Projects by type: Football

Leeds Rugby Academy 3G

Blakedown have completed construction of a new full size 3G pitch for Leeds Rugby Academy, the dedicated training ground for Leeds Rhinos.

The 65mm pile height carpet, lined for rugby was laid onto an engineered base, it is also lined with three 7-a-side football pitches for local team use.

New 4 metre high fencing was installed on the pitch, with 5 metre high behind the goal ends; here a netting facility can take the fencing up to 10 metre high when required.

Essa Academy 3G & Tarmac MUGA

Blakedown Sport & Play have constructed a full size 3rd Generation all weather pitch suitable for football and hockey also including a tarmac MUGA at The Essa Academy; part of a large multi-million new build project.

An Edel FIH approved carpet was the surface laid, with permanent lines installed for football, hockey and 5-a-side.

The 8 court, open graded tarmac multi-use games area was constructed for tennis & netball.

5m high fencing and an 8 column 200 lux floodlight system completed the project.

Warwickshire Projects Full Size ATP's

Blakedown Sport & Play have completed construction of three full size artificial sports pitches, a scheme that was worth well over £1 million.

Kineton School and Southam College both had a sand-filled multi use surface installed which are lined for football, hockey and 5-a-side, Queen Elizabeth School have a 3G carpet with rubber crumb infill lined for football and 5-a-side.

All three pitches were installed with fencing and floodlights.

The projects were run with the guidance of the Warwickshire County Council Framework with included Ashe Construction to project manage the three schemes.

Lancaster & Morecambe College 3G & Tarmac Courts

Blakedown Sport & Play have completed a full size 3rd Generation pitch which has been constructed in accordance with IRB specification.

Acrylic coated tarmac courts lined for tennis & netball were also constructed.

Both areas were installed with twin bar fencing; goal recesses were also included on the synthetic pitch.

The installation of the 3G onto an engineered base with shockpad used a Desso 65mm surface lined for rugby, football & three 5-a-sides which can be sectioned using dividing nets.

The pitch and courts are the first step in a £1.2m development project at the college, which includes a state of the art fitness suite overlooking the new pitch.

The high performance pitch now provides an all year facility for college students and the local community.

Shelfield Academy 3G & Macadam MUGA's

Blakedown Sport & Play have completed a full size 3G football pitch and 3 Macadam MUGA’s at Shelfield Academy.

The 104 × 71m 3G pitch was constructed using Tiger Turf Football 60 carpet and was lined for football and three 5-a-side.

The 3 macadam MUGA’s were lined for tennis & netball.

The entire project was completed with new heavy duty twin bar fencing and floodlights.

Accrington & Rossendale College 3G Football Pitch

Blakedown Sport & Play have constructed a 3rd Generation, 100 × 63m pitch to FIFA 1 star standards, complete with fencing and floodlights.

The installation onto an engineered base uses a Desso surface, similar to that used by some of Europe’s top clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, VFL Volburg and Real Madrid.

The new sports development consists of two stages; stage one the installation of the new synthetic pitch and stage 2 due for completion next summer is a state of the art pavillion.

Head of sports Mark Fell said: “Academy teams will be based at this new facility, providing them with a training centre to rival and surpass most professional football clubs’ training grounds.”

College Principal Stephen Carlisle added “This is a great facility for the entire community and we will ensure it is enjoyed, not only by our talented students, but by local schools, football clubs and other groups who will benefit from the investment”

Thomas Becket Catholic School 3G pitch and long jumps

Funded by Northampton County Council, the work consisted of constructing a new 106m x 71m 3rd generation pitch with fencing and floodlights; re-grading and seeding an existing 25,000 sq m area of natural athletics tracks and full-size rugby pitch, and creating two 50m polymeric long jump runs with sand-filled landing pit.

Site Manager for the school, Paul Wooten, said: “The pitch is excellent and the work was completed with the minimum of disruption to staff and pupils, which particularly impressed our exams officer.”

Glenburn Sports College 3G football pitch and tennis courts

Lancashire County Council appointed Blakedown Sport & Play to construct a 3G ATP (artificial turf pitch) at the specialist sports college. 



The project was part of an exciting £650,000 redevelopment of the college’s sports facilities and included construction of a 98m x 62m rubber crumb football pitch, complete with floodlighting and fencing, plus refurbishment of six tennis courts, including upgraded floodlights and non-slip acrylic coating.

Head Teacher, Hilary Torpey, said: “With too few high-quality netball and tennis courts in Lancashire, the additional resurfacing of Glenburn’s facilities has been enthusiastically embraced by England Netball and the British Lawn Tennis Association.”

Myerscough College Five-a-side football pitch

To install a new 120m x 75m 3rd generation football pitch to FIFA 1 Star & IRB standards. John Wherry, Deputy Principal of Resources, said: “The first day of term was torrential rain, but sports play could continue on the 3G and the grass pitches were saved a hammering. Throughout the project, Blakedown kept us informed. The liaison and co-operation between the team on the ground and our grounds staff was excellent. The project was well planned, any problems were discussed and actions agreed.”

Brunel University, Middlesex Sports pitches

Construction of two full-size synthetic sports surfaces, one catering for the growing demand in football with the new, advanced, 3rd generation artificial surface with sand and rubber crumb infill; the second, a sand-dressed artificial surface for hockey. Both pitches are floodlit, fenced and fully equipped with team shelters, dividing nets and maintenance equipment. Six tennis courts were surfaced using porous macadam with an acrylic coating with 3m-high fencing.



