A figure in excess of �10 million will be realised for the piece of prime property in the middle of the Co Down seaside resort. Newcastle has been the headquarters of the Association in Down for more than a century, with the first Feis an Duin being held there in 1904. Senior Down County Board officials have, however, accepted the project will only go ahead if there is backing from the membership of Bryansford, the host club.

Bryansford have been the anchor tenants for decades. A special team of negotiators drawn from the club has agreed in principle with the county board over the plans drawn up to sell off the grounds.

But that deal still has to be rubberstamped by Bryansford's rank-and-file members.

If that is not forthcoming then rejection could plunge Down's long-term financial strategy into chaos.

The cash raised by the deal has been earmarked to provide development funding for a new training complex. A number of potential development sites have already been identified.

A 10-acre site, which includes a modern bungalow on the outskirts of Newcastle, has been identified. The new grounds would provide the club with expanded training facilities and two pitches. A pavilion and clubhouse complex will also be developed.

The transfer of the current floodlighting system and stands in St Patrick's Park will also be the subject of negotiation between the club and the county board.

In return for supporting the sale scheme Bryansford will be given a sum well in excess of �1million to help with the purchase and development of a new complex.

Substantial grants would also be made available from the GAA and from the Northern Ireland Sports Council.

The favoured location for a new ground is a 25-acre land parcel centrally situated between Newcastle and Castlewellan. There was initial support for the development of the complex on existing grounds owned by the Downpatrick club.

But the consensus at Down executive level is that a more central county position has to be found. A separate deal for Down to purchase playing fields from the local District Council in Annsborough village is close to being agreed.

Those grounds will be upgraded as an interim strategy until the new Centre of Excellence project is completed. Critics of the Newcastle sale scheme, however, claim the move will have a significant detrimental impact on the development of Gaelic games within a major urban area.

They also say the proposed removal of the host Bryansford club to a new site, three miles from its current base to a rural location, will weaken the appeal of Gaelic games.

They say the departure from a town of nearly 9,000 is in direct contradiction of Croke Park's current development strategy for the expansion of the GAA.