Newport (IOW) open WightFibre Park as ground projects multiply
Grounds, not goals, supplied most of the week's news. Newport (IOW) marked the official opening of WightFibre Park in front of a crowd of more than 400, ahead of their game against Kintbury Rangers. Rickie Lambert performed the ceremony alongside club president Bob Foad, Chris Powell and Deon from WightFibre.
At Heaton Stannington, the money rather than the ribbon was the story. Newcastle City Council has pledged £250,000, which completes the funding package for a project to secure the club's future — the sort of settlement that takes years of patient work to assemble and tends to be announced in a single line.
Artificial surfaces featured heavily. Merstham's new 3G pitch at The Hybrid Fitness Stadium is in its final stages, with the club expecting to return home on 24 October; the players have already held their first training session on it. AFC Portchester are further along, with a new 3G surface laid at The OnSite Group Stadium and two matches arranged to launch it, covered by a single special edition programme.
Safety work accounted for several of the smaller projects. The Premier League Stadium Improvement Fund lies behind Hemel Hempstead Town's new pitchside perimeter boards and entrance board at The Focus Community Arena, with LED floodlights and a replacement perimeter wall to follow. Bishops Cleeve have put up new ball stop netting at Kayte Lane, and Sholing have completed an accessible viewing platform for disabled supporters, with seating for carers, supported by sponsor NBS Demolition.
Elsewhere the work was structural or cosmetic. A new stand is under construction at Flamingo Park, home of Cray Wanderers. Stafford Rangers have unveiled new changing rooms, the old home dressing room replaced by a space with 17 custom-built player booths, a new bathroom and custom turf. Racing Club Warwick opened the Keith 'Paddy' Billington Hospitality Suite in memory of Keith Billington, and AFC Knowsley chairman Mike Gibbons switched on the club's new floodlights. Immingham Town will host a game under lights at Woodlands for the first time since 1995.
