John Jenkins Stadium project in need of volunteers to bring new Pompey in the Community home to life
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Pompey in the Community is set to launch the ‘Pompey Big Build’ appeal in search of people to help to furnish the interior of the John Jenkins Stadium, a construction project which was originally supposed to begin in 2020 but faced delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising cost of building materials.
Charity CEO Clare Martin MBE said: ‘We’re putting a call out to the local community asking for anybody who can give us a hand getting it over the line – whether they’re tradespeople, they want to donate something, or if they want to help with fundraising.
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‘I’ve already got someone doing the CCTV at cost, someone doing free carpets, someone fitting out a computer suite for us – it’s a call out for community support.’
While the stadium’s shell is almost finished, work is still needed to fit out facilities such as toilets, changing rooms, a boxing gym, dance studio, café, and offices as well as landscaping exterior areas.
The project was recently given a lifeline £744,250 grant of government Youth Investment funding and Clare revealed that without this substantial cash injection, it would have been almost impossible to finish the stadium.
Clare added: ‘Taking on a construction project at the moment, with the world the way it is, has been really challenging so this is just helping us get to the finish line.
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We’re still not there, we still need a big build but it is a massive leap towards the finish. If I believed in impossible then it would have been impossible but there’s always a way if you want it that much and it’s for the right reason.’
Previous revenue sources have included nearly £2m from the Football Foundation, almost £1m from the Levelling Up scheme and around £270,000 from the Eisner Foundation.
The stadium – named after Portsmouth D-Day veteran John Jenkins – is expected to cost £5.2m. It will provide a home for Pompey in the Community, Portsmouth Women and Moneyfields FC as well as hosting activities for thousands of young people, disability sport groups and members of the public.
You can get involved by emailing [email protected] or calling 02392 728899.