April News!
Join us as we unpack and discover all of the LSV news, events and important updates for this month. However, before we unpack all of our April news and achievements, LSV have some very sad news to share and reflect on.
Remembering Jonathan Simpkin
LSV are saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Jonathan (Johnny) Simpkin aged 58, who was the joint Manager of the Super Leigh Lottery, who worked everyday alongside our team in the Ticket Office. Our sincere condolences go to his family, friends and colleagues at such a sad time. He will be missed by everyone. Leigh Leopards have also reflected on his sudden passing which you can read about here: Remembering Jonathan Simpkin – Leigh Leopards
Eyes on The Fries Make Their LSV Debut
Friday 28th March saw Leigh Leopards face Wakefield Trinity in Super League Round 6. The atmosphere around the stadium was fantastic, as Leigh Leopards trialled their new laser systems and CO2 machines, which provided an extra layer of excitement within the stadium bowl. These enhancements and will help to build the excitement around and the profile of Rugby League on national broadcasting channels such as Sky and BBC.
This match also saw the launch of Eyes on The Fries at LSV, a popular local food trader known for their loaded fries. The food was such a hit that we can’t wait to welcome them back at LSV for other various upcoming events. If you didn’t get yourself a portion, we recommend the Mr Porky (pictured above).
As part of continuously improving our offering for our fans, we will be joined by “The Texas BBQ Guys” at the Hull match on Thursday 22nd May so keep your eyes peeled for more information on this in the next few weeks! We are so excited to welcome them to LSV.
Achieving the Bronze Eco Smart Certification:
We have been working hard to recognise and improve our sustainability credentials for the stadium alongside Greengage, aiming to reduce our environmental impacts across all of our sport, education, health and event programmes. We have proudly been awarded with a Bronze Certification from Greengage for our existing environmentally friendly initiatives, and we hope to build on this to progress with our eco-champions to a silver award in the coming months, watch this space!
Leigh Sports Village Arena: Wigan Schools Football Development Festival
Leigh Sports Village Arena had the pleasure of hosting the Year 5&6 Girls Football Development Festival in late March, which saw 15 different primary schools engage in specific football drills and skills, concluding with competitive 3V3 matches. It was lovely to be able to provide so many young girls within our borough an introduction to women’s football, which is at the heart of our values.
Easter Activities at LSV Arena and Leigh Youth Hub
The Easter holidays saw lots of fun filled half term activities for young people across the site. From sports activities at the Arena to cooking, crafting and competitions at Leigh Youth Hub! It has been fantastic to offer so many young people in our opportunity to connect, learn and play so well done to everyone. It was fantastic that 30% of young people who attended these sessions at the Hub declared that they identify with SEN, as we are illustrating one of our strategic objectives in practice: to be a safe and inclusive space for everyone.
Leigh Youth Hub will also be attending the Love Your Local Market Event on Saturday 17th May. Young People will be hosting stalls and developing their enterprise skills, don’t miss out on the event from 10am to 3pm at Leigh Market. There will be family craft activities, baked goods, bracelets, and jewellery. It’s a great opportunity to support your community and enjoy some unique, handmade items. Please come down and visit us and support our local market and young people.
The Hide Coffee House- Easter Fun Trail:
Wednesday 16th March saw The Hide Coffee House collaborate with Be Well Wigan to produce an Easter Orienteering event for our local community to enjoy. This helped to educate and inform lots of young people and families across the borough about the Flash, in an engaging way. Despite the rainy conditions we had over 260 people completing the Easter Hunt which was a fantastic achievement from all involved. Well done everyone for your hard work into making this event a success. April was also a record-breaking month for the Hide, in which we sold over 11,000 ice creams, 3,150 hot food items and 12,500 hot and cold drinks. We thank you all for your continued custom and patients on particularly busy days!
We hope you all have a lovely May and of course, bank holiday weekends.
We can’t wait to update you all next month on the amazing achievements being around site.
