 |
Hereford Pegasus director Kevin Bishop has said that his club are delighted with their new 3G pitch at Old School Lane. Hereford FC's Academy are one of the clubs that will now make use of the new facility.
Recently Bishop spoke to BBC Hereford and Worcester about how the pitch was funded and who will use it.
"The club is very delighted with the new facility," said Bishop.
"We were starting to outgrow the pitches here, we knew we had to move to a 3G facility.
"It took me a couple of years to convince the board but having played on them in FA Cup games away it was an easy choice for the board to decide to push on and make an application to the Football Foundation for the funding for it.
"Mark Williams and myself were directed to start that and it took about eighteen months to get the application forms completed after meetings and discussions with the Football Foundation and the Hereford Football Association who supported us.
"The bulldozers moved in in late May and they handed the keys over to us (last month)."
The facility has cost around £1M.
"The Football Foundation provided funding of just under £700,000 and then we were lucky to take additional funding from various sponsors and supporters of the club and through money which we were able to obtain through the local planning authority."
What are the benefits?
"We can use it from 9am to 10pm. When you are trying to find winter training facilities for twenty teams we have here you were all over the city. Now they are all here.
"Moving forward we have already started up a second senior team with the interest we've had.
"We've already got Hereford Sixth Form College using it, Pegasus Football club, Hereford Academy are using it on Mondays and Thursdays for training for their youth teams and Hereford Cathedral School will be using it after Christmas."