GIGGS OPENS 3G PITCH

STARS TURN OUT TO LAUNCH £200K SPORTS FACILITY

Wales manager unveils £200,000 facility:

BIG names in Welsh football visited Anglesey on Thursday to open the island’s first ever 3G pitch, which was recently built at a cost of £200,000.

Manager of the men’s national side Ryan Giggs, and his Anglesey-born assistant, Osian Roberts, were on hand to officially unveil the faciliy at Plas Arthur, Llangefni (pictured above) just a day after returning from the side’s friendly in Albania.

Paid for by the local authority, with support from the Wales Collaborative Sports Facilities Group, the pitch will be available for football and sports clubs across the island to train and play regular league matches.

The authority’s leisure portfolio holder, Cllr Carwyn Jones, said, “We were delighted to welcome Ryan and Osian to Llangefni this morning; and grateful to both for taking time out of their busy schedules to be here.

“It was a real honour to have both of them here to officially open our new 3G facility, which has been supported by the FAW.”

He added, “This significant capital investment clearly highlights our commitment to ensuring that high quality leisure facilities are available for all Anglesey residents.

“We’d like to thank the Wales Collaborative Sports Facilities Group for its support towards this project.”

A special mini-football tournament for year 7 boys and girls from all of the island’s secondary schools was held to mark the official opening.

Ryan and Osian presented the winners, from Ysgol David Hughes and Ysgol Gyfun Llangefni, with their medals.

The new 3G pitch, next to Plas Arthur Leisure Centre, replaces the previous allweather surface.

According to council officials, take-up has been “very encouraging”

Although there’s been an artificial playing surface over the Menai Strait in Bangor, until now there are currently no such facilities on the island itself despite long-running calls from football clubs across Anglesey.

Leisure Commercial Manager, Gerallt Roberts, said: “Our new 3G facility is allowing local clubs, schools and local communities access to a high quality sports and training area all-year round, regardless of the weather.

“It will also provide a suitable allweather pitch for the nearby secondary school and sporting activities for children from all over the Island.”

He added, “All-weather 3G pitches have many advantages over grass surfaces.

“They do not deteriorate during periods of bad weather, enabling clubs to continue training when, in the past, they could not.

“The 3G surface will also help ease problems with fixture schedules by reducing the number of postponed matches, an issue earlier this year.”