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Sport for all – University invests in facilities

18 Nov 2015

The University of Manchester is making a major investment in improvements to its facilities at the Armitage Sports Centre which will create some of the best sports facilities in UK higher education, accessible to students, staff and the wider community

The Sports Centre in Fallowfield is the University’s flagship sports facility and has long been home to many of the highly successful University Athletic Union sports clubs and community teams. It provides outdoor pitches and indoor facilities for a range of sports and activities including football and hockey. 

The plans for four artificial, all-weather pitches to replace some of the existing grass pitches include one rubber crumb rugby and one rubber crumb football pitch. There will also be two sand dressed hockey pitches funded by Manchester City Council, Sport England and England Hockey, which will secure the re-provision of vitally important hockey pitches in the city.  Three new artificial turf cricket wickets with nets will also be provided.

Head of Sport and Active Lifestyles at the University, Vicky Foster-Lloyd, said: "The University is proud of its sporting heritage and provision and is committed to upgrading its facilities for the benefit of all groups.  With six full-size, all weather pitches Manchester can boast the greatest provision of any University in the country These new facilities will allow greater use by staff, students and the wider community enabling us to develop and create strong sporting partnerships across the city and beyond."

The plans, which have been developed in consultation with the relevant national governing bodies of sport, are linked to the University’s plans for the wider redevelopment of its Fallowfield campus.  They mitigate for the loss of one sports pitch but formed a separate planning application to allow the provision of the pitches to be brought forward. This was approved last week.

The aim is for the work to be completed in time for the start of the academic year in September 2016.