A new 3G all-weather sports pitch at the Queensway Stadium has been officially opened.

Freedom Leisure, operators of Queensway Stadium on behalf of Wrexham Council, opened the facility yesterday, with members of FC Queens Park on hand to help and be the first players to try it out.

The club carried out training sessions throughout the day with the Under 6 and Under 9 teams there for the afternoon, while the seniors jumped on the pitch in the evening.

Freedom Leisure is also in discussions with the managers of the under 9s about making the new pitch their permanent training ground for the coming season.

Queensway is the second of three centres in Wrexham operated by Freedom Leisure to receive a pitch upgrade, with Chirk Leisure Centre revealing their new pitch back in March and Morgan Llwyd Leisure and Activity Centre in the pipeline to be upgraded to 3G this July.

The pitch upgrades have been made possible thanks to funding from Wrexham Council and a Welsh Government Sports Facilities Capital Loan.

It is hoped these improvements will help local communities to be more active more often.

Minister for social services and public health, Rebecca Evans, said: “Helping Wales become a healthy and active nation is a Welsh Government priority which is why I am pleased that some of the funding made available to Wrexham Council via our Sports Facilities Capital Loan Scheme has enabled improvements to the pitch at Queensway and pitches at other sites in the area.  

“Top class facilities like this mean that people of all ages can enjoy the benefits of sport and physical activity all year round.”

Andy Harris, Freedom Leisure area manager, added: “We are delighted that Wrexham County Borough Council bid for the funding from the Welsh Government.

“We were excited that FC Queens Park joined us at the opening as facilities like this are important for the community’s young footballers and pitch sports players.”

The benefits to the centre of a 3G pitch include being low maintenance and allowing the centre to provide consistent high quality playing surfaces – even in wet weather.

For players, a 3G pitch closely replicates the playing conditions of natural turf with the bounce and run of the ball being the same as on a grass surface, meaning that technical work at clubs and academies can be done with the quality required at a pro level.

For more details or to enquire about bookings call the centre on 01978 355826 or visit www.freedom-leisure.co.uk to register interest.