The day Havant & Waterlooville chairman Derek Pope never thought he would see has arrived ...

The day Hawks chairman Derek Pope thought he would never see has dawned.
Hawks officially unveil their new 3G pitch at the newly-named Draper Tools Community Stadium. From left - Alan Mak (MP for Havant), Joe Drape (Draper Tools director, with his son Leo), Derek Pope (Hawks chairman), Graham Wade (Draper Tools MD), Tom Draper (Draper Tools, director), Prad Bains (Mayor of Havant) and Charlotte Chandler (Hawks commercial/marketing manager). Picture: Sarah StandingHawks officially unveil their new 3G pitch at the newly-named Draper Tools Community Stadium. From left - Alan Mak (MP for Havant), Joe Drape (Draper Tools director, with his son Leo), Derek Pope (Hawks chairman), Graham Wade (Draper Tools MD), Tom Draper (Draper Tools, director), Prad Bains (Mayor of Havant) and Charlotte Chandler (Hawks commercial/marketing manager). Picture: Sarah Standing
Hawks officially unveil their new 3G pitch at the newly-named Draper Tools Community Stadium. From left - Alan Mak (MP for Havant), Joe Drape (Draper Tools director, with his son Leo), Derek Pope (Hawks chairman), Graham Wade (Draper Tools MD), Tom Draper (Draper Tools, director), Prad Bains (Mayor of Havant) and Charlotte Chandler (Hawks commercial/marketing manager). Picture: Sarah Standing

Today he will take his seat in a near-deserted ground to watch his club host Maidstone United in a National League South fixture on an artificial surface.Pope was among the board members initially highly sceptical of ripping up the grass pitch at Westleigh Park and spending around £500,000 on a 3G surface.But life in lockdown created a major rethink in terms of trying to access new revenue streams.Hence, the installing of a new pitch - one of eight in the National League South (out of 21 clubs) - and the selling of the stadium naming rights.Family business Draper Tools have signed a three-year contract with Westleigh Park now officially renamed The Draper Tools Community Stadium.The ‘Community’ word is a key one, as the Hawks are determined to place themselves at the heart of the social fabric of their immediate area.‘I never thought I’d see this day,’ said Pope, standing in a goalmouth at the ground after the official opening of the surface.‘I never thought I would succumb to that way of thinking.‘I’m an old traditionalist - I like the mud and the sliding tackles.’Trevor Brock was another member of the Hawks board initially against the idea of doing away with grass.But the doubters were quickly silenced when it was explained the benefits an artificial pitch would bring.As a result, Brock said at the official opening: ‘This is a magnificent day for the club.’The cost of the pitch has been met by a group of investors, and not by the club.By hiring out the pitch to a variety of clubs and organisations to use, it is hoped the investors would get their money back in six to eight years.After that, Hawks will start reaping the financial gains.Already, youth teams - boys and girls - have booked in to play games and to train on the 3G pitch. The hope is they then want to come back to the stadium - when Boris Johnson and his government (and the scientific advisors) allow that - to watch Hawks games with their parents or friends.That way, the club can build their fanbase.Pope said the club used to attract around 300-400 when it was formed in the late 1990s via a merger of Havant Town and Waterlooville.Last season they averaged over 1,300, but with a 5,000 capacity there is room for plenty more.As well as the financial benefits, the 3G pitch should also help the Hawks players.Boss Paul Doswell is adamant the poor state of the pitch - not helped by months of continual rain last season - contributed to a mediocre home record.No such excuses will be tolerated in future on an artificial surface which is also a lot flatter than the grass pitch.Previously, the pitch sloped towards the corner of the ground where the Westleigh pub is situated.Doswell has been a catalyst for much change since he arrived as manager in April 2019 shortly after the club had been relegated from the top tier of non-league football, the National League.On the pitch, he has created a totally new squad - not a single player who was at the club before he arrived is still there.Off it, his was the most persuasive voice about going down the 3G route - having seen the impacts it had at his previous club Sutton United.It was Doswell who contacted Jason Douglas, group director at pitch installation experts S & C Slatter, to ask them to work with Hawks.And it was also Doswell who brought Chandler’s Ford-based Draper Tools to the negotiating table.Doswell, who used to manage nearby Eastleigh, is a family friend of the Draper family.Draper Tools were shirt sponsors of Southampton FC between 1984 and 1993, but this is the company’s first major sponsorship in the Portsmouth region.Draper Tools will work closely with the Hawks Community Foundation - an organisation set up earlier this year which, as its name suggests, will attempt to strengthen links between the club and its surrounding areas.The Mayor of Havant, Cllr Prad Bains, officially opened the 3G pitch.It was particularly apt that he cut the ribbon, and not just because he is a football fan - he first attended a Hawks game when he was five (he’s now 24) and was at Anfield for the club’s FA Cup tie in 2008.He also knows perfectly well the benefits of a 3G pitch from a footballing point of view.That’s because Bains has spent the last year and a bit playing in goal for Hampshire Premier League club Denmead, whose home games take place half a mile from Westleigh Park on a 3G pitch at Front Lawn.‘It’s so much better,’ he said. ‘You don’t get any bobbles, you can rely on your passing, you can rely on the bounce - it helps football big time.‘One of the biggest plusses is you can wake up on a wet morning and know your game is going to be on.’Back in the 1980s, huge controversy surrounded the artificial pitches installed at Queens Park Rangers, Luton Town, Oldham Athletic and Preston North End.Players - not just goalkeepers - sometimes wore tracksuit bottoms to help against cuts and burns from sliding on the surfaces.Bains recalled: ‘I remember training on a first generation pitch - it was basically concrete with a layer of sand on it. I used to get cuts and burns continually.‘The 3G pitches now are so much better.’Bains is confident the Havant community will benefit from the new pitch.‘Places like this are modern day cathedrals,’ he explained.‘Centuries ago cathedrals were built as social hubs for the community.‘This club can now be a social hub for their community.‘So many more people can engage with them now - the pitch is accessible to everyone.‘It’s a social hub now, it’s not just a place where elite sport takes place.’That is certainly true.This weekend the pitch will be hosting youth football, women’s football and Sunday League football as well as Hawks’ game with Maidstone.Hawks’ two academy teams will also play games on a Wednesday daytime at the ground, which they had only ever been able to use for FA Youth Cup ties.Yesterday, as the likes of Cllr Bains and Havant MP Alan Mak attended the official opening ceremony, the club’s over-50s ‘walking football’ squad were training on one half of the pitch.There are also plans to bring in a disability squad, while summer youth tournaments can also be staged.No wonder even staunch traditionalists have changed their minds ....