Hull FC launch training ground plans
Hull FC and Hull City Council have today announced their intention to launch a partnership to provide community multi-use sports facility in the City of Hull.
The two parties have been working closely together to develop plans for a new sports facility at Sirius Academy on Pickering Road, the home of the Black and Whites Rugby League Academy.
With the support of the City Council, the aim will be to increase and promote a wide range of sporting activities and facilities in the city, bringing together health, education, physical activity and social inclusion.
Hull City Council leader Cllr Steve Brady commented “We believe this to be an innovative solution for the use of the land next to Sirius Academy and we are delighted that we can provide a first-class community facility for use within West Hull.
“We also feel it is extremely important to be able to bring an historically important stakeholder with strong role models back into the city and an organisation who can provide added investment into the location.
“The involvement, investment and support of Hull FC will ensure that community use, including local sport teams, athletes and community groups, is enhanced and maintained over the coming years.”
The core focus will be on providing a top quality environment for local teams and community groups, with basketball, netball, disability sports, youth football and amateur rugby league clubs already expressing an interest in using the new development.
The facilities themselves will be able to cater for most sports, with training pitches, 3G Astroturf, competition standard playing surfaces, a gymnasium, MUGA and indoor areas, alongside an educational IT classroom.
Alongside this, the venue will host elements of Hull FC‘s first-team training as well as bringing the senior grade activities together with the club’s academy and scholarship work for the very first time.
It will also be a base for the Black and Whites hugely successful charitable foundation, the Hull FC Foundation, so they can deliver many of their objectives such as Adult Learn with Star’s initiative, Education programmes and NHS Health West activities.
The Hull FC Foundation influences the lives of over 50,000 people every year and became one of the first charitable Foundations to receive Clubmark Gold status, the highest attainable Clubmark grade.
Hull FC Chief Executive James Rule is excited about the development and feels it could have some strong benefits for the club and the wider community, including the students at Sirius Academy.
“This is a truly inspiring opportunity for youngsters, pupils and community user to benefit from the unique opportunity of seeing top level Super League stars training first hand and to gain an understanding of what it takes to play and train as a professional athlete.
“Hopefully their example will help encourage many more people to be involved with sport in some capacity and promote an active and healthy lifestyle, which in turn helps raise the aspirations of local people, with as many people as possible from the city being able to make the most of the new planned facilities.”
He also added, “We will continue to work closely with Hull City Council on the development and as well as the various community objectives that we feel this can deliver, we are also keen to realise our ambition to bring together all our performance teams and have the potential to offer reserve and academy matches inside the city’s boundaries.”
Hull City Council plan to offer a lease of the land to Hull FC for the next 25 years, with the Super League club tasked with the maintenance costs and upkeep of the venue and surrounding area.