The Emmer football association Drenthina receives financial support from the municipality for the construction of a small artificial grass field at the sports park. More than 12,000 euros will be transferred from the town hall.
Drenthina took over the field with boarding more than two years ago from Soccer Temple, a company that was located in a hall at the Emmer business park De Nijbracht. In that hall there were two artificial grass fields of 28 by 14 meters for a special kind of football: indoor soccer. In this sport, the ball is constantly in play because the field is surrounded by boards and nets.
Due to corona, Soccer Temple got into trouble and at the end of 2020 the owner decided to close the business. Drenthina was interested in one of the fields and came to a deal with the company Soccer Temple leased them from. The artificial grass field with boarding has now been given a place at the sports park on the Oude Roswinkelerweg, near the youth fields.
Lighting and nets
,,Most of the work is done, there are still a few things to be done”, says Rienk Gernaat, chairman of the club’s youth committee. This involves gluing the various strips of artificial grass together and hanging nets around the field. The light poles around the site must also be connected to electricity. ,,As soon as it is dry for a longer period of time, we will start gluing the strips of artificial grass”, says Gernaat.
Drenthina appealed to the municipality for the so-called one-third scheme. Sports clubs that invest in accommodations receive a third of the costs as a subsidy and a third as a loan. According to the municipality, the construction of the artificial grass field is completely in line with the policy to get residents to exercise (or keep them).
Chairman Frank Griemink of Drenthina says he is happy with the support of the municipality. Drenthina has about six hundred members and has men’s and women’s football, plus a section for players with a disability. The first team plays in the second division. The new field is mainly intended for young members and players from the so-called g-teams.