New Artificial Turf Hockey Pitch at Magnus

Work starts on the new artificial turf hockey pitch at Magnus

Work has begun on the refurbishment of the artificial turf hockey pitch at Magnus Church of England Academy which will secure Newark Hockey Club’s long term future at the site, its home for the last 20 years, as well as a great new facility for the academy students and the wider sporting community of the Town.

Newark and Sherwood District Council is providing the initial funding to upgrade the pitch, which will be paid back by Magnus from the leasing fees through a community use agreement. In addition to the pitch upgrade Newark and Sherwood District Council will carry out a number of further improvements to make it one of the best hockey pitches in the East Midlands. The old artificial turf surface, installed in 2001, and its underlying shock pad will be replaced, and new LED lighting will be installed to the existing lighting columns. Additional grant funding opportunities are being explored by the District Council and Newark Hockey Club for support towards the cost of replacing the existing goals and the provision of new dug outs for the teams playing at the site. As well as the District Council financing the project it will also take a lead in the operational management of the pitch by agreement with Magnus through its leisure management company, Active4Today, for a period of 15 years and bookings for use can be made through its existing online booking system. The refurbishment is one of the District Council’s initiatives aimed to contribute towards its Community Plan Objective of improving the health and wellbeing of local residents, with the intention that the improved pitch will encourage greater participation in sport and recreational activities within the local community particularly hockey and football.