You may (or may not!) have noticed that not too much has been going on over the ground recently. With that in mind I thought I’d just give a quick update in this blog about the stuff that’s been going on behind the scenes since the last blog we did, and the stuff that’s due to happen.
Making up the shortfall:-
In our last blog I mentioned that due to the costs of materials increasing we had a shortfall of at least £20k (actual figure is £25k) to make up for us to be able to purchase the changing rooms.
I am very pleased to say that following an application to Merthyr Council for the SETS grant (one of many applications I’ve slaved over this last couple of years!🙈😂) we found out a couple weeks ago that we have been successful!!🎉🎉
This means that we have secured another £25k and now have enough to purchase the changing rooms!
We have also received our first instalment from the FAW of £70k and have forwarded this on to place the order for the changing rooms!! It looked lovely in our account for all the 5 minutes that it was in there! 🙈
They will now be manufactured and delivered to The Athletic on October 24th where they will then be installed and completed over the course of a week.
This means we now have a deadline to work to, everything needs to be in place by this date so we can then start using the ground immediately!
The current state of the car park where the changing rooms will be sited (anyone that knows the ground will notice the ramp and embankment in the location of the old changing rooms and stand)
Works to be done by October:-
With the order placed there’s lots we have to do over the coming weeks and months in order to be ready. We need to install foundations, drainage and electric. We also need to furnish the changing rooms with benches, hooks, storage units etc as they don’t come fitted with these!
This is all going to cost another £10k but I have submitted another grant application to Comic Relief which we hope to be successful with. 🤞🏻
The final bits will then be to clear the brambles and overgrowth surrounding the ground, and paint some of the walls and dugouts around the pitch.
Latest on the pitch itself:-
The company we have had in to carry out the pitch renovation have almost finished. They are now working on getting it down to the correct length, then we we will be taking over the maintenance ourselves.
The same view 13 months apart!
It’s taken a while and a lot of work, but it’s starting to take shape now. By November this year some of our teams will actually be playing on it! (All going well).
Aerial view of the pitch December 2021 and June 2022
We have some other potentially very exciting news regarding the opening day that we have to sit on for a bit. Plenty to focus on in the meantime, but watch this space!!👀
Thanks for reading, KJ ⚽️💙