The Tigers Trust hopes to bring outdoor artificial football pitches back into use following their closure during the pandemic
The Tigers Trust community sports campus is intended to inspire participation, improve health and wellbeing and create opportunities for people across Hull and East Yorkshire.(Image: Alessandro Caruso Architects)
Plans for community sports facilities have been revealed by the Tigers Trust. The charity hopes to carry out a £2m upgrade of its West Park Hull site and has proposed the re-opening of outdoor artificial pitches along with refurbishment and extension of the Tigers Trust Arena.
The plans are to transform the area between the two facilities, creating a community space that the not-for-profit organisation hopes will inspire participation, improve health and wellbeing and create opportunities for people across Hull and East Yorkshire. Originally part of the wider stadium development in West Park, the outdoor pitches have been closed to the public since the Covid pandemic.
The Trust leases both the pitches and the indoor arena from the Stadium Management Company. Trustees now want to progress the plans as part of a long-term vision for the future of the independent charity.
Tigers Trust chairman Nick Rennardson said: “We are incredibly excited about this opportunity to create a destination in West Park with new and improved facilities that reflects the scale of our ambitions we have as a charity and the needs of the communities we serve. Every day the Tigers Trust is proud to use the power of the Hull City AFC badge to engage people, improve lives and create opportunities for children, young people, adults and communities to be active, healthy and connected.”
As well as re-opening the outdoor pitches, the Trust is planning to construct a new changing rooms and toilets facility. Meanwhile at the indoor area, a two-storey extension is planned to the rear.
That development requires planning consent and is intended to include multi-use studio space for activities such as dance, yoga and pilates. There will also be new teaching and learning spaces, an area dedicated to Hull City’s history and a potential new nursery.
Beverley-based Alessandro Caruso Architects and Interiors are working with the Trust on the designs for the campus, which is also intended to provide a dedicated home for the continued growth of girls’ football. Karina Ellis, Trust chief executive, said: “Having been awarded a licence by the Football Association to operate as an Emerging Talent Centre, we are now looking forward to using this opportunity to provide a dedicated home for the professional development of girls’ football.
“Bringing the outdoor pitches back into use will allow us to do that and also expand the opportunity to encourage wider participation in activity by children, young people and adults in a safe and inclusive environment. Alongside this, the wider campus development will help us expand our educational opportunities, raise aspirations and improve our community programmes to support more people to lead active, healthy and happy lives. It will strengthen our ability to engage communities, create pathways into learning and employment, and deliver lasting impact for years to come.”
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