Ten years ago, Elgin dad Dave Allen was fed up clearing football pitches of dog mess and needles before his sons’ games.
The father-of-three describes the state of the fields his kids used then as “unsuitable and unsafe”.
Determined to do something about it, the RAF veteran embarked on a mission to form the Elgin Sports Community Trust – culminating in the opening of three pitches at The Gleaner Arena in 2021.
However, the commitment to providing quality sports facilities has not stopped there with the charity opening a new £400,000 pavilion in recent months.
Now the group hopes the investment will push the reach of The Gleaner Arena beyond the 100,000 uses it has already had since it opened Elgin.
The Press and Journal stopped by the new pavilion to speak to Dave, who is chairman of Elgin Sports Community Trust, about why he was so committed to improving sports facilities, including;
- How the new pavilion will help the charity reach more people than ever before.
- Why it has been important to create more opportunities to play football in Elgin.
- And the future aspirations Elgin Sports Community Trust has to deliver indoor facilities in the town.
How horrendous Elgin football pitches started project
Dave has been passionate about sport from a young age and initially wanted to be a PE teacher before his career took him into the RAF.
His three sons all played football on grass pitches in and around Elgin and reached a high standard despite the sometimes dubious facilities.
Dave said: “The pitches were usually unsuitable, and actually unsafe in some cases.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back came when I was picking up dog’s mess and needles one day before a game. There always seemed to be something.
“I said to other mums and dads that were there that something needed to be done about it, so we got some like-minded parents together which really got the group together that turned into the Trust.
“I thought if it wasn’t me who did it then nothing would have got done. Maybe someone else would have, I don’t know.
“The group that came together could see the desperate need for quality sports pitches in Elgin.”
Gleaner Arena has opened up sport to all
Knowing the shortage of sports facilities in Elgin, Dave was always confident the pitches would be used if he could get them built.
Raising nearly £1 million as an independent charity while securing backing for the construction and sponsorships was a never-ending task.
But since opening at Lesser Borough Briggs, the facility has welcomed walking football and become the home of Moray Girls Football Club, Elgin City Women and local men sides from across the local area.
Initially the charity wanted to focus on giving other local groups space to have their own games and sessions before realising the untapped demand for running coaching.
Dave said: “I always knew that if we could get it built then it would work. It’s almost like ‘If you build it, they will come.’
“We’ve had more than 100,000 individual uses since we opened. Some of them will be the same people returning multiple times, but it shows how badly needed the facility was.
“We weren’t going to start an academy programme but we quickly realised there is still an opportunity for providing coaching for those kids not in recognised teams.
“They may like it and then join a team, but it’s important to give them a way in.
“One of the best things we’ve done is hire Robbie Hope as our director of operations, and he’s done a great job in creating those opportunities for people whether you’re four or 84.
“Part of that has been creating special sessions for girls to try and capitalise on the huge growth in that game, there’s also walking football for older generations and open sessions for people who just can’t find a team to join and wouldn’t otherwise play.
“It’s fantastic to go down and just see all these different ages and abilities getting the chance to play football.”
How new pavilion at Gleaner Arena will open pitches to even more of Elgin
Ever since opening, the Elgin Sports Community Trust has had aspirations of opening a pavilion building at the Gleaner Arena.
Inside the building is a dedicated open plan office as well as a smaller private room.
Until now the facility has operated with activities only between 3pm and 9pm. The new pavilion will allow that to be extended with openings from 9am.
And Dave hopes it will allow the charity to reach youngsters who may not be suited to mainstream academic education.
He said: “One of the things I’m most excited about is, where we can, offer things like an alternative curriculum for students that don’t fit in with mainstream education for whatever reason.
“We want to use sport to provide them recognised qualifications in coaching, refereeing, even things like developing their own versions of sports.
“We’re also looking at ways how people can play football with people who have a similar ability to themselves.
“For example, people with health conditions maybe haven’t been able to find a team or group to play together. We can enable that in a welcoming environment and let them play.”
Dreams to grow Gleaner Arena with indoor facility
The Elgin Sports Community Trust plans to have picnic benches out next to the football pitches at the Gleaner Arena through the summer.
Food vans are also expected to visit to keep parents and players satisfied.
Dave said: “During the warmer months we open the pitches up when we don’t have any bookings and let kids just play.
“They can just throw down some jumpers for goalposts and kick a ball about, a bit like when I was young.
“We want to really create that welcoming atmosphere and help kids stay active.”
Longer-term the charity also has aspirations to develop some kind of indoor football facility.
Dave added: “I think it’s important to give people, especially young children, that indoor option.
“When it’s winter and it’s cold and freezing, who wants to play in that? It can be easy to stop.
“It’s important as a charity that we keep looking forward and not resting on our laurels too.”
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