New ball courts approved for Baffins, Stamshaw and Charles Dickens
New multi-use games courts are coming to Portsmouth following investment from the Football Foundation and the city council.
Portsmouth City Council’s cabinet approved the courts, dubbed as PlayZones, in Baffins, Stamshaw and Charles Dickens.
The council made bids for five sites in 2024, three of which were successful. The Football Foundation will cover three quarters of the funding, with the council paying the remainder.
A PlayZone product is a 20m by 30m floodlit multi-use games area (MUGA), with infrastructure and markings for football and one or two other sports.
The purpose of the scheme is to make sport more accessible to communities who need it most, while driving up participation among underrepresented groups.
The PlayZone in Stamshaw will be set in the north-east part of the existing MUGA in Stamshaw Park, whereas the PlayZones will occupy the existing MUGAs in Baffins Pond and Charles Dickens Centre.
Councillor Darren Sanders welcomed the “significant” investment in the city, which amounts to £789,157.
“It also comes to something that all of us have heard, which is that kids don’t have enough to do – this offer will improve that for several of the most disadvantaged people in our city.”
He welcomed the court particularly in his own ward, Baffins, where residents consistently complained to him about the state of the existing MUGA.
Residents will be able to book sessions at the courts using the ClubSpark calendar, with unbooked slots leaving the facility free and open to the public.