Giffnock Soccer Centre milestone as progress made on new £1.6m Astro pitches build at club's Auldhouse facility
A bird’s eye view has revealed the full extent of the ongoing groundwork taking place at GSC Auldhouse.
Work has continued to deliver Scotland’s best community football facility in the heart of Glasgow South.
Diggers are on-site at GSC Auldhouse, home of Giffnock Soccer Centre (GSC), on Thornliebank Road as the club continues its expansion plans with the construction of two new 3G Astro pitches. All ducts, drainage works and kerbs have now been completed with the project moving onto the next stage of groundwork.
£1.6 million has been raised among the social investment community and internal club funds to enable the development of the facility which already boasts four immaculate grass pitches and a pavilion and community space serving GSC’s 1400 players. The pitch build has been complemented by the establishment of a new charity, GSC Auldhouse, created to serve local communities and promote social inclusion through grassroots football. The pitches are expected to be completed by late summer and will utilise the latest 3G playing surface to ensure young people of all abilities and backgrounds have access to first-class facilities.
Club chairperson Jim Docherty who has led a team to deliver the GSC Auldhouse project commented: “It’s an amazing and emotional moment to see the progress on the new pitches. A new Committee formed three and a half years ago and we were determined to build on the amazing work of previous volunteers. Great facilities and ‘football for all’ is at the heart of what Giffnock Soccer Centre stands for. The move to GSC Auldhouse eighteen months ago has provided us an amazing home which opens its doors to everybody who wants to enjoy football. It is buzzing on matchday with young people and families enjoying themselves.
“We can’t thank our funders enough for backing our dream of realising the potential of GSC Auldhouse. It’s been hard work delivering the project but once complete the club will have a playing estate of four grass pitches and three 3G Astros, including one at Eastwood Park. Our players range from the age of three to eighty-three and are the heartbeat of our club as are the 250 volunteers who work with them. The new GSC Foundation will help us open the facility to the wider community. Community football changes lives and we look forward to our facility helping in this mission.”
To find out more, please visit GSC Online.
The club wishes to thank to the following project funders: Avondale; sportscotland; Social Investment Scotland; Scottish Football Partnership; Scottish Football Association; Avondale Environmental, part of the NPL Group, through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund; Patersons Quarries Ltd through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund and administered by LandTrust, Foundation Scotland.