A long awaited moment finally arrived this Monday night, 22 September 2014, when we opened our gates to a brand new astroturf pitch and floodlighting.

It’s been a long wait and a lot of hard work has gone into making this possible. So a big thank you to all in the club who have worked tirelessly to manage the refurbishment and secure the £149,000 funding we needed to get the job done.

Our funding

We received a grant award of £50,000 from the Sport England Inspired Facilities Fund, together with further awards of £50,000 from Nottinghamshire County Council’s Legacy Fund and £49,000 from England Hockey’s Capital Investment Programme.

The first to walk out, train and play on the new pitch were our juniors from the academy.  

Boots Hockey Club Development, Natasha O’Flaherty 

“The new surface and floodlighting is amazing. These improvements put us in good stead to continue growth, especially through our junior academy.  It was fantastic that the children had the first training session, it was a delight to see them so jovial, motivated and excited to play hockey.”

Boots Hockey Club Junior Development, Mike Vipond

It's fantastic to be back home at the bay with a record junior turn out. The pitch looked and played brilliantly. It is significantly safer than the old pitch and will make learning new stick skills easier and more fun.

First league game on the new pitch this weekend

This Saturday, 27 September, we kick-start the league season on our new pitch with our ladies first team playing against North Stafford in their first league game of the season in the Midlands Premier League. Pushback is at 10:30am.

The men’s first and second team will also be playing this Saturday. Pushback for the second team is at 12pm and for the first team at 1:30pm as they conclude their preparations for their league starting on, 4 October 2014.

Opening celebration on 12 October 2014

To celebrate the new astroturf pitch, we’re holding an opening event on 12 October 2014. The event is open to the local Rushcliffe community and all hockey players and supporters in Nottingham. So please pencil the date in your diary and come and celebrate with us. As well as plenty of hockey, we’ll also have Indian street food and sports clothing on sale from our West Bridgford based sponsors, Mad Dog Sports and Slumdog.