Film maker Guy Ritchie officially kicks off Shaftesbury FC's £500,000 pitch
Guy Ritchie pulled a pint of 'Gritchie' in Shaftesbury FC's clubhouse
Film maker Guy Ritchie has formally opened Shaftesbury’s new state of the art artificial 3G football pitch.
The £500,000 third generation pitch is a collaborative project between the town’s football club and Shaftesbury town council.
At the opening, on Friday evening, it was claimed that the project was completed on time and under budget, although has in the past been the subject of criticism from some town councillors who saw the project as a financial risk.
During the opening ceremony Mr Richie pulled the first pint of ‘Gritchie’ in the club house, which is now stocking the local beer.
Shaftesbury town council say the new pitch is a game charger for sport in the town being able to host more than150 youngsters weekly as well as all of the football club’s 4/5 competitive teams. It will also available for anyone to hire.
The artificial pitch is said to offer the town greater flexibility and durability, allowing for continual back-to-back use compared to the one game a week the old grass pitch could host.
Plans are already being made to use the extra capacity to start a walking football club and a BTEC registered football academy providing post-16 vocational education.
The loan taken out to build the new facility will be paid back from the income of a new permit holders car park currently being constructed adjacent to the football pitch. Future replacement and maintenance costs will be covered by the fees of hiring the facility.
The location of the new pitch, in the centre of Shaftesbury, means that youngsters will no longer need to travel out of town by car for training, often to the St mary’s school site, and instead many will now be within walking distance.
Said Cllr Piers Brown, one of several councillors present for launch:
“After months of hard work it’s amazing to see this fantastic pitch being used and bringing sport right to the heart of Shaftesbury for the first time. Shaftesbury’s sporting facilities are now the envy of Dorset, a massive thank you to everybody who worked with and supported the Town Council and the Football Club to make this dream come true”.