Work has started on a £611k all-weather 3G pitch at Moulsecoomb Community Leisure Centre, £410k of it from the Football Foundation. It opens next spring.

Building work has started on a new £611,000 all-weather 3G pitch at Moulsecoomb Community Leisure Centre, and it is due to open next spring. Brighton & Hove City Council announced the start on Wednesday 14 October.

The pitch will be used for both football and rugby. When it opens for bookings, clubs and groups running sessions for women and girls will get priority.

Who is paying

The council’s release sets out the funding:

  • £410,000 from the Football Foundation, the grassroots facilities fund backed by the Premier League, The FA and the Government
  • the rest from the council’s Section 106 money, paid by developers to offset the effect of new building
  • a contribution from Coldean Colts FC, the project’s partner club

The council has not said how much the club or the Section 106 pot is putting in.

The bid followed the 2022 Women’s Euros, when England’s Lionesses played at the American Express Stadium on their way to winning the tournament. The city was a host again for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, which England’s Red Roses also won. The council says participation in women’s rugby has “soared” since.

Who gets to use it

Priority will go to clubs and groups delivering sessions for women and girls. The council names two:

  • Hove Rugby Club
  • Coldean Colts, the football club

Councillor Alan Robins, Cabinet member for Sport, Recreation and Libraries, said: “We’d like to thank the Football Foundation for this generous grant, which is going to make a huge difference to the local community, particularly to women and girls keen to play football and rugby.”

Robert Sullivan, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said: “This grant award to Brighton & Hove City Council towards developing a 3G pitch at Moulsecoomb Community Leisure Centre is fantastic news for the local community and will help give more people access to a great place to play.”

Thomas Lyons, chief executive of Sussex County FA, called it “a fantastic boost for grassroots football in Brighton & Hove”.

How long the old field has been shut

The grass field at the centre has been out of use since the spring. Freedom Leisure, which runs the centre, told users that Sunday 1 March was the last day the field could be used, with investigative works needed for planning starting the next day. It said full construction would follow once those works were done and the planning conditions had been discharged.

Freedom Leisure warned users then to expect:

  • temporary changes to car park access
  • some areas cordoned off for safety
  • periods of noise during groundworks

What it means for you

  • If you play: the pitch is due to open in spring 2027. Booking details have not been published yet. Women’s and girls’ sessions will be first in line, so if you run one, it is worth asking the centre now.
  • If you use the centre: expect building work on site through the winter. The centre is at Moulsecoomb Way, BN2 4PB, and its opening hours are on Freedom Leisure’s page.
  • Want to start playing? Coldean Colts and Hove Rugby Club are the two clubs the council has named as partners.

Sources