It now looks almost certain that Antrim's glamour Ulster SFC match against the All-Ireland champions Armagh will take place at Corrigan Park in Belfast on 12 April.
A Ulster CCC statement is due later this morning that will rubberstamp Corrigan Park as the agreed venue.
Antrim were first out of the draw last October, which normally means home advantage for that team, but the capacity of Corrigan Park is only 4,000 approximately.
When the possibility of a change of venue arose, the Antrim footballers adopted a 'Corrigan Park or nowhere' stance, especially when Páirc Esler in Newry was suggested as an alternative ground.
Health and safety concerns around crowd congestion were at the core of the difficulty, especially since Armagh have one of the largest groups of supporters in the game, and 3,500 season-ticket holders.
The stalemate in the situation could have led to Antrim being removed from the championship and probably the second-tier Tailteann Cup as well.
But correspondence and negotiations in recent weeks and days have proven positive and difficulties regarding health and safety as well as security now seem to have been resolved.
Ulster GAA president Michael Geoghegan told @MartyMofficial that a new proposal by Antrim to allow their championship game against Armagh to go ahead at Corrigan Park would be considered this week #GAA pic.twitter.com/qlzmHL1IBD
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) March 24, 2025
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, Ulster GAA president Michael Geoghegan confirmed that a newly submitted proposal has been lodged by Antrim, which will be "adjudicated on over the next coming days."
Geoghegan said: "Negotiations have being going on since January with Antrim.
"The problem there is Corrigan Park is a capacity of 4,000. Armagh have season-ticket holders of 3,500 alone. That would grossly exceed [the capacity] with sponsorship, without a club in either county getting a ticket.
"We have negotiated with Antrim. They submitted a proposal to Ulster CCC, which the CCC felt at the time wasn't adequate to ensure the game could go ahead safely at Corrigan Park.
"They have now resubmitted another proposal and that will be adjudicated on over the next coming days by Ulster CCC."
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