Ground Developments At AFC Blackpool
Mon 16th December 2013 | AFC Blackpool | By Ian Templeman
Visitors to AFC Blackpool in the next few weeks will notice the latest phase of development work that is being undertaken at the ground.
The interior of the club house has been revamped, a new bar area has been built, and the steel work is now in place to extend the clubhouse building towards where the turnstiles are located.
The funding for the developments has been covered in the main by a grant of £50,000 from the Budweiser Club Futures programme, a grant scheme for non-league clubs in steps 5–7 of the pyramid, funded by The FA Cup’s lead sponsor, Budweiser.
AFC Blackpool were one of the clubs who successfully applied for the Budweiser grant last year, which were being offered to clubs that wanted to regenerate their clubhouses and facilities for the benefit of the local community.
The benefits of the money being invested in the facilities at Jepson Way can already be seen, and Chairman Tommy Baldwin outlined the plans for the next stage of the development.
"As people will know, we were fortunate enough to be awarded a Budweiser grant of £50,000 to develop the club house and on top of that we were also awarded a local Council sports grant", he said. "The money from there has enabled us to develop and improve the facilities in the existing club house building.
"Over the next couple of months there will be some disruption as the club house is extended, so we ask everyone who visits the ground to bear with us, while the work is completed.
"Work on the main clubhouse and bar area has now been completed, and we will now be extending and developing the existing building to accommodate more facilities.
"There will be new ladies toilets, including a baby changing area, and a new secretary's office with a window overlooking the pitch.
"The area which currently houses the secretary's office, which faces you as you enter the clubhouse at the moment, and the committee room will be turned into a gym. We are planning to have a running machine, a cycling machine and some weights in there. We're not sure at this stage whether or not there will be room for any more equipment but we can plan in more detail once the area has been developed.
"We will also be working on improving the parking facilities down the side of the ground on the existing land next to and down the side of the ground. We estimate that once the work is done there should be around 50 designated parking spaces for visitors to the club.
"The next step after that will be to take advantage of another grant from the Sport Stadium Improvement Fund, which will allow us to install a new players walkway from the dressing rooms to the pitch, and improve the seating around the ground. At that point when the work is finished, we will be more than capable of stepping into the Evo-Stik League whenever we want.
"Every club has plans, but I think a lot of the time it depends on how determined you are to reach your goal, and everyone at this club is determined to work towards having Evo-Stik League standard facilities. If we get the club ready off the field, we will be able to attract the right sort of players on the field to help us move forward".
Ground Developments At AFC Blackpool
Mon 16th December 2013 | AFC Blackpool
By Ian Templeman
Visitors to AFC Blackpool in the next few weeks will notice the latest phase of development work that is being undertaken at the ground.
The interior of the club house has been revamped, a new bar area has been built, and the steel work is now in place to extend the clubhouse building towards where the turnstiles are located.
The funding for the developments has been covered in the main by a grant of £50,000 from the Budweiser Club Futures programme, a grant scheme for non-league clubs in steps 5–7 of the pyramid, funded by The FA Cup’s lead sponsor, Budweiser.
AFC Blackpool were one of the clubs who successfully applied for the Budweiser grant last year, which were being offered to clubs that wanted to regenerate their clubhouses and facilities for the benefit of the local community.
The benefits of the money being invested in the facilities at Jepson Way can already be seen, and Chairman Tommy Baldwin outlined the plans for the next stage of the development.
"As people will know, we were fortunate enough to be awarded a Budweiser grant of £50,000 to develop the club house and on top of that we were also awarded a local Council sports grant", he said. "The money from there has enabled us to develop and improve the facilities in the existing club house building.
"Over the next couple of months there will be some disruption as the club house is extended, so we ask everyone who visits the ground to bear with us, while the work is completed.
"Work on the main clubhouse and bar area has now been completed, and we will now be extending and developing the existing building to accommodate more facilities.
"There will be new ladies toilets, including a baby changing area, and a new secretary's office with a window overlooking the pitch.
"The area which currently houses the secretary's office, which faces you as you enter the clubhouse at the moment, and the committee room will be turned into a gym. We are planning to have a running machine, a cycling machine and some weights in there. We're not sure at this stage whether or not there will be room for any more equipment but we can plan in more detail once the area has been developed.
"We will also be working on improving the parking facilities down the side of the ground on the existing land next to and down the side of the ground. We estimate that once the work is done there should be around 50 designated parking spaces for visitors to the club.
"The next step after that will be to take advantage of another grant from the Sport Stadium Improvement Fund, which will allow us to install a new players walkway from the dressing rooms to the pitch, and improve the seating around the ground. At that point when the work is finished, we will be more than capable of stepping into the Evo-Stik League whenever we want.
"Every club has plans, but I think a lot of the time it depends on how determined you are to reach your goal, and everyone at this club is determined to work towards having Evo-Stik League standard facilities. If we get the club ready off the field, we will be able to attract the right sort of players on the field to help us move forward".
