ELBA SPORTS Complex in Gowerton, managed by not-for-profit leisure trust Freedom Leisure on behalf of Swansea City Council, was delighted to open their newly refurbished synthetic hockey pitch on Friday 8th November with a ‘Hockey Festival’ that saw local school children attending the event.
The extensive refurbishment was made possible thanks to a £230,000 grant received from Sport Wales and Freedom Leisure, as a result, the pitch at Elba has been accredited by the International Hockey Federation and will continue to be the proud home of Gowerton Hockey Club.
Yasmin Marshall from Gowerton Hockey Club said: “We are so proud of our home pitch now as this new surface was much needed – each winter we would have to postpone games due to flooding or a frozen pitch.
“Hockey at Gowerton can now be played at a higher standard, just from the new pitch – this being vital with our first team playing Prem 2 and our squad housing international players.
“The new pitch has secured the future of hockey at Gowerton and we’re hopeful it will encourage more individuals to get involved with the club – this which we’re already starting to see as the season progresses.”
The pitch is also suitable for football and a wide variety of outdoor sports for local schools, sporting groups and communities in and around the Gowerton Area to use and is the ideal surface during the winter months when grass fields and pitches become muddy and unusable. Bookings are now being taken for sport groups to use the refurbished pitch at the Elba, operated by Freedom Leisure.
Gwyn Owen, Freedom Leisure Area Manager in Swansea commented: “The refurbished pitch at the Elba offers year-round access for local residents and clubs alike.
“Indeed, it is a fantastic outdoor pitch for the whole community across Swansea and we’d encourage as many people to come and see for themselves the new pitch and all the other amazing facilities at Elba Sports Complex”.
Cllr Robert Francis-Davies (Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism), said: “Swansea has a long tradition of producing hockey players that go on to compete at a high level.
“We also have a strong pathway of introducing new players to the game through the work of clubs like Gowerton who provide skills sessions for all abilities.
“It’s great that this effort can be supported by the introduction of modern facilities such as the new surface at the Elba and Swansea Council is grateful to Sport Wales, Hoci Cymru and our partners at Freedom Leisure for making this happen.”
For clubs and organisations wishing to enquire further about the pitch or make a booking please contact [email protected] or call the Elba Sports Complex on 01792 874424.
