A RUNDOWN sports facility in the centre of Grimethorpe will reopen on August 27 - with an all-star football match made up of Reds’ heroes.
Ex-Barnsley striker Bruce Dyer, who bagged 57 goals in 181 appearances during a five-year stint at Oakwell, agreed a 25-year lease to take over the ailing Miners’ Welfare Sports Ground, on Cemetery Road, late last year.
That kick-started a host of improvement works at the site, which was once a thriving sports hub home to football, cricket and rugby teams, before it closed more than two years ago when its previous tenant pulled out due to persistent vandalism.
This week, more improvements have been carried out by volunteers, who have been working round the clock.
Bruce told the Chronicle that its official opening’s centrepiece will be an 11-a-side match, which will see his chosen team go up against one picked by Bobby Hassell, another fans’ favourite ex-Red.
“The opening will consist of the Love Life Festival, so there will be a kids’ football tournament, a live stage and fun fair alongside the all star match.
“I’ve had a fantastic response from the community and have been in contact with two Grimethorpe primary schools - Ladywood and Milefield - as well as Outwood Academy at Shafton.
“It’s important we get kids involved from the start. The feedback has been really positive and they are happy the ground is coming back into use for the long-term.
“It has a real history in the village and was once the hub of community activity - we want that to be the case again, but this time for generations to come.”
The project received a cash injection of £30,000 from the site’s owner, the Coal Industry Welfare Organisation (CISWO), while Barnsley Council approved a match-funded £30,000 of Section 106 money - set aside by developer Saul Homes from its nearby Brierley Hall development - to carry out essential electrical repairs, shore-up security at the venue’s pavilion and boost the pitches.
“CISWO have been fantastic and they have done all they can to get the project off the ground,” Bruce said. “They have had a lot of stick from people so it’s important they know just how much they have helped.
“It’s in my, CISWO’s and local residents’ best interests that the ground reopens, so everyone has been on the same page since early meetings were held. John Dennis (ex-Barnsley FC chairman) arranged those between myself and CISWO and ever since then we have worked together.
“They’ve provided funding and have gone above and beyond in order to get the ground into a better state.”
The ground’s bottom football pitch will remain as a single pitch, while the top pitch will be divided up into four smaller areas to promote youth development.
The Chronicle can also reveal that Grimethorpe Sports, a non-league football team which has been based in Shafton and Athersley while the ground has been closed, will return to the village later this year - with a star signing.
“I can confirm that I will be playing for the club,” Bruce added. “It’s great to have them back in the village as it’s their home.”
Alison Turner-Mills, estate manager for CISWO, praised Bruce’s ambition to give the ground - and village - a new lease of life.
“We are delighted that Bruce has agreed to take a lease so that it can continue to be used by the local community for recreational purposes for many years to come.
“There’s been a lot of behind-the-scenes discussions so although there was a time where it appeared that little progress was being made, in reality that was not the case.”
