Work has begun on creating a new £9.6 million sports hub in Calverley, the new facility aims to ensure all junior sports teams in the area have equal access to quality facilities.
Funded through grants from the Premier League, the FA and the Football Foundation, the new site, Woodhall Sports Hub, is expected to be completed for the start of the 2026/27 playing season.
Robert Sullivan, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation said: “The Football Foundation is working closely with our partners – the Premier League, The FA and Government – to transform the quality of grassroots facilities in England by delivering projects like this across the country.”
Many teams in Calverley have been unable to secure regular pitches in recent years, with the only available grass pitches at full capacity, their overuse resulted in waterlogging and cancelled fixtures.
The introduction of the three new artificial third generation pitches and a new grass pitch will provide more reliable facilities for local teams to use.
Mr Sullivan added: “Good quality playing facilities have a transformative impact on physical and mental health and play an important role in bringing people together and strengthening local communities.”
Woodhall Sports Hub is one of two new developments green lit by councillors, with work on another in Temple Newsam set to start in 2026, taking the total investment in the project to £23.9 million.
Jon Zoltie, Chairman of Calverley United Junior Football Club says the development will be “massively transformative” for the club, who’ve had teams with no choice but to train in car parks at times when the grass pitches have been unplayable.
He said: “It’s huge. Having a proper, dedicated hub gives everyone, players, coaches and parents a real home, somewhere that’s the heart of the club and for the village.
“They’re football pitches, but it goes beyond that, it’s a community, it’s giving local kids a place to belong.”
With over 400 junior players across all age groups and the club rapidly growing, Mr Zoltie says the new pitches mean the club will have space to increase the number of teams it offers, which it had to cap due to the shortage of playing space.
He said: “Woodhall was enough with a couple of pitches, but once we started growing we had to make do with what we’d got.
“We did really well to make the most of what we had. But it has been really, really tough. We relied on school and council fields which flooded and froze in Winter.
“The lack of anything all weather has been one of our biggest frustrations, so we’re massively excited, and it’s unbelievable they’ve put a spade in the ground.”
Once opened, the hub will be managed by the not-for-profit organisation the National Football Trust, with all surplus income received being reinvested into other outdoor sports facilities across Leeds.
The new hub will also include a cafe and social space, new changing rooms and a meeting room.
Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “The start of this major development is a big milestone in our work to encourage people of all ages to live active and healthy lifestyles, making sure everyone in Leeds has access to quality sport facilities.
“Woodhall sports hub will not only offer great sports pitches, it will also be a fantastic space for the community to meet up.”
Set to be ready for play by August 2026, the long awaited development of the Woodhall Sports Hub which was originally discussed in 2018, marks one of the largest ever grants from the Premier League, the FA and the Football Foundation into improving grassroots community sports facilities.
Mr Zoltie said: “I just think it’s brilliant for the clubs, brilliant for the kids, brilliant for the parents, it’s been years we’ve been waiting for it to happen, there’s a massive buzz around the teams.”
He added: “Letting the kids play football is the most important thing, it feels like the start of something phenomenal.”