Former England footballer Teddy Sheringham and a host of partners came together to officially break ground and sign the steel beams on the new £12m state-of-the-art sports facility at Parsloes Park in Dagenham.

The development will feature a gym, fitness studio, a café, and meeting/multi-use rooms, as well as providing new shower and changing facilities to support 16 grass pitches.

The project is being funded by a £6.2million grant from the Premier LeagueThe FA and Government’s Football Foundation, as well as a £6.1million investment from Barking and Dagenham Council. The project has also received contributions from the London Marathon Charitable Trust and The Greater London Authority.

The new sports centre is being delivered by specialist leisure developer Alliance Leisure and their partners at Etec GroupVarsity Consulting and Bradshaw, Gass & Hope LLP, after being procured via the UK Leisure Framework, which is managed by Denbighshire Leisure.

The Sports Hub will be operated by the charity, Leisure United on behalf of the National Football Trust itself a registered charity.

It’s fantastic to see this development starting to take shape and when finished it will offer state-of-the-art community and sports facilities for people to take advantage of. It’s no secret that our borough has a rich, historic connection to football – we’re the birthplace of England’s only World Cup winning manager and captain – so it’s only right that we have a modern, purpose-built hub that can hopefully one day create even more success stories.

Councillor Saima Ashraf
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement at Barking and Dagenham Council

Once complete, this purpose-built sports facility will become an integral part of community life and a first-class facility for a range of sports clubs. We‘re proud to be working alongside the council and our partners to deliver this project that not only supports players but also provides a venue for schools and grassroot sports clubs to hold meetings and education sessions.

Greg Walker
Business Development Manager at Alliance Leisure