After many months of hard work behind the scenes, Sheffield Hockey Club is very pleased to announce that Abbeydale Sports Club confirmed to us earlier this week, that they have placed an order for a new pitch, to be installed this summer.

The likely start time for installation will be the middle to late July with a five/six week window needed meaning, if all goes to plan, we should have a new surface to play on by the end of August, almost certainly by the start of September.

Much of the procurement process was undertaken by former SHC Chair, and player for many years, Sue Catton. Sue is no stranger to hockey pitch installations having led projects to install temporary pitches at The Stoop in London to host International Pro-League matches and in Dublin for a pre-Tokyo Olympic qualifier having also overseen the London 2012 hockey competition.

SHC’s Roger Lomas was also instrumental, as interim chair of the Abbeydale Board, in ensuring all the funding is in place with help from other board Abbeydale Members and was able to co-ordinate a joint funding between Abbeydale’s pitch sinking fund and an additional loan from their bank , payment up front for up future usage from Birkdale School and Sheffield Hallam University, The cost of the project is expected to be in the region of £260,000 plus VAT and some contingency for unexpected repairs.

The surface will be supplied and installed by SIS Pitches and will be their SISTurf Xcel Ultra water-based surfacing system. Both Loughborough University (in 2019) and Nottingham University (in 2022) have had the same pitch installed. It has been decided that the new pitch will be green in colour, for the playing area and blue for the surround.