Update on ground developments
Despite an intense period of matches at the Goldstar Ground which makes building work difficult due to the need to make the ground safe for spectators to use, good weather this week has allowed significant progress to be made on the latest phase of development work to bring the ground up-to, and beyond in some parts, Grade D level, suitable for Step 4 football.
By Tuesday evening’s Suffolk Premier Cup victory over Hadleigh, most of the new post and rail system had been concreted in place. The old spectator railings were uneven and leaning over (pictured with signage attached). The new ones have been installed slightly taller (1.1m is the recommended height) and this gives a more comfortable height to lean on.
By this morning (Thursday) over half of the new powder-coated metal grid panels had been completed to ‘infill’ the barriers. This is a requirement to stop balls going through or under the spectator barrier in line with the ground grading requirements.
The vast majority of these panels will have been installed by Saturday afternoon’s Bostik League fixture against Tilbury, with just some ‘fiddly bits’ for joins and entry gates remaining to be finished next week.
The 70+ advertising boards will then be put back up again, with additional space created for up to 30 new signs.
Thursday morning also saw delivery of the posts and mesh panels for the new fencing to be installed at either end of the ground to further enclose the ground and creating training areas behind.
Further updates will follow as work progresses.
