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HARBOROUGH TOWN are looking forward to a bright future after seeing years of work come to fruition with the official unveiling of their artificial grass pitch and ground improvements.
The Bees’ first game on the new surface was their FA Cup match with Cambridge City last weekend, which marked the latest chapter in the United Counties League side’s history with the first phase of their £800,000 redevelopment.
Despite defeat to their Southern League opponents, it was a proud day for the Leicestershire outfit, who have more than 800 players from aged six to 70 representing 48 teams.
Chairman of Harborough Town’s trustees Laurence Jones said: “Saturday represented a significant landmark for the club and the culmination of years of hard work and dedication.
“It was extremely pleasing to see so many fans come and cheer on our boys on the new state-of-theartificial pitch.
“We have been progressing well on the pitch and now we have a community stadium to be proud of thanks to a £800,000 redevelopment.
“Following the opening of the pitch, this autumn we look forward to the new car park positioned at the front and side of the clubhouse.”
The project funding is made up of £436,123 from the Premier League & FA Facilities Fund delivered by the Football Foundation, £70,427 from the Premier League through the Football Stadia Improvement Fund and £270,000 secured by Harborough District Council from section 106 agreements where the authority obtained funds from developers for community use. The club are also investing £50,000 of their own funds into the project.
Saturday also saw the public launch of the renaming of the ground to the Harborough Town Community Football Ground.
Jones added: “This is a very exciting time in the history of Harborough Town as we look to continue to build and develop a vibrant community grassroots football hub which is a focal point for the local community.
“It is therefore important that our ground name reflects what the club provides.”