A Suffolk football club is getting closer to its £650,000 fundraising goal for a new state-of-the-art pitch at its home ground.
Leiston FC are hoping to replace the grass surface at their Victory Road stadium with the 3G FIFA Pro all-weather facility and are now just £230,000 short of the target.
The new pitch is needed as sometimes the surfaces at Victory Road are unfit, with even the first team having to train at local schools instead.
READ MORE: Leiston Football Club unveil 3G pitch plans for ground
On Saturday, the Leiston 3G Community Project was presented to the public after the first team's 3-2 home win over Bromsgrove Sporting.
The club's chair Andy Crisp said: “Since we announced our intentions a few months ago, it has been all go.
“We are eating away at our target thanks to some wonderful funding from East Suffolk Council, Leiston Town Council and the Premier League Support Fund.
“We have had numerous other donations as well and our target is now down to £230,000 – still a lot of money – but we are confident with the interest that has already been shown, we can get there.”
The project is aimed at the community of Leiston and surrounding towns and villages, as well as Leiston Football Club with the facility, when complete, being available for hire to other clubs, teams and individuals.
Representatives of local clubs commented on how difficult it was for their teams to train at times, due to lack of facilities and unfit pitches.
READ MORE: Leiston news
Aside from training, the emphasis on youth football, women and girls football, as well as veterans football and disability football was also discussed on Saturday, as important cogs of the 3G Project plan.
The laying of the pitch is phase one of three, with phase two being a rebuilding of the changing rooms and phase three being changes to the clubhouse.
READ MORE: Suffolk news
These two phases will require additional funding after the 3G pitch is laid.
Interested businesses or individuals can contact Andy Crisp on acrisp5@aol.com
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here