Triple Celebration for Sports

Track Improvement work at King George V Stadium

Athletes will have an extra spring in their step with the start of refurbishment to the running track at King George V Stadium on Monday (August 16).

The work will include full cleaning, re-texturing and re-lining of the track as well as work to the jump approaches and is scheduled to take six weeks.

Naturally, during this period the track and in field will be out of use to athletes, but the timing of this closure has been done in consultation with the athletics clubs, the sports development section of North East Lincolnshire Council and other interested parties.

It is planned that the re-opening will take place on the weekend of September 25, with the Norbrit Games, the Grimsby Harriers annual open competition.

This work will cost more than £100,000 and is in part funded by an award of more than £40,000 of National Lottery money from the Sport England community athletics refurbishment programme, as reported last autumn.

Councillor Geoff Lowis, portfolio holder for regeneration, said:  "With this work, the council has given a long term commitment. A commitment not only to local athletics but also to providing quality facilities for the raising of health and fitness standards amongst our community in general.

"Everyone is aware that the council is currently going through troubled times, but not everything is bad news, doom and gloom. Working with our management partners, Sports and Leisure Management (SLM) has allowed us to identify savings as well as proper funding to make this commitment."

Councillor. Peter Price OBE, chairman of the Yorkshire Sports Board, said: "It's great to see the running track getting a new lease of life, increasing the quality of the experience for the athletics clubs using the stadium and encouraging a new generation of athletes to start, stay and succeed in sport."

The King George V stadium is so called because it stands on land dedicated to the memory of the late King after his death in 1936.

Upon his death, a committee was formed by the then Lord Mayor of London, to give thought to a fitting national memorial, more suited to his wishes than many statues being erected all over the country.

In 1936, the committee decided that there should be a statue in London and a scheme which would benefit the whole country and be associated with King George's name.

As a result, the King George's Fields Foundation was set up.

The aim of the foundation was: "To promote and to assist in the establishment throughout the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of playing fields for the use and enjoyment of the people."

Each of the playing fields would "Be styled 'King George's Field' and to be distinguished by heraldic panels or other appropriate tablet medallion or inscription commemorative of His Late Majesty and of a design approved by the Administrative Council."

What then happened was that benefactors were found locally in an area to raise money for the purchase cost of the land and the King George V Foundation gave a grant towards this cost.

Once the land was bought, the ownership was given over to The National Playing Fields Association, to preserve and safeguard the land for the public benefit.

There are 476 such King George Playing Fields, all over the country (Cleethorpes having its field on Taylor's Avenue) owned by the National Playing Fields Association and managed on their behalf by either the council (as is the case in North East Lincolnshire) or a board of local trustees.

There are strict covenants and conditions that all go to ensure that the public will continue to benefit from these open play areas.

For more information visit the National Playing Fields web site on:
www.npfa.co.uk/home.php

Or the King George V Foundation web site on: www.npfa.co.uk/content/kinggeorge/index.html

9 August 2004

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