Parklea pitches to get £787,000 upgrade
Port Glasgow’s reputation as a centre of excellence for soccer, rugby and even American football, is set to get a £787,000 boost after Inverclyde Council gave the green light a major upgrade to the 3G, synthetic pitches at the Parklea Community Sports Facility.
The sports facility has two, 3G and seven grass pitches. These are the most heavily used in Inverclyde with bookings totalling over 40 hours every week.
Councillor Ronny Ahlfeld, Inverclyde Council’s Sports Champion, said, “The 3G stadium pitch was due to be replaced in 2024/25 and the second 3G pitch in 2022/23. The council decided to bring forward the replacement programme because these are key elements of the local sporting infrastructure which need to be maintained in peak condition.
“The work will also significantly improve the quality of the stadium pitch It will also mean that the second 3G pitch can now also be used for rugby and American football. The programme will help to ensure that both pitches provide consistent playing characteristics. We have held talks with the SFA and the new stadium pitch will meet the current FIFA Quality standard.”
Councillor Jim Clocherty, Convener of Inverclyde Council’s Education & Communities Committee, said, “Providing high quality sporting facilities is part of this council’s long term aim to target deprivation, improve the health of the people who live here and make Inverclyde an attractive place for people to come and live. This work is part of an ongoing programme to repair, maintain and renew pitches at leisure facilities and schools across Inverclyde which are available for the public and sports clubs to use.”
The pitches are currently made from a synthetic grass ‘carpet’, laid on top of a shock absorbing ‘underlay’ which sits on compacted stone. Both the carpet and the underlay will be replaced. The compacted stone base on the stadium pitch will also be upgraded with tarmac to give an ‘Engineered’ base providing a stable, regular surface both initially and over time.