MacHale Park in Castlebar will be out of bounds from this summer until early 2022 as the pitch is being resurfaced and extended.

At the latest, the Castlebar venue will be open again in April 2022 as the playing area undergoes an overhaul.

It is still hoped Mayo’s footballers can train there next month as well as play during their Allianz League Division 2 campaign if it takes place.

A recent online meeting of the Mayo County Board was told the project has gone out to tender.

The pitch is to be extended by five metres and will have lateral drains installed; while 1,000 tons of sand will be put down before re-seeding. 

It's hoped the work will be done by mid-Summer, but the pitch will remain closed for the latter half of the year to allow the new surface to bed in.

That means the knockout stages of the 2021 Club football and hurling finals - including the county finals -being moved out of MacHale Park, but it's hoped the pitch will be ready for the start of the 2022 National League next Spring.