Leigh East look to new era at Sports Village

THE first phase of Leigh's Sports Village is on target for completion in June.

The brand new pavilion will provide a new base for Leigh East ARLFC, with state-of-the-art changing facilities for its 16 teams – plus three brand new pitches.
And in their final game at their home of 21 years Leigh East beat Hull Dockers 36-24 on Saturday.

Jim Hoffman, chairman of the club, who will be leading the teams to their new home said: "We may have to play somewhere else for a while as the new pitches are sorted out but when it is finished it will be fantastic.

"Moving to the new site will make a very big difference to the club as we are limited at Grasmere Street as to what we can do. With 15 or 16 teams and only one pitch it is difficult.
"At the new ground with three pitches it will be a lot better as we will all be able to stay in one place."
The remaining teams at Leigh East will see out the season at Grasmere Street before they also make the historic move to the Marshall Street site.

The infrastructure of the LSV site, involving drainage and water diversions, should be finished by the end of August this year, followed by completion of the roads connecting the northern and southern ends of the site by October.

Construction of pitches and the running track should start in May and be ready by mid-October, whilst the sports hall gym pool should be built by May 2007.
The college and Leigh Harriers clubhouse are due to be finished by early next year with the whole project scheduled for completion by December 2007.

Trevor Barton, Leigh and District Sports Partnership chairman and the driving force behind LSV, said: "Leigh East will finish up with the best changing rooms, pavilion and pitch there is.
"The chairman and the rest of the team are a good set of people and have worked very hard with children in the area and deserve everything they can get."

The next meeting of the recently formed LSV residents committee will take place at Leigh Miners on Wednesday, March 22, at 7pm.

Sports Village stadium unveiled

The state-of-the-art facility, which is due for completion before the end of 2007, will be the new home for Leigh Centurions rugby league club and their soccer partners, Leigh RMI.

Tenders for the 10,000 capacity stadium will go out in April with the cost of building likely to be in the region of £16.5 million.

Although initial plans were for an all-seater stadium, designers are exploring the possibility of creating at least one standing area.

Leigh Sports Partnership chief, Trevor Barton, says: "A poll on the Sports Village website would indicate that some fans are in favour of a standing area to be included. That's something we are looking at and are in discussion with both the FA and RFL on this. It's quite likely that a standing section will be created at one end."

He added: "This is going to be a fantastic family stadium. The seats will be quite close to the pitch and that will generate a tremendous atmosphere on game day. There will also be special disabled facilities that our friends with difficulties will enjoy.

"Work is currently on-going with regard to the quality of the playing surface. At the moment it's looking like a Grade Three or Four surface which means that it will be more than capable of withstanding both soccer and rugby. The highest grade you can get is Grade Five, so we are approaching the top end when it comes to quality."

A stadium management company - the Leigh Sports Village Company - is in an embryonic stage at the moment but eventually it will oversee day-to-day running and maintenance. The company will also be responsible for generating income through the selling of corporate boxes and stadium hire.