Hockey clubs facing the boot as plans for £500k football pitch revealed
Hockey clubs will be forced out their home after plans for a new £500,000 floodlit football pitch were revealed in Dudley.
A bid is being made by the council to secure cash for the new all-weather pitch to be created at The Dell Stadium, in Pensnett.
The investment will help to increase the numbers of budding footballers using the stadium, in Bryce Road.
But Dudley Ladies Hockey Club and Kingswinford Hockey Club will be forced to search for a new base.
Hockey club officials today said they felt 'let down' by the council as their players have long used the pitches at the stadium. But the new 3G pitch is not suitable for hockey and not permitted for league use through the All England Hockey Association
Dudley Ladies Hockey Club chairman Sharon Mason said they planned to hold further meetings with council bosses and their sports governing body.
"Obviously both Dudley Ladies and Kingswinford feel very let down by the council as we have used these facilities since they opened," she said.
"We are angry that they want to pull up the Astro pitch and jeopardise the future of two clubs.
"Dudley Ladies has been going 35 years and had a hockey recruitment drive in September which was very successful. I myself have been playing 26 years for the club and just hope that with support we can find a suitable pitch to relocate to."
Grassroots sport organisation the Football Foundation will announce whether it will give £500,000 of funding towards the project by the end of March.
Both the FA and Football Foundation have identified work as a 'priority' as the pitch is more than 15 years old and in need of replacement.
Dudley Council is submitting a cash bid by Tuesday. Council cabinet members will also decide whether to put £50,000 towards the project at a meeting on Wednesday (10).
If funding is approved work could start in late spring with completion of the pitch in September and opening in October.
Dudley Council's Interim Head of Sport and Leisure Services, Andy Webb, said officials were working with the hockey clubs to find them alternative homes.
"Last week I met representatives from Dudley Ladies Hockey Club, and Kingswinford Hockey Club, to explain the stage that the investment project has now reached and to advise that it is likely that they will have to find another venue for training and fixtures," he said.
