Hyde United set to unveil Ewen Fields plans

HYDE United is set to unveil new plans this weekend to enhance their Ewen Fields ground following a recent investment.

The club are holding a media and community event at the stadium on Saturday, April 9, from 11:00 BST to announce the plans after receiving £400,000 from Tameside Council last month.

Council leaders and club officials will be in attendance – and supporters and members of the local community are also being invited.

A statement on the club’s website said: “Come along and find out how the ground will be transformed to integrate it more into the community.”

Hyde recently became a community owned football club and will be unveiling a new programme which is supported by Tameside Council.

This includes community facilities for all sections such as youth teams, ladies and girls teams, a floodlit artificial all-weather pitch open seven days a week, and training and classroom facilities which are available in evenings and at weekends for public use.

The investment is part of £20 million being pumped into leisure facilities by the council, including a 25-metre swimming pool adjacent to Hyde’s ground and various regeneration schemes around the town.

The club say it will provide opportunities for education, training and employment, volunteer opportunities, a developing partnership with Warrington Collegiate and The University of Derby, as well as building on the success of setting up a football and education academy in 2012.

The opening of new facilities – featuring a physiotherapy suite and club office – would also allow the existing academy to relocate from Knutsford in Cheshire to Hyde.

The event will take place before their Evo-Stik Premier Division fixture at home to Ilkeston, which kicks off at 15:00 BST.

Hyde United currently sit 20th in the seventh tier of English football, two points above the bottom four with four games remaining.

The Tigers, who recently appointed Darren Kelly as their new manager until the end of the season, have lost their last four games as they seek to avoid a third successive relegation.