The Football Foundation awarded the project a grant of £732,194, whilst its sister organisation, the Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) also awarded £83,445. Sport England have offered an award of £350,000 lottery funding from its Sustainable Facilities Fund, and England Netball £60,000.
An additional grant of £200,000 has come from The FA, as part of their capital allocation within the Whole Sport Plan agreed with Sport England. This specific aspect of funding has been awarded to support the sustainability of community clubs and create more opportunities to participate in sport within a high quality environment.
The huge funding bonanza will enable Oxford City FC and Oxfordshire Netball to progress development of the “Community Arena” at Court Place Farm, to include a full size floodlit 3rd generation artificial grass pitch, six floodlit netball courts, and associated changing pavilion, providing the first of such facilities within the County.
The football club and netballers across Oxfordshire have together raised over £300,000 towards the cost of the development, and are busy seeking the balance of funds required to enable the facility to be built in 2011. Colin Taylor, Volunteer Managing Director at Oxford City FC, commented: “These grant awards are fantastic and indicate Sports Governing Bodies belief in the community benefits of our project. We now have the majority of funding secured, but continue to seek funders and sponsors that can contribute into making the Community Arena a reality.”
Paul Thorogood, Chief Executive of the Football Foundation and the FSIF, said: “I want to congratulate Oxford City FC, the Oxfordshire County FA and Oxfordshire Netball for their hard work and dedication in securing this significant amount of funding.
“When it is complete, this development will be a major multi-sports hub for the Oxfordshire community – one of thousands across the country that the Football Foundation is supporting with money provided by our funding partners: the Premier League, The FA and Government via Sport England.”
To find out more about facility development click here