A £1m grant has been netted to go towards a new 3G pitching to be completed as part of the Castle Sports Complex redevelopment.
South Holland District Council has been given the £999,999 grant from the Premier League, The FA and Football Foundation.
“This investment will support South Holland District Council’s plans to build a new 3G sports pitch, as part of the £28.3million project to redevelop the Castle Sports Complex in Spalding,” a spokesman for the district council said. “The pitch will be available for use by partner sports clubs and wider community use and be suitable to support a variety of different sizes and forms of activity. It will support 11 v 11, 9 v 9, 7 v 7 and 5 v 5 pitch sizes, with multiple games possible at once for the smaller-sided matches.
“Floodlights and dedicated changing facilities will also help to widen access opportunities, for more hours of the day, especially during the winter months.”
The revamp is due to be open in 2027 and has previously had a £20m grant from the UK Government.
The authority says it had already budgeted for the grant.
Coun Gary Taylor, South Holland District Council’s project sponsor, said: “I’m delighted to receive this support from the Football Foundation and its partners, to help us bring new and improved fitness, sport and participation opportunities to the South Holland community.
“Alongside the funding from UK Government and the council’s own investment, we are fortunate to be delivering a transformational project that will offer improved and expanded facilities and help more people in the district get active and healthy.
“It’s great to see work continuing to progress and the plans get closer to becoming a reality, and I can’t wait until next year when the Centre will be open again for people to enjoy.”
Robert Sullivan, chief Executive of the Football Foundation, said: “The Football Foundation is working closely with our partners – the Premier League, The FA and Government – to transform the quality of grassroots facilities in England by delivering projects like this across the country.
“Good quality playing facilities have a transformative impact on physical and mental health and play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening local communities.
“This grant award to South Holland District Council towards developing a new 3G pitch at the Castle Sports facility is fantastic news for the local community and will help give more people access to a great place to play.”
