We have been aware for a while that the 5-a-side pitches to the West of Hartsdown Park were not in a great condition.
This is largely down to the near constant change of ownership of the Club over recent years and the priorities of each owner/custodian. At times just keeping the Club going was the only priority.
The plan to redevelop the playing pitches has been worked on in the background for a couple of years, but was really made possible when the Football Foundation decided they would be able to help fund small sided pitches within their new strategy; previously they were only working on full sizes 3G pitches. Add to this the financial stability brought by the Club’s current ownership structure, and all the pieces were in place to really improve this playing area.
So, what are the changes…
New Surfaces
The first four 5-a-side pitches (pitch 1, 2, 3 & 4) will have a new 3G surface (or plastic grass as many call it). This is the very similar to the surface of the main stadium pitch. The back four pitches (pitches 5, 6, 7 & 8) will have all internal rebound walls removed and be transformed into one full sized, FA regulation, 7-a-side pitch; this will also have markings for two 5-a-side pitches. The 7-a-side pitch will allow the club to host regulation FA matches and increase the total number of regulation pitches in Thanet.
Upgraded & Repaired pitch surrounds
The surrounding pitch boards will be replaced or recycled where necessary to ensure a consistent rebound of the ball.
upgrade lighting to led
The old, almost orange, sodium-esk lighting will be removed and replaced with a higher LUX bright white LED lighting. This will give much better visibility and reduce electric usage, lamp replacement, and ultimately lower the carbon footprint of the business.
new goals & repaired goals
The first four pitches will have their ‘recess goals’ upgraded with new netting and crossbars, and the new 7-a-side pitch will have two pairs of small sided goals with 360-degree wheels.
ball stop netting tidied & repaired
On pitches 1-4 the ball stop roof netting will be repaired and tidied up where necessary to give the correct height clearance. On the 7-a-side pitch the netting will be removed and replaced with new, higher fencing.
walkway lighting
New lighting along the internal fencing, to allow safe egress from the pitches even once the main pitch lights have been switched off. These are a small thing for many, but this again allows us to switch off the floodlights at the correct time and for the players to still take their time to switch out of their boots and into their trainers (or sliders in 2025) without sitting in darkness.
