BUILDING work is under way on a £1.2 million sports complex on the doorstep of Valley Parade which is set to become a community hub.
Midland Road Sports Complex, attached to the existing BEAP Community Partnership building on Cornwall Road, will include a whole of new facilities for the community in Manningham and beyond.
The new complex will feature changing rooms, a pavilion, cafe and three 5G football pitches for five and nine-a-side matches.
The derelict MUGA site of Lupton Street Park, a tarmac sports pitch, has attracted anti-social behaviour, including vandalism and the lighting of fireworks over recent weeks.
Funding for the project has come from the Football Foundation, the Premier League, the FA and government’s charity that helps communities improve their local football facilities through football grants; the Power to Change charitable trust, Sport England and Bradford Council, the latter pumping in £100,000 for the project.
The new-look complex is also set to become a fan zone on Bradford City matchdays where Bantams fans and their away counterparts can meet up before kick-off.
Bradford City Community Foundation, the club's charity, has teamed up with BEAP on the project, which they hope to use for its community activities throughout the week as well as on Bantams' matchdays.
The work, which started with a digging ceremony yesterday, will be completed in three phases; the refurbishment of the pavilion, the 5G outdoor pitches, one nine-a-side and two five-a-side pitches, and the refurbishment of the BEAP sports hall.
Work on the complex will be completed by May/June 2022.
Humayun Islam, BEAP chief executive, who has helped spearhead the project, says he hopes the new complex will boost Asian children's participation in football and possibly lead to them playing for the Bantams in the future.
He said: "The project has come full circle.
"It was a dream initially, which became a reality and then became a nightmare but it is back on now.
"It is unbelievable now to see it happening. Bradford City are a free kick away from here.
"It's a really exciting thing for Bradford and will bring people together."
Ian Ormondroyd, Bradford City Community Foundation chief executive, says the complex will offer a boost to the community around Valley Parade.
He said: "It's really good. It will help improve the matchday experience for our fans and the away fans too.
"We will have a fantastic facility on our doorstep, which we have never had before. It is right next to the ground."
Bradford Council says the new complex will 'breathe new life' into the existing facilities at BEAP's site.
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council leader, also backed the project.
She said: "We're delighted to back this project.
"BEAP have had the vision for the project and to make it happen.
"Nine months from now this area will be completely transformed for local people of all ages. It will help to get people active.
"We really rely on organisations like BEAP to drive forward these sort of grassroots projects."
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