Bodington Football Hub

The hub features an energy efficient pavilion building which includes 4 main changing rooms with separate facilities for officials, and a kitchen / bar area with external terrace alongside 3 new 3G pitches which provide much need facilities for local grassroots football.

The football foundation and the university collaborated on a joint venture aimed at creating a community facility that would benefit both the university and the local community. The initiative arose from a noticeable lack of pitch availability in the area, severely limiting opportunities for grassroots football. Concurrently, the university sought to enhance its own facilities. By integrating the playing schedules of university teams and community groups, the project ensured optimal use of the pitches, fostering a harmonious relationship between the two entities. The existing pitches were marred by low quality and ineffective drainage, rendering them unusable. This new facility aimed to rectify these issues, providing a high-quality, accessible space that would cater to the needs of both university students and the broader community.

We were appointed to further develop the initial plans following an initial tender process, ultimately to delivering the scheme alongside the main contractor Sewell Construction and all-weather pitch specialist SIS.

The site includes 3 flood lit AGP pitches, set within extensive new landscape including wild flower meadows and wide spread tree planting to increase the biodiversity on site. Considerable time was spent in the design period setting pitch levels to balance the requirement for wheelchair accessibility across the site, with a desire to achieve net zero cut and fill, avoiding the need to remove material from the site.

The main reception area is designed to switch between operating modes, with a free access available to university students during tournaments, with a secure line implementable during times when the building is open to the public, in particular community groups working with children, when the flow of people in to and out of the site must be controlled and regulated

The hub building adheres to University Sustainability Standards, featuring high-performance thermal properties in its walls, floors, and roof achieving 0.1 W/m²K. It operates entirely on electricity, powered by Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) for hot water, connected to an on-site PV array.

Images and videos curtesy of University of Leeds and Sewell Construction.

See https://sport.leeds.ac.uk/facilities/bodington-football-hub/ for further details.