A brand new 3G sports pitch has been officially opened at Abbey Leisure Complex.
Cambridge City Council has been working closely with the Football Foundation to renovate the pitch, previously sand-based astroturf, to a new 3G rubber crumb surface.
The pitch will mainly host football but has the versatility to accommodate other sports such as Lacrosse, Gaelic Football and Aussie Rules Football.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Cameron Holloway and Cabinet Member for Safety, Wellbeing and Tackling Homelessness, Cllr Mike Todd-Jones were both in attendance for an official opening on the afternoon of Wednesday 15 October, where children from Galfrid School took part in football activities.
The £850,000 project was part funded by the Football Foundation and Cambridge City Council using S106 contributions to outdoor sports. Both parties contributed £425,000 each.
A soft launch of the pitch took place in the summer months, where an initial three groups were invited to test the pitch. After very positive feedback, the pitch was opened to others.
With the football season underway, the pitch has seen an increase in visitors - about 90% of bookable slots are taken on weekdays.
Cllr Mike Todd-Jones said: "As well-being lead for Cambridge City Council, I'm really conscious of the gap in health outcomes and life expectancy between the wealthiest and poorest parts of our city. So, it's particularly important to me that high quality facilities such as these 3G pitches provided by the council are available locally in our communities where there is the greatest need.
“I also want to thank all the community partners who made the provision of these facilities possible, and it was great to see so many children from nearby Galfrid school enjoying the football competition organised by Cambridgeshire Football Association."
Cllr Cameron Holloway added: “We're delighted to provide a fantastic new set of 3G pitches for people of all ages, from Abbey and much further afield, to enjoy.
“We know just how important sports and exercise can be in helping people to lead a happy, healthy life, so providing facilities like this is a key part of our work to empower our communities and to achieve One Cambridge Fair for All.
“We're very grateful to the Football Foundation for their support for this initiative.”
Katie Critchley, Football Development Manager at Cambridgeshire Football Association, said: “We’re delighted to have supported Cambridge City Council with bringing this new 3G pitch to the community.
“It’s a much-needed facility that will make a real difference, providing more opportunities for people of all ages abilities to play and enjoy sport.
“Abbey Leisure is in a great location with fantastic transport links and easy accessibility, and we’re excited to see the positive impact it will have for years to come.”
The pitch was renovated to become a 3G facility in line with the Playing Pitch and Indoor Sport Strategy for the city as well as the Cambridgeshire FA Grassroots Strategy to build more and improve existing facilities.
The 3G rubber crumb surface is produced from used tyres, which are processed and recycled into rubber crumb granules for use as infill.
The rubber crumb helps replicate the playing characteristics of natural grass by:
- supporting the artificial grass fibres
- helping to keep the fibres upright
- providing a degree of shock absorption for player comfort
- allowing boot studs to penetrate the surface and gain traction nyet, like natural soil, also allowing the foot to slide
Cambridge City Council Officers have worked in collaboration with the Football Foundation, local grassroot sport clubs, schools and universities, professional football charitable trusts and our Leisure Provider, GLL, to deliver this project.
