New synthetic pitch’s official opening

(Date of issue: Thursday, 22 January 2009)

The Sheepmount’s new floodlit synthetic pitch will be officially opened next Monday (26 January).

Work started on the Carlisle City Council project last October and was recently completed ahead of schedule. It has been built on one of the upper plateau grass pitches within The Sheepmount grounds.

The pitch is of a sand-based synthetic construction and will allow for a variety of sports to be played on the site. In addition to hosting hockey and football, the pitch will also be used for disability sports.

The need for a floodlit synthetic pitch in the Carlisle area was identified in a Sports Facility Feasibility Study commissioned by Carlisle City Council. To reflect this need, the City Council has contributed £315,000 towards the development and a £24,500 grant was also received from Sport England.

Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr Mike Mitchelson, said:

"The redevelopment work at The Sheepmount has resulted in the athletics and football stadium becoming one of the region’s premier sports facilities. The synthetic pitch plans will help it develop into a multi-sports venue providing an extensive range of facilities."

To commemorate the opening, a hockey club match will held between Carlisle Hockey Club veterans and members of the current Carlisle Hockey Club first team and youth development squad players. (The hockey clubs were previously based at the grassed pitches at The Sheepmount but had to move venues when the League and England Hockey stipulated competition had to be played on artificial surfaces.)

The match will be a mixed game, as it also marks the fact that the Carlisle Men’s and Ladies Hockey Clubs have just completed a merger to create one Carlisle Hockey Club. This new club will be based at The Sheepmount site when it opens for public use on Monday, 2 February 2009.

The work on the synthetic pitch was project managed by Carlisle City Council’s Facilities section and was undertaken by SIS (UK) Ltd. The new facility will be managed by Carlisle Leisure Limited on the City Council’s behalf. Telephone 01228 625599 for any booking enquiries.