircom Park was, in the end, consigned to the history books with barely a whimper at Saturday's a.g.m. of the FAI in Cork.
The association's new general secretary Brendan Menton confirmed the organisation had written off the £4.1 million spent on the project which, in a year in which the organisation also made an operating loss of some £600,000, has left it with net assets of just £827,000.
Some money may be recouped as certain bills are being disputed while around £500,000 is at stake in the long running VAT battle with the Revenue Commissioners. But then the current figures might have looked even worse, Menton admitted the financial situation would have been even bleaker had the £200,000-plus pay-off to his predecessor, Bernard O'Byrne in excess of, not been post dated so as to shift it into the 2000/01 accounts.
Day one of the bright new world didn't quite go to plan. The failure to get the official notice of motions to all delegates the mandatory seven days before the meeting prompted a number to object to any of them being discussed.
One relating to the association's drug testing policy had to be adopted if the organisation was to start drawing down substantial funds from the Irish Sports Council. In the end legal advice suggested agreement to waive the required notice would have to be unanimous if the new rule was not to be open to challenge.
It wasn't but, with £500,000 of the cash already earmarked for a range of projects, including the paying of newly-hired full-time goalkeeping coach Packie Bonner, they passed the motion anyway.
Officers elected: President - Milo Corcoran; Vice President - David Blood; Treasurer - John Delaney; Honorary Secretary - Des Casey.
