The completion of the first phase of a multi-million pound project to build high-quality football pitches for use by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) and the local community has kicked off in style.
DMUFC Men's and Women's teams with their coach, former Leicester City captain Matt Elliott.
Players got their first taste of the slick new all-weather pitch and facilities at Beaumont Park which will be used by DMU, Beaumont Town Football Club (BTFC) and the Beaumont Leys community.
The development at Beaumont Park is part of DMU’s £136 million campus transformation programme. DMU is enjoying an exciting period with more and more new buildings and facilities opened across the university. The £2 million project has been a joint effort between DMU, BTFC and Leicester City Council and will help local sports teams to thrive.
The project enables an extension of the work by DMU’s award-winning Square Mile initiative in the Beaumont Leys area where activities are already being undertaken with the local community. DMU Square Mile is involving people from the area in schemes such as free IT and English lessons, diabetes support and helping businesses.
The improvements at Beaumont Park will help BTFC realise its ambitions to encourage greater participation by the local community at junior, youth and adult level as well as help their adult teams with their desire to play higher up in the football league structure.
The first phase of the project, a new fully FA compliant 3G artificial grass pitch with floodlights, was officially opened by DMUFC Men’s and Women’s teams, BTFC youth players and DMU Square Mile sponsored football team: Studs FC.
A 3G - or ‘third generation’ - pitch is made of artificial plastic grass 'blades' and is suitable for all weather conditions, meaning it can allow for much more use compared to a grass pitch.
Beaumont Park, owned by Leicester City Council, will become a permanent training and match day ground for DMU’s Men’s and Women’s football teams.
Phase two of improvements at Beaumont Park, due to be completed in September 2016, will include two new natural grass pitches, sensitively-designed floodlighting, dugouts, improved drainage, spectator seating and an extension to the clubhouse to create more changing areas.
DMUFC, BTFC youth team and Studs FC used the new facilities.
General Secretary of BTFC, Nick Langton, said: “Our football club has been an important part of Beaumont Leys for over thirty years. We run a number of successful junior, youth and adult teams and there is a real sense of community spirit at the club. To meet the club’s aspiration to climb the football leagues, we have been looking to upgrade facilities for a number of years.
“When we were approached by DMU to work in partnership to improve the facilities for the benefit of the local community it was the perfect opportunity. Working in partnership has allowed us to input into plans that will improve our facilities. The benefits for our club and the wider community will be substantial.”
Vice-President of Student Activities at De Montfort University Students’ Union (DSU), and DMUFC player, Dan Winney said: “The new facilities at Beaumont Park mean our Men’s and Women’s football teams have an excellent place to train and play with a state-of-the-art 3G pitch that is the envy of other clubs in the city. It is the first phase of the complete transformation of Beaumont Park to facilitate a ‘home venue’ for all of our outdoor sports”.
Women’s Football Team Captain and third year student, Toni Mallin, said: “The new 3G pitch and grass pitches at Beaumont Town will give our football teams more opportunities to play. We now have three women’s teams, and the men’s team has got bigger too, so this extra space will enable us to play more games throughout the week. This means we can continue to promote and support women’s sport and make sure our team gets even bigger! It’s a massive benefit for us.”
Studs FC player Adam Wright, 27, said: “The new facilities are brilliant for us as we will be training here. It all looks completely different from when we were here last season. Improvements like these keep people playing football.”
To celebrate the completion of the project, BTFC will take on DMUFC in September 2016 with the ‘Square Mile Challenge Trophy’ being presented to the winner. Look out for more information on this exciting event later in the year.
Posted on Thursday 14 January 2016