Aldersley Leisure Village's new, state of the art outdoor pitches will be centre stage at an open day next weekend.

Its two ageing AstroTurf pitches, which are used primarily for hockey and five a side football, were taken out and new ones laid down over the summer.

Wolverhampton City Council received a £99,000 grant from Hockey England towards the cost of the £440,000 revamp, which was carried out by the council's Property Services team and Blakedown Sport and Play.

And people can see the improvements for themselves at a family fun day from 10am to 2pm next Sunday (6 October, 2013), which will include hockey taster sessions on the new pitches.

Visitors will also be able to have a go at netball, athletics, boxercise and circuit training while there will be aerobics taster sessions and the chance to try out a range of other sports in the main indoor arena. Free induction sessions will be held in the fitness suite. Meanwhile, younger visitors will also be able to take a spin in a go kart between 10am and 12pm.

Councillor Elias Mattu, Wolverhampton City Council's Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture, said: "We are really pleased with the new pitches - they are much better than the ones which were starting to show signs of wear and tear.

"To celebrate their completion, we're holding a fantastic fun day for all the family, and I'd encourage people to come along and see what facilities are on offer at Aldersley Leisure Village - and of course have a go themselves."

The fun day runs from 10am to 2pm, and all the activities are free apart from go karting, which costs £2.50 per child.

The new pitches at Aldersley Leisure Village are one part of a £4 million investment in sport in Wolverhampton, which has also seen the creation of up to a dozen sports pitches and running track at Barnhurst Lane and a new artificial pitch at Our Lady and St Chad's School and Sports College. Repairs to the netball and tennis courts at Aldersley Leisure Village have also been completed in recent months.

Councillor Mattu added: "This is a huge investment in sport in our city, and these high quality facilities will have a major role to play in improving the health and well-being of the local population."

  • released: Friday 27 September, 2013