Ludlow Town are planning to open their £500,000-plus new all weather playing surface with a massive celebration for all south Shropshire’s sports clubs.
They’re throwing open the whole ground on Sunday, June 29, with the promise of a big day offering something for everyone.
“It’s the first time this has been done and we want everyone involved in sport in south Shropshire to come and join in,” said Town’s commercial manager Mark Siviter.
Town are keen to emphasise that the playing surface – which is now under construction – is available to a wide range of sports other than football.
“We’ve got some star players coming to support us but this is really about local people getting involved in an exciting new venture.”
Centrepiece for the pitch opening will be a star-studded match between a Showbiz XI and a Ludlow Town Select XI.
But there will also be an array of matches and mini- tournaments designed to demonstrate the versatility of the third generation Ligaturf surface.
“In addition to the football we’ll be giving local players the chance to sample the pitch playing hockey, cricket, tag rugby, golf and lots more,” said Siviter.
“The surface is exactly the same as that used by several national sides for their training and, in this country, Chelsea have taken it on board.
“It really is excellent and will give south Shropshire an all weather surface we’ve badly needed.”
Siviter says Town are putting out feelers to several big names from yesteryear – including Paul Devlin and David Kelly – to appear in their team while the opposition showbiz side will include many of the stars who played in the Total Network Solutions opener.
He received an email on Wednesday confirming that the squad will include Welsh sprint star Iwan Thomas, former Wolves and Wales international keeper Paul Jones, Dave Regis and Luther Blissett.
Town will be following up their open day with a series of five-a-side tournaments.
Siviter says: “We are talking to the West Midland League about getting involved with all the clubs we normally play in that competition and there’s the prospect of a local league being set up too.
Sample
“We would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in that sort of development.
“Everyone is welcome to come along and have a chat at our open day but we’ll also be arranging evenings when interested parties can get together, sample the Ligaturf and see how it suits their needs.”
News of the open day comes hot on the heels of another big attraction announced by the club.
Town say negotiations to stage a match between the Liverpool Legends and Manchester United Legends at the ground on August 3 are going well.
“There are some very big stars being promised – players who are still household names,” said club president Mark Evans. “It’s better than 95 per cent certain we will get the fixture and that will be a major attraction.”
By Terry Morris.