Grassroots sport in Leeds has received a welcomed boost with a new sports hub for university students as well as the local community.
Part of the University of Leeds, the new Bodington Football Hub is located in the north of the city close to the University’s Bodington Playing Fields, which are also home to The Brownlee Centre - the UK’s first purpose-built triathlon centre - and the one mile (1.6km) Bodington cycle circuit, one of the longest in the country. The new sports hub offers three full size LED floodlit 3G pitches, a four-team changing pavilion with community café, meeting space and a car park. A £4.3m grant from the Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation has helped to fund the development, which will be home to seven junior partner clubs whose 217 teams will have access to the facilities alongside six senior clubs who will use the site for training and match play.
The pitches have nine, six and five-aside facilities to encourage as many people as possible to take part. In addition the facility will host the University of Leeds’ sports programmes which currently only have access to one full-size 3G FTP. The changing pavilion and community café will also support West Riding County FA to deliver a broad range of recreational programmes and activities for the wider community. “The University is proud to be opening a new facility to support our students and the local community in north Leeds. As well as providing further investment in the student experience we’ve been able to create a new space for local football clubs in the region and we hope that it will inspire many more people to become active,” said Suzanne Glavin, head of sport & physical activity at Leeds University.
“We’re very grateful to the Football Foundation for helping to make this happen and looking forward to working with our partners to develop new ways to support the community.” The Hub is the result of extensive work between the Football Foundation, West Riding County FA, Leeds City Council and University of Leeds to progress the development of four Hub sites in Leeds that together will provide 13 new full-size pitches responding to the need for sporting facilities in and around the city. As well as Bodington Football Hub, the Foundation is working with the council to develop three Hubs – at the former Matthew Murray High School site in Holbeck, Woodhall Sports Ground in Pudsey and Green Park in Temple Newsam. “It is great to see this fantastic facility open. It is a brilliant example of how investment from our partners, the Premier League, The FA, Government and Sport England improves grassroots facilities across the country. We know that facilities at schools, colleges and universities are vital to this work and will enable more people in and around the city to have great places to play,” said Robert Sullivan, chief executive of the Football Foundation.
