MP unveils state-of-the-art hockey pitch

Oct 9 2008

Sir Patrick Cormack MP unveiled Cannock Hockey Club’s newly refurbished and resurfaced second international standard hockey pitch on Saturday October 4.

The unveiling of the important second pitch follows the announcement earlier this year that Cannock Hockey Club has been selected as a potential training site to be used by visiting teams to the London 2012 Olympics.

The upgraded pitch was made possible through two awards of funding from Sport England; £62,500 from the National Sports Foundation, which is Sport England’s primary initiative designed to attract and develop partnerships between private investors and community sport, alongside £169,834 from Sport England’s Community Club Development Programme (CCDP) in partnership with England Hockey. CCDP provides investment in community sports clubs that are identified by the national governing body as being key to the development of their sport.

The second pitch was built using the same advanced turf which was used for the newly carpeted main pitch unveiled last autumn. The innovative surface is made from extremely durable polyethylene monofilament fibres which are similar to nylon blades but much softer with a wet feel. The pitch surface has been described as the hockey equivalent of Wimbledon’s grass.