The construction included 15,000m3 of material being carted to tip and the installation of a drainage system that incorporated a 700m3 attenuation tank. Access roads, car parks, paved footways and completion of the complementary landscaping were also part of Blakedown’s contract, as well as the provision of the field sport facilities and equipment store.

Goals Soccer Centre, Reading Sports pitches

Installation of 10 3rd generation five-a-side pitches at the new Goals Soccer Centre, in Reading.

This was a fairly unique project for a Goals Centre as, aside from the 10 five-a-side pitches, Blakedown also installed a 3rd generation seven-a-side pitch using a 60mm carpet for rugby use, a sand-dressed seven-a-side pitch using a 23mm carpet so football can be played on the surface as well as hockey, numerous macadam courts for tennis and netball, and a natural pitch.

Goals Soccer Star City, Birmingham Football pitches

Blakedown Sport & Play completed a very unique project at Star City, Birmingham for the football five-a-side company, Goals Soccer Centre. 



This unique venture by Goals required Blakedown to construct 10 five-a-side, 3rd generation pitches on to the top of a multi-storey car park, making this the only sports facility in the UK to utilise such a location.

Monkmoor Campus, Shrewsbury MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area)

Officially opened by HRH Earl of Wessex, Blakedown Sport & Play were employed by Moss Construction to install a 61 × 41.7m 3rd generation MUGA, using a 60mm Edel Xcell monofilament carpet. The pitch was enclosed with 3m-high twin-bar fencing rising to 5m behind the goal areas. The pitch was completed with all associated sports equipment.

Redhill School, Wolverhampton Football pitch

Blakedown Sport and Play constructed a full-size artificial, 3rd generation football pitch. The pitch, which is on a dynamic base with a pre-formed shockpad, has a full spec floodlighting system and is surrounded by a 3m-high weldmesh fence with rebound boards.

Stratford Football Club Football pitch

A 3rd generation pitch was constructed, using a Tiger Turf Football 50 carpet installed onto a dynamic base. The full size pitch was enclosed using 3m-high weldmesh fencing and six 180 lux floodlights. The pitch was completed with 11-a-side and five-a-side markings.

Blakedown Sport & Play scored a very high average of 2 on the customer satisfaction questionnaire, with Stratford Town FC specifying that they would use us again.

The Oval Sports Centre, Wirral Five-a-side pitches

Blakedown Sport & Play was contracted to design and build eight 3rd generation five-a-side pitches for The Oval Sports Centre, Wirral, Merseyside. The installation included ball-stop perimeter fencing and floodlighting.

Tipton Sports Academy, West Midlands Resurface project

The facility had two existing tennis courts, which were converted into two synthetic, five-a-side pitches with removable divide fencing. The pitches had a Brock shockpad installed underneath the artificial grass carpet.

The project was completed with perimeter fencing.

Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, Solihull Resurface project

A resurface project at Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, Blossomfield Road, Solihull, West Midlands.

The 67.7 × 107.9m pitch was resurfaced with an Edel 50mm 3rd generation Soccer Standard carpet and new shockpad. The project was completed with works to the footpaths as well as replacement kickboards.

University of Leeds Sports pitch

Blakedown Sport & Play installed one of the industry’s latest systems at Leeds University. A full-size Tiger Turf 3rd generation sports pitch with rubber and sand infill was installed onto a dynamic stone base with the unique American shockpad Brock system, which complies with FIFA & RIB approved testing.

The project also included construction of a retaining wall, resurfacing their full-size pitch with sand-dressed carpet and 6 existing five-a-side pitches. All were finished with fencing and floodlighting systems.

White Hart Lane, London Sports pitches

Full reconstruction works on an existing all-weather sports pitch to provide a new 6,800m2, 3rd generation, sand- and rubber-based football pitch. The facility has been designed to meet the FIFA-quality standards for synthetic pitches. It was completed with new fencing and floodlighting systems.

It was intended that the new pitch would form the base for Tottenham Hotspur FC’s community football projects.

In conjunction with the football facility, Blakedown also constructed four acrylic-coated tennis courts, again fully fenced and floodlit. The courts were to ITA standards and included a mini-tennis area.

Wickersley School & Sports College, Rotherham Upgrade of sports facilities

Blakedown Sport & Play was contracted to upgrade the sports facilities including the upgrade of the existing tarmac base of the sports pitch and resurfaced with a 15mm in-situ shock pad and an Edel Nature 52mm 3rd generation surface for football use.

The facility was completed with the latest fencing system, which uses 3m-high panels and combines excellent rebound properties and ball retention.

Wirral Tennis Centre Five-a-side pitches

Blakedown Sport & Play was employed to install four 3rd generation five-a-side pitches onto the existing tennis facility. We also constructed a new access and car park.

Woodbridge High School, Essex Football training facility

Construction of a new, 3rd generation football training facility for Woodbridge High School.

The pitch was surfaced using a Desso Challenge Pro 60 carpet with inlaid lines for football. Galvanised green powder-coated twin-bar fencing was installed with three single gates and one double, as well as four floodlighting columns. The project was completed with new footpaths